Four's a charm: Lightning enjoying impressive stretch vs. Eastern playoff contenders
TAMPA, Fla. -- Give them your desperate, your motivated, your playoff contenders yearning to live on.
Give them the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, each scratching to survive or to improve their vantage point within the Eastern Conference, each welcomed to Amalie Arena throughout the past eight days before being tattooed with an unwanted loss.
Tuesday was another night featuring another opponent carrying postseason ambitions before another victory was claimed by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who allow little liberty for visitors within their walls, even if the desired result comes after a scramble like the one witnessed in a 4-3 win over Florida.
Don't tread on them.
Not here. Not now.
"We're battling, too," said Lightning center Tyler Johnson, who had a goal in the first period Tuesday. "We're in a race as well. It's a little bit different, but at the same time, everyone is getting prepared for the playoffs. We have to be playing our best game. We have to be desperate."
The Lightning were desperate at the right time Tuesday, which means they did enough to turn a sloppy 3-2 deficit after the second period into a torrid comeback that resulted in their 46th victory, which ties a franchise record reached in three previous seasons: 2003-04, 2010-11 and 2013-14. They were far from their best against their scrappy rival from South Florida, but the targeted outcome was reached all the same.
A contender's DNA? Oh boy, they have it.
Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov beat Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo 1:30 into the third period, notching his 27th goal, and winger Ryan Callahan totaled his 22nd with 17:32 gone. Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, meanwhile, made 14 of his 33 total saves in the final period to allow the Lightning to stay undefeated in this impressive homestand, which ends Thursday against the Nashville Predators.
"The urgency is up on a lot of teams that are scratching and clawing," Lightning winger Brenden Morrow said. "Florida was one of them, so they were playing a desperate game. We've got to be able to match that. It's the details. We're going to compete every night. There's no question that this team competes hard. It's the execution and details."
You want execution and details? Tampa Bay throttled Montreal and Detroit, Boston and Florida in this reign of pain at home, outscoring the postseason dreamers by a combined score of 16-9.
You want to see desperation stiff-armed? Entering Tuesday, the Canadiens led the Atlantic Division with 99 points, and the Red Wings were third with 89. Meanwhile, the Bruins (84) were one point out of being slotted in the final wild-card spot, and the Panthers (80) were five back. The Lightning have been far from perfect in this run, especially Tuesday, but they have survived with minor scratches.
You want domination on familiar ice? Tampa Bay has improved to 30-7-1 at home, which makes Amalie Arena almost as impenetrable as a fortress surrounded by a ring of fire and a shark-infested moat.
So you think the Lightning panicked Tuesday when they saw their 2-0 lead go "poof!" after second-period goals by winger Jussi Jokinen, center Brandon Pirri and winger Jonathan Huberdeau all within 1:58 of one another? You think they packed it in and called it a night?
Fat chance.
"We have the character in here to respond to those situations, and we have the skill and the talent to do that," Callahan said. "So when we play the right way, we're a tough team to play against. We have to realize that and do it for a full 60."
Sure, it would be smart to draw lessons from Tuesday's close call. Sure, it would be wise for the Lightning to slap themselves on the wrist for lax play in the second period. Sure, it would be best if they fought with more passion for a full 60 minutes soon.
But some of the Eastern Conference's most desperate came, saw and were conquered throughout the past eight days. The big, bold bottom line: The Lightning finished 4-0 in a difficult stretch.
"It was a tough two points," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Tuesday.
He can say that again and again and again.
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
