Postgame Recap: Lightning vs Kings

Jake Ricker

Overview

The Bolts continued to show why they were the best team in the NHL as they topped the Kings 5-2. This by far was the best game by backup goaltender Peter Budaj as he stopped 22 of 24 shots from his former team. This game was also one of the Lightning’s best games as well, they really only got sloppy late in the second period. Let’s take a look at how the game went period by period.

First Period

The Tampa Bay Lightning had a great penalty kill early on, the bolts put on pressure quickly against the kings and successfully prevented any sort of set up the Kings attempted. The Lightning opened up the scoring after Peter Budaj made an amazing save on Kings winger, Kopitar who was coming in on a 2 on 1. Stamkos then quickly lead Kucherov on a breakaway and he made no mistake to put the Bolts up 1 and score his 16th goal of the season. The bolts didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal there as Killorn quickly scored again thanks to some crisp passes from Tyler Johnson and Dan Girardi to make it 2-0 Bolts. But The Bolts weren’t done there as both Hedman and Stamkos scored a goal of their own. Hedman’s goal was challenged for offsides by the Kings but after the goal was determined to be a good goal, the Bolts got a power play which is when the captain Steven Stamkos scored to make it 4-0.  The Bolts scored 4 goals in just 2 minutes as they outplayed the Kings like there was no tomorrow.

Score: 4-0 Lightning

Shots: 14-9 Lightning

Second Period

The game calmed down after a crazy 1st. Peter Budaj continued to play well for the Bolts stopping almost anything the kings threw at him early on. The Bolts were still putting all kinds of pressure on the Kings but Jonathan Quick was outstanding and somehow kept all the pucks out of the net even though the shots were coming quickly and from all directions. After a few close calls that the kings nearly scored on Stamkos took an interference penalty where the Kings were finally able to get on the board to make it 4-1. The bolts second half started to become sloppy as the kings were able to put on a lot of pressure and even got one in the net to make it 4-2, but not on Cooper’s watch. The Bolts challenged the call and it was reversed to keep it at a 4-1 hockey game. Even though  Kings fans didn’t think so the Kings forward definitely pushed Lightning defender Brayden Coburn into Budaj so he was not able to make the save. Definitely not the best period for the Bolts in the defensive category but they still had the lead in the most important one

Score: 4-1 Lighting

Shots: 33-15 Lightning

Third Period

The Kings came out flying in the final 20 and the Bolts were able to keep things calm until halfway through the 3erd as veteran forward Dustin Brown made a fantastic move to set up a King’s goal and make it 4-2. After that, the Bolts were able to settle it back down and even get a goal back after a shot from Namestnikov went in then out to make it 5-2 Bolts. Peter Budaj continued to shine and played his best game of the season. The bolts were able to finish strong and took home the W.

Score: 5-2 Lightning

Shots: 43-24 Lightning

Four Stars?

1. Nikita Kucherov
2. Steven Stamkos
3. Peter Budaj
4. There where a ton of underrated players for the bolts tonight making passes and defensive plays such as Vlady, Johnson, and Girardi so the extra star is for them.

Up Next

The Lightning will look to continue their hot start as they take on the Anaheim Ducks at 8:00 pm ET to wrap up the three game west coast road trip.