The Lightning bounced back after a three-game losing streak and grabbed two points on their last game of a Central Division road trip with a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Victor Hedman had a goal and an assist in the victory, and Mikhail Sergachev scored his first goal of the year.
With the Bolt’s strong forecheck, Jonas Johansson only faced 15 shots, saving 13 of them.
The Bolts are back home on Saturday for a matinee matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
CHI 1, TBL 0
12:59 Lukas Reichel (1) – Philipp Kurashev, Kevin Korchinski - PPG
Mikhail Sergachev was sent to the penalty box for boarding Philipp Kersashev. Lukas Reichel was in the middle of the ice for the Blackhawks power play and he was able to redirect Philipp Kurashev’s heads-up shot on goal to strike first.
2nd Period
TBL 1, CHI 1
4:40 Brayden Point (7) – Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov - PPG
Wyatt Kaiser tried to shoot the puck off the glass, but instead deflected into the crowd which led to a delay of game penalty. Victor Hedman set up at the blue line and ripped one towards the net. Brayden Point in the bumper redirected Hedman’s shot just above the glove of Petr Mrazek putting the Bolts on the board and ending their goal drought.
TBL 2, CHI 1
9:01 Mikhail Sergachev (1) – Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos
Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point were able to keep the puck in the offensive zone with the forecheck. Point along the boards passed the puck back to Sergachev at the point and his one-timer beat Petr Mrazek giving the Bolts their first lead of the night.
3rd Period
TBL 2, CHI 2
2:09 Corey Perry (4) – Jason Dickinson, Boris Katchouk
Nikita Kucherov’s one-timer attempt led to Blackhawks possession early in the final period of regulation. On the rush, Corey Perry passed the puck to Boris Katchouk for some help as he set himself up in the Bolts crease. Katchouk passed it back wide and Jason Dickinson got the final redirect towards Perry as he tapped it into the Tampa Bay net.
TBL 3, CHI 2
11:53 Victor Hedman (4) – Erik Cernak, Brayden Point
After the Blackhawks struggled on the forecheck, the puck remained in the offensive zone. Through traffic, Erik Cernak slammed a shot towards the Blackhawk’s net which hit the backboard. Victor Hedman who was set up to the right of the Chicago net grabbed the bounce off the backboard and tapped the puck past Petr Mrazek.
TBL 4, CHI 2
19:11 Brandon Hagel (8) – Mikhail Sergachev
Just a few seconds after Chicago pulled Petr Mrazek for the extra attacker in hopes to even the scoring, Brandon Hagel chased the puck down center ice and scored on the empty net giving Tampa Bay the game winner.
