Remarkable rookie season continues for Yanni Gourde

As far as playoff debuts go, it's hard to top the one Yanni Gourde had Thursday in Tampa Bay's Game 1 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal victory over the New Jersey Devils at AMALIE Arena.
Gourde scored a power-play goal early in the second period that proved to be the game-winning tally and added an assist on Alex Killorn's hugely-important fourth goal that extended the Bolts' lead back to two goals and stemmed the momentum New Jersey had built from cutting its deficit to 3-2. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Gourde became one of just two Lightning players all-time to record multiple points in his playoff debut, joining Killorn, who accomplished the feat in Game 1 of a 2014 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup versus Montreal.
Gourde was a catalyst for the Lightning's 5-2 victory over the Devils.
But he could have been the goat had the Bolts not prevailed.

Early in the game, Gourde led a 2-on-1 rush into the offensive zone with Killorn, and, the Devils defenseman taking the pass to Killorn away, Gourde went for it. He deked New Jersey goaltender Keith Kinkaid out of the goal and maneuvered around him to get an open net.
What looked like a sure goal however became heartbreak when Gourde whiffed on the shot, the puck sliding past the outside of the post and the scoring chance lost.
Gourde could only shake his head as he skated back to the bench.
"There were a couple plays last night where I don't think there were any words that needed to be said to anybody except for a pat on the back and get back out there," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Friday following his team's practice session at AMALIE Arena in preparation for Saturday's Game 2. "It worked both ways for us, but that's what we really like about the group. Probably Gourdo's mad at himself for what happened, but nobody else was. We always say, you're going to get scoring chances, they're not all going to go in, but there's a reason you got that scoring chance. You put yourself in a position to succeed. That's what you keep telling the guys, 'Just keep doing that.'"
Like the regular season, Gourde's tenacity in Game 1 never wavered despite the temporary setback. Early in the second period with Tampa Bay on its first and only power play of the game, a shot from the point by Mikhail Sergachev caromed off the back wall and ricocheted in front of the net, bouncing off a skate and across the crease to a wide-open Gourde on the back post, who calmly buried the opportunistic scoring chance this go-round.

"It's hockey," Gourde said with a smile following the game. "It's going to happen. I'm going to miss open nets, and I'm going to score a bad goal that shouldn't have went in. It's hockey. Sometimes it just doesn't bounce your way, sometimes it does. I just stuck with it. This is playoff hockey. We've just got to keep working, keep battling. You can't just look at one shift and be mad at yourself because you missed one chance. You've just got to go out there the very next shift and make it work again."
Later in the game with the Lightning clinging to a 3-2 lead, Gourde blocked a pass at the point and led a 3-on-2 down the left wing with Killorn and Anthony Cirelli. Gourde dished into the middle of the ice for the trailing Killorn, and Killorn wristed a shot high over the glove of Kinkaid with Cirelli providing a screen in front to effectively squelch the Devils' comeback attempt.
"I thought the way the game played out and the way that line played, they got rewarded for Killorn's goal in the third period," Cooper said of the Killorn-Cirelli-Gourde line. "That was all the hard work, all the chances they generated, they got rewarded for that and it was a huge goal for us."
Added Ondrej Palat Thursday night: "They were our best line. They were all over."

Gourde's journey to reach the NHL and earn a role as a key contributor in his rookie season for a Lightning team with Stanley Cup aspirations has been well documented but is worth repeating just because it encompasses the never-give-up attitude Gourde displays every shift on the ice. Gourde went undrafted despite being nominated in 2012 for the Michel-Briere trophy, given annually to the most valuable player in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after averaging nearly two points a game with 124 points in 68 games for Victoriaville. He played 38 games in the ECHL between San Francisco and Kalamazoo, saw time with the San Jose Sharks' AHL affiliate in Worcester before agreeing to terms with the Lightning on March 9, 2014 and joining the Syracuse Crunch. His first full season in Syracuse in 2014-15, Gourde led the Crunch for goals (29) and ranked second for scoring (57 pts.). He made his NHL debut with the Lightning in 2015-16, skating two games total, and was brought up for the Bolts' playoff push near the end of 2016-17, contributing six goals and eight points in 20 games before rejoining Syracuse and leading the Crunch to the Calder Cup Finals.
Building off the confidence of his late season callup with the Lightning and his AHL playoff success, Gourde made the Bolts roster out of training camp to start 2017-18 and put together the finest season in Tampa Bay rookie history, scoring a franchise record 25 goals and tallying 64 points, another franchise best.
As he stood in the tunnel prior to Game 1 waiting to step on NHL playoff ice for the first time, the entrance music blaring from the arena sound system and the fans up on the feet pounding their rally drums to create a deafening den inside Amalie, Gourde admitted to being a bit nervous.
Who wouldn't be?
At 26 years old, Gourde had waited longer than the typical rookie to reach this level. Undoubtedly, those jitters played some role in his early miss.
"The fans are amazing in this building, and they showed that last night," Gourde said Friday. "For me, it was a bit nerve-wracking before going on the ice, but after my first shift, all the nerves went away. At the end of the day, you're just playing hockey and trying to have fun with it and go out there and try to do the best you can to help your team win. Our fans were electric last night. It was pretty fun to be on the ice while they were cheering."
That's the thing, Gourde regularly hears cheers when he's on the ice because he's usually helping set up or finishing a scoring opportunity.
And despite an early hiccup, that was the case again Thursday in Gourde's playoff debut.