It's too early to presume the Tampa Bay Lightning are poised
to do something special in the second half of the 2011-12 season.
But the Bolts certainly have grabbed our attention again. That's no small feat
for a team that looked as if it was heading down the tubes barely two weeks
ago.
Their 4-3 overtime victory against the visiting Washington Capitals Tuesday
night at the Forum was noteworthy for several reasons.
It lifted the Lightning to a season-high fifth consecutive win on the heels of
a seven-game losing streak.
It pulled Tampa Bay (22-23-4) to within eight points of first-place Washington
in the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division, as well as within eight points
of the final playoff spot.
It underscored the resilience that head coach Guy Boucher's squad had been
lacking so recently: staying aggressive after blowing a 3-2 lead in the third
period and winning it in OT on Steven Stamkos' league-leading 33rd goal.
Those are all encouraging signs as the Bolts struggle to overcome a
disappointing start, following last season's amazing run to the brink of the
Stanley Cup Finals.
What's more, they are entering a friendly portion of their schedule with a
chance to build on the newfound momentum. They host Winnipeg on Thursday,
Florida on Saturday and Los Angeles on Tuesday. Of those three opponents, only
the Kings have been playing well lately, so the Lightning have an ideal
opportunity to cash in and gain more ground in the playoff hunt.
The latest breakthrough wasn't without some glitches. Boucher lamented that his
team didn't take advantage of some open-net chances during the game which might
have prevented it from going to overtime. By allowing the Caps to get it to OT,
Tampa Bay did give its division foe a point in the standings — something that
could become a factor down the road.
But all things considered, Lightning players couldn't have been happier with
the outcome.
"We're playing a lot of big games right now," Stamkos said. "We
gave Washington one point and we got to catch some other teams as well. We're
going to take every point that we can get."
If the Lightning win Thursday against division-foel Winnipeg — which is one
spot ahead of Tampa at 23-22-4 — it will match the six-game winning streak
from last year at just about the same time of the season: Jan. 18-Feb. 1. The
confidence that has been spreading could keep fueling the team's resurgent
efforts.
"(The streak is) a good sign for us, but we still got a lot of hockey left
and some big games coming up," said forward Nate Thompson, who scored once
in the Tuesday victory. "We're at home a lot which is good for us because
we usually play pretty well at home if we can just manage it … keep playing our
game and keep on scoring."
The Lightning received a lift with the return of defenseman Victor Hedman, back
after missing 13 games due to a concussion, and other recently injured players
Ryan Shannon (knee), JT Wyman (hand) and Tom Pyatt (leg) also were back.
But an even bigger lift came from goalkeeper Mathieu Garon, whose 26 saves made
the difference. In fact, two of his key saves and a quick feed to Martin St.
Louis helped get the game-winning score by Stamkos in gear.
"I don't believe much in tipping points," Boucher said. "I
believe in every second and every moment to turn things around. Even when they
scored that third goal, I kept saying on the bench ‘Be in the moment. Be in the
moment. It's not about what just happened, it's about what we're going to do
next.'
“Then we pushed overtime and we didn't hold back. We didn't
skate to lose, we were playing to win."
The Lightning improved to 7-4-0 in games that have gone past regulation (5-1 in
overtime and 2-3 in shootouts). The Bolts are even more effective in one-goal
games this season, with a mark of 13-2-4.
The challenge ahead remains daunting, given how much ground they have to make
up. Last year, their record after a comparable number of games was 29-15-5. But
clearly the team that struggled so much with poor defense and inconsistent
offense is starting to believe in itself again.
And there's more than enough hockey left on the schedule for
something special to take place. At least for now, musing about playoff chances
no longer seems like an act of futility.
