2. POWER PLAY HEATING UP
Tampa Bay's power play ranked sixth in the NHL entering Saturday's game, yet it felt like that unit hadn't hit its stride, particularly after finishing the 2018-19 season tops in the League at a 28.2 percent success rate, the 10th-best conversion percentage in League history.
Of late, however, the Bolts' power play has started to heat up, and it's allowed the team to finally start winning some special teams battles.
Saturday against Buffalo, the power play did a lot of the heavy lifting in the Lightning's 5-3 victory. The Bolts scored on their first two power plays to establish control in the game.
Trailing 1-0 after Sam Reinhart scored the third of his three goals of the series at 9:30, the Lightning leveled the score three minutes from the first intermission, Maroon's body deflecting Yanni Gourde's shot past Hutton in the waning seconds of the Lightning's opening power play.
Early in the second period, the Lightning pulled in front for good thanks to another power-play conversion. On this one, Victor Hedman, playing in his home country, blasted a shot from a few strides inside the blue line into the net for a 2-1 Tampa Bay lead at 1:58 of the middle frame.
Ironically, Tampa Bay's third power play late in the second period might have been its best of the three. The Lightning possessed the puck inside the offensive zone for all two minutes. They generated numerous Grade-A scoring chances and had Hutton and his penalty killers scrambling around his crease to keep shots out. The only thing the Lightning didn't do on that power play was score.
"Our special teams haven't been that great coming into the trip," Stamkos said. "When the PK is good and the power play gets a couple goals, it makes the rest of the game a little easier when you not only get confidence but you get production. It was big these last two games."
Tampa Bay's penalty kill went 2-for-2 on Saturday, the third-straight game it hasn't allowed an opponent power-play goal. Combined with their power-play prowess, the Lightning decidedly won special teams Saturday.