Tampa Bay 2, Arizona 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees:
Jean Hebert, Frederic L'Ecuyer
Linesmen:
Darren Gibbs, Devin Berg
Attendance:
19092
By The Sports Xchange
TAMPA, Fla. -- Cedric Paquette is perhaps better known for fearlessly blocking shots than taking them, but his defense led to an unlikely goal Tuesday.
Pacquette scored a short-handed goal on a penalty shot, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes at Amalie Arena.
"I don't have many moves," Paquette joked after finding the top left corner to beat goalie Louis Domingue for what ended up being the winning goal. "I had the one in my head, and I thought the goalie bit on it, so I put it in back there. I don't know if I've had (a penalty shot) in my life."
The Lightning (34-22-4) won their fourth consecutive game.
Paquette's goal came as Tampa Bay tried to kill off a double minor penalty. Paquette blocked a shot and took the loose puck for a breakaway, getting held in front of the goal to earn the penalty shot with 4.7 seconds left in the second period.
"Short-handed penalty shot, you don't see that too often -- it's good for him. He's played outstanding," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "You can't win without playing defense. ... We've been better at it. We're getting back to our roots a little bit."
Backup Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy took a shutout into the third period Tuesday as starter Ben Bishop got the night off.
Arizona (27-27-6) pulled within one in the final period, getting a goal from left winger Jordan Martinook, his eighth, with 15:54 left. He redirected a low shot from defenseman Michael Stone that caromed off Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman and into the net.
Vasilevskiy held on for his second win in a week, having been in net Thursday for a 6-5 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets. He stopped 29 Arizona shots, while Domingue had 34 saves in the losing effort.
"We got lots of tries, but we have to get some breaks. Our execution could always improve," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "I liked the way we pushed in the third period, came back, got it close. We just needed a break at the end. ... You need more than a try, you need results."
The Lightning gave up short-handed goals in each of the previous three games -- still winning them all -- but got one on their side at a key moment Tuesday.
Tampa Bay was assessed the double minor with 3:02 left when left winger Ondrej Palat was called for high-sticking, putting the Lightning's 1-0 lead in danger. However, Paquette came through to double the lead.
The Lightning had a 28-18 advantage in shots entering the third, making things easier for Vasilevskiy, who got the nod after Bishop worked both ends of a back-to-back over the weekend, winning both games.
Tampa Bay jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 12:38 of the first period when center Steven Stamkos scored his team-best 26th goal of the season. Stamkos poked in a rebound past Domingue off a shot from forward Alex Killorn, who picked up his 20th assist.
"We knew they were going to push hard early -- that's what you do coming off a back-to-back," said Tippett, whose team took a 3-2 loss at Washington the night before. "They threw a lot of pucks at the net, but Louis hung in there."
NOTES: The Lightning played a second consecutive game without RW Nikita Kucherov, the team's leader in points scored, who is sidelined with an upper-body injury. He could return for Friday's game at the New Jersey Devils. D Matt Taormina, called up from AHL Syracuse on Monday, was a healthy scratch. ... The Coyotes had two healthy scratches, D Nicklas Grossmann and D Jarred Tinordi. ... After Tuesday's home game, the Lightning are on the road for their next four, including another back-to-back on Sunday and Monday with games at the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, the latter on trade-deadline day. ... The Coyotes are two games into a five-game road trip on the East Coast, continuing Thursday at the Florida Panthers. ... Lightning C Valtteri Filppula played in his 700th career game Tuesday, while C Steven Stamkos played in his 552nd career game, matching Brad Richards for the fourth most in team history.
Top Game Performances
| Arizona |
|
Tampa Bay |
|
Jordan Martinook 1 |
Points |
Cedric Paquette 1 |
|
Jordan Martinook 1 |
Goals |
Cedric Paquette 1 |
|
Shane Doan 1 |
Assists |
Ryan Callahan 1 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
Cedric Paquette 1 |
|
Louis Domingue .944 |
Save Percentage |
Andrei Vasilevskiy .967 |
|
Louis Domingue 34 |
Saves |
Andrei Vasilevskiy 29 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Arizona
|
30 |
1 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
6 |
40 |
| Tampa Bay
|
36 |
2 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
6 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Lightning have a W/L % of .529 after a win and .615 after a loss.
-
Arizona will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .481 after a win and .424 after a loss.
For more information, contact us