Facts and Figures: Lightning face challenge from Bruins, schedule

The Tampa Bay Lightning have picked a bad time to hit a pothole.
Two weeks ago, the Lightning looked like they might be headed for a runaway in the Atlantic Division. Their 5-2 win at the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 7 made them the first team with 30 victories; with 63 points, they were eight points ahead of second-place Boston in the division, eight in front of the Washington Capitals for the best record in the Eastern Conference and three ahead of the Western Conference-leading Vegas Golden Knights for first in the NHL. They were leading the NHL in scoring and had allowed the second-fewest goals in the NHL.

But since then, the offense has cooled off and the defense has sprung some leaks.
The Lightning held off the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 on Jan. 9, but were outscored 14-4 in their next three games, home losses to the Calgary Flames (5-1) and Golden Knights (4-1), and a 5-2 road loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was in goal for all four of those games (as well as a 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 6); in two weeks, his goals-against average has risen from 1.92 to 2.27, and his save percentage has dropped from .939 to .927.

No doubt Vasilevskiy misses defenseman Victor Hedman, who was injured in the loss to the Flames on Jan. 11 that will keep him out for at least another two weeks.
The Lightning's two big guns, forwards Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, have slowed down as well. Each has four points in Tampa Bay's past six games. Stamkos has gone eight games without a goal; Kucherov hasn't scored in four.
If the Lightning are going to find some answers, they'll have to do it on the road. The loss at Minnesota was the first of eight straight games away from home; not counting the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game next Sunday, the next time they'll take the ice at Amalie Arena is Feb. 8 against the Vancouver Canucks.

Bruins on roll

Worse for the Lightning is that their slump has coincided with a hot streak by the Bruins, who are 12-0-4 in their past 16 games and trail the Lightning by three points with a game in hand.
Boston hasn't lost in regulation since the Washington Capitals defeated them 5-3 at TD Garden on Dec. 14. Since then, they've allowed more than three goals only once (a 6-5 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 7). Nine of their 12 victories during the streak have been by three or more goals.
Perhaps most enjoyable for the Bruins and their fans is the fact that three of the wins came against their archrivals, the Montreal Canadiens. Boston won 4-3 in a shootout at Montreal on Jan.13, then earned 4-1 wins at home on Wednesday and at Montreal on Saturday. The Bruins have won five in a row against Montreal after losing 15 of 18 (3-13-2); they can sweep the season series with a win on March 3.

Saturday night's all right for winning

The New York Islanders missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season by one point, and one key reason was their struggles to win on Saturday. If they make the playoffs this season, one big reason will be their Saturday success.
The Islanders went 3-8-5 on Saturdays last season, negating their 38-21-7 record on the other six days of the week. This season has been the completed opposite: New York is 11-1-0 on Saturdays and 13-19-4 on the other six days of the week.
Even more impressive is that seven of the 11 games have come on the road, including wins at the San Jose Sharks (3-1 on Oct. 14), St. Louis Blues (5-2 on Nov. 11), the Lightning (5-3 on Nov. 18), New York Rangers (7-2 on Jan. 13) and Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 on Saturday). The only team to defeat the Islanders on Saturday is the Bruins, who won 3-1 at TD Garden on Dec. 9. The Islanders also defeated the Buffalo Sabres, Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets at home on Saturdays.

Out of nowhere

The win at Chicago on Saturday might have been the most surprising for the Islanders. They were 0-6-0 in their previous six games at United Center, where they hadn't won since March 15, 2009. Even more surprising was the hero: Ryan Pulock had a goal and four assists, becoming the first rookie defenseman in the NHL to have five points in a game since Andre Picard of the Philadelphia Flyers against the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 1, 2007. Pulock entered the game with nine points this season and 13 in his first 49 NHL games.