The Tampa Bay Lightning continued their four-game road trip with the third stop against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Jonas Johansson was in between the pipes once again for the Lightning while Jacob Markstrom was in the crease at the other end of the rink. Victor Hedman, who was injured during Tuesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens was absent for the Lightning, with Declan Carlisle taking his place. Meanwhile, ahead of the game, the Devils placed Evgenii Dadonov on the injured reserve and announced Timo Meier would be out of the lineup as he tends to a personal matter.
A turnover by the Devils less than three minutes into the opening frame allowed Nick Paul to score the first goal of the night, giving the Lightning a 1-0 lead.
Darren Raddysh continued his hot streak when he beat Markstrom with a slap shot from the point just 51 seconds after Paul’s goal. With that goal, Raddysh tied his career-high for goals in a season with his sixth of the campaign.
Frustration had clearly set in for the Devils after they went down 2-0, as they applied massive pressure following the ensuing faceoff.
Luke Hughes got the Devils on the board seven minutes into the opening frame as he danced around Scott Sabourin to find space inside of the faceoff circle. He fired the puck past Johansson and planted momentum firmly in the Devils’ favor, as they now trailed by just a single goal.
That momentum would be halted as if it were hit by a freight train though, as Pontus Holmberg scored on a five-hole shot to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead just 57 seconds after Hughes got the Devils on the board. Holmberg had now scored in two straight games, and his goal in New Jersey forced the Devils’ head coach Sheldon Keefe to make a goaltending swap, with Jake Allen taking over for Markstrom.
The Lightning would get their first power play with 7:32 remaining in the first period when the Devils’ captain, Nico Hischier, was called for hooking. The Lightning hit the post just moments into the man advantage but the Devils would ultimately kill off the penalty successfully. Just seconds after that penalty expired though, Simon Nemec would send New Jersey shorthanded once again as he was penalized for hooking. This time, the Devils penalty kill wouldn’t get off easy. Jake Guentzel tapped in his 15th of the season, making it a 4-1 lead for the Lightning with a quarter of the first period remaining.
Scott Sabourin threw a hit on Hughes, which caused him to be called for boarding, giving the Devils their first power play of the night. New Jersey defenseman Brenden Dillon didn’t like the hit and immediately dropped his gloves with Sabourin, earning both men a five-minute major for fighting as well. Oliver Bjorkstrand would serve Sabourin’s two-minute minor, which the Lightning successfully killed off, allowing them to carry their 4-1 lead into the first intermission.
Bjorkstrand would score the first goal of the second period, his third of the season, off of a pass from Guentzel which extended the Lightning’s lead to 5-1 before the game’s halfway point. Guentzel would get a partial breakaway with 9:58 remaining in the second period, but Allen was able to make the stop.
The first power play of the second frame was awarded to the Devils as Yanni Gourde was sent to the penalty box for tripping Connor Brown with 7:42 remaining in the period. Jesper Bratt would light the lamp as he beat Johansson by moving backhand to forehand on a breakaway, as the Lightning got burned by a poorly timed line change. Tampa Bay still led 5-2, however that was a goal that certainly frustrated the coaching staff.
The Lightning got an opportunity to get a goal back during a long delayed penalty. Kucherov was denied by Allen, who made a phenomenal save, but play continued. Brandon Hagel would eventually find the back of the net, restoring Tampa Bay’s four goal lead.
A major scramble in front of the net nearly gave the Devils their third goal of the night, but a sliding Emil Lilleberg was able to protect the open net and deny the goal. The Devils would get the goal back on an extended delayed penalty as Angus Crookshank scored his first goal of the season, and first as a Devil.
Nikita Kucherov found Brayden Point with a cross-crease pass, extending the Lightning's lead to 7-3 at 7:55 in the third period. With 6:23 remaining in the game, Sabourin went back to the penalty box after slashing Dillon. With 23 seconds remaining in the Devils' power play, Ondrej Palat was penalized for holding, nullifying the New Jersey power play and giving the Lightning an abbreviated man advantage. During the very short 4-on-4, Paul Cotter cut the Tampa lead to 7-4 with a goal on a breakaway.
Bjorkstrand got his second goal of the night just moments after Sabourin's penalty expired, as Guentzel found him with a perfectly-placed cross-crease pass.
When all was said and done, the Lightning walked away with a second-straight win; defeating the Devils 8-4.