Burns: Three Things we learned from a third-straight win

Don't look now, but the Tampa Bay Lightning are finally starting to resemble the team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups.
The Lightning weren't perfect Monday night against the Washington Capitals. But they found a way to overtake the Caps after surrendering the opening goal. They got incredible individual performances that collectively allowed them to stay in front whether it was Erik Cernak blocking a pair of Alex Ovechkin one-timers or Ryan McDonagh skating the entire two minutes on a third-period penalty kill with Victor Hedman in the box or Andrei Vasilevskiy making one of many critical saves throughout. And, once again, they took a lead into the third period and shut down the opposition's attack to hold it in a gutty 3-2 victory against one of the better teams in the NHL.

The Lightning have now won both of their measuring-stick games against Washington this season. They've won two in a row at AMALIE Arena after beginning the season 0-2-1 at home. And they've won three-consecutive games overall for the first time all season.
"We're finding ways to get points," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "I'm not sure I was in love with our game tonight. I don't think we managed the puck as well as we could have. I think our goalie was a big part of our win. That save he makes on (Tom) Wilson at the start of the second was phenomenal. He was a big part of it. I did like the way we played after they made it 3-2. We shut the game down."
In the process, Tampa Bay handed the Caps their first regulation loss of the season.
Here are three important things we learned about the Lightning as they continue to hit their stride.

1. VASY MAKES THE TIMELY SAVES
Andrei Vasilevskiy had 31 saves (on 33 shots) to defeat the Capitals on Monday and collect his third-consecutive win.
None were as big, however, as his stop on Tom Wilson at the beginning of the second period.
Leading 1-0 and at the end of a power play, the Caps nearly doubled their lead in the first few seconds of the middle frame. John Carlson shot a puck in from the neutral zone hard against the back wall for Evgeny Kuznetsov to chase down. Kuznetsov was first to the puck and centered it in front for Wilson, who was wide-open on the opposite post and had plenty of net to work with.
He didn't plan on Vasilevskiy being able to slide over, however, and make an incredible glove stop to keep it a one-goal deficit for the Bolts.
It was the save of the game, and, more importantly, it gave the Lightning the spark they needed to overtake the Caps. The Lightning tied the game soon after when Alex Killorn finished off a good scoring chance down low set up by a cross-crease feed from Anthony Cirelli at 3:18 of the second period. The Bolts went into the lead for good a little more than five minutes later when Cirelli tapped in a rebound from in front on a 5-on-3 power play.
"That save was huge, especially at the start of the period," Brayden Point said. "That's a nice play they drew up. That's tough to defend, especially with those guys that can wheel like they do. That's an incredible save. Vasy comes over, he's so fast and he takes so much space away from guys. It's pretty remarkable to watch. That's a big save. He had a couple game-savers I thought tonight, and we were able to capitalize on some chances. It's a different game without Vasy in net for sure."
Cirelli, who matched a career high with three points on the night, said nothing surprises him with Vasilevskiy anymore.
"Just playing with him over the past couple of years, he's never out of the play," he said. "He's always there making a second effort to make a huge save for us. He's been our rock back there and you see each and every game he bails us out numerous times and I'm really happy to have him back there for us."
Vasilevskiy made his 300th career NHL start on Monday. And he collected career win No. 195. Only one other goalie in NHL history has recorded more wins by their 300th game.
That goalie?
Ken Dryden
And Dryden, with 196 wins, only had one more win than Vasilevskiy did by game 300.
That's pretty lofty company for the Big Cat to keep.
Saves like the one he made against Wilson are a big reason why he's there.

2. ERIK CERNAK HAS INCREDIBLE GUTS
Late in the opening period holding a 1-0 lead, the Caps went on the power play where they looked to feed their biggest weapon Alex Ovechkin.
Ovi only needs three more goals to tie Dave Andreychuk's NHL record of 274 power-play goals for the most in League history. He could have given the Capitals a two-goal lead on the power play right before the first intermission, which would have completely changed the complexion of Monday's game.
But Erik Cernak wasn't about to let him get closer to history on his watch.
Cernak stepped in front of an Ovechkin power-play blast and blocked it away, preventing it from reaching Vasilevskiy's net. The shot stung Cernak, who followed the puck behind the goal while shaking his wrist in pain.
Seconds later, the puck ended up back on the stick of Ovechkin in the left circle. Cernak was again the defender who found himself in front.
Cernak put his body - and his life - in the line of fire, blocking another Ovechkin blast away from danger.
Combined with Vasilevskiy's tremendous save on Wilson on the power-play carryover in the second period, the Caps weren't able to connect on that power play. The Lightning deficit remained just one goal.
"That's just incredible guts," Brayden Point said of Cernak's heroic effort. "That guy's putting his body on the line. I don't know how guys are able to do that. That's impressive. That's gutsy. That's selling out to win games for your team. He does that all the time. A lot of our guys do. A lot of our guys sell out like that. It just energizes the bench, man, seeing a guy sell out like that doing all he can to win games. It gives the group a huge, huge burst of energy."
That's also how you win hockey games according to Jon Cooper.
"It just takes so much courage because you know (Ovechkin's) not passing," Cooper said. "So, it's mano-y-mano in those situations. It was pivotal for us and courageous for him."
The maturation of Cernak's game is visible every time he takes the ice. In addition to those two pivotal blocked shots, he dished out a game-high six hits. Many of those were aimed in the direction of Tom Wilson, the Caps talented enforcer who makes his living getting under the skin of opponents.
On Monday, it was Cernak who frustrated Wilson all night by playing him physically on and off the puck. Wilson was so irate at the way he'd been manhandled by Cernak all night, at the final buzzer he chopped down with his stick on the wrists of Cernak in frustration, leading to a scuffle that didn't amount to much.
Cernak didn't have to retaliate. He'd completely neutralized Wilson, taking him out of the game and helping lead the Bolts to victory.
"Cerny does it all," Cirelli said.

3. YOUNGSTERS FINDING THEIR WAY
They needed a few games to get comfortable in the NHL, but Tampa Bay's rookies are making more and more of an impact each time they take the ice.
Alex Barre-Boulet continues to find the scoresheet since being reclaimed off waivers from the Kraken. He helped set up Anthony Cirelli's 5-on-3 power-play goal to grab the primary assist and extend his point streak to three games, the longest of his young career.
Barre-Boulet's injected a bit of skill and playmaking ability on a Lightning power play still trying to find its way after the loss of Nikita Kucherov. Barre-Boulet isn't Kucherov by any means, but his creativity is something sorely needed on the man-advantage right now. With more reps, he'll continue to grow into a more effective power-play producer.
The fact the coaching staff already trusts him enough to throw him on the top unit speaks volumes to the ability he has and has shown in his second stint with the Bolts.
Taylor Raddysh skated in his sixth-consecutive game and recorded his first NHL point after setting up Brayden Point's eventual game-winner.
After forcing a Capitals turnover in the neutral zone, Raddysh chipped a puck ahead for Point to skate onto. Having built up speed from the pass, Point was able to outrace a Caps defender on a strong drive to the net and deposited a puck under the blocker pad of Vitek Vanecek to extend Tampa Bay's lead to 3-1 at 2:56 of the third period.
Raddysh and Barre-Boulet have combined with the veteran Pierre-Edouard Bellemare over the last few games to form a fourth line that has been effectively each time it takes the ice and more impactful with every shift.
"They don't play a ton of minutes and they're just trying to find their way in the league," Cooper said. "You want them to help and not hurt, and the guys are helping. When you're doing that, it just gives them confidence of how they can play in this league. So, it's great when they get rewarded as well."