Tampa Bay 4, New Jersey 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 5, 2016
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees:
Jean Hebert, Brad Watson
Linesmen:
Derek Amell, Brad Kovachik
Attendance:
19092
By The Sports Xchange
TAMPA, Fla. -- Eight times in 12 games, the Tampa Bay Lightning allowed the first goal.
Nearly as often, though, the Lightning are rallying back as they did in a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at Amalie Arena.
"It's an issue. There's no question," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of his team's rough starts. "If Bish (goalie Ben Bishop) isn't being Bish, we're in trouble. He kept us in it and let our guys regroup in the second."
Bishop had 37 saves -- 18 in the third period -- and the Lightning (7-4-1) got a power-play goal from 20-year-old rookie Brayden Point to pull away in the third period.
"We had a good first period, and then we didn't play nearly well enough," Devils defenseman Ben Lovejoy said after New Jersey failed to pick up a point in the standings for the first time in six games. "We can't keep taking 10 minutes of penalties every game. Our special teams weren't special. We need to be better tomorrow night (at Carolina)."
Point's goal came on a redirect of a Nikita Kucherov shot in front of the goal, just four seconds into a power play in the third period. Point has been impressive in his first month in the league, but didn't get his first goal until Saturday.
"He made some unreal plays earlier in the game," said defenseman Victor Hedman, who also scored. "He was in the right area to get a stick on it. It's the first of many for that guy and we're very happy for him."
The Lightning scored power-play goals in four straight games and six total in those contests, this after recording seven in the first eight games of the season.
New Jersey took the lead on a goal by Damon Severson with 5:21 left in the first period on a rebound from a shot by Taylor Hall, who had stolen the puck from Lightning forward Ondrej Palat deep in the Tampa Bay zone.
The goal was Severson's second of the season as Bishop otherwise made 19 saves in the first two periods.
Tampa Bay tied it early in the second period as Brian Boyle scored his third goal of the season on a pass from Hedman to beat Devils goalie Cory Schneider with 17:35 left.
The Lightning just missed a go-ahead goal when Kucherov had a shot bounce off the post and bounce on the goal line without passing into the net.
Hedman gave the Lightning the lead, firing a long shot past Schneider with 11:33 lead for a 2-1 lead on his third goal of the season.
The Lightning dominated the second period, not only with the 2-0 margin on the scoreboard but outshooting the Devils 21-8 after trailing 12-8 in the first period.
Schneider gave up four goals, but still made 31 saves and kept New Jersey within a goal until the final period.
"Cory continues to be just stellar," Lovejoy said. "He's been our best player all year. We wouldn't be in position to win games without what he's doing right now."
NOTES: Lightning LW Jonathan Drouin missed his second straight game after taking a hit to the head in Tuesday's win against the New York Islanders. D Nikita Nesterov was also scratched. ... New Jersey had three healthy scratches in LW Reid Boucher, C Jacob Josefson and D Vojtech Mozik, who was called up this week. ... The Lightning go back on the road Monday to face the Florida Panthers before returning home for two against the Islanders and San Jose Sharks. ... The Devils' next two are a home-and-home series against the Carolina Hurricanes, with a back-to-back game on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C., and a home game Tuesday.
Top Game Performances
| New Jersey |
|
Tampa Bay |
|
Damon Severson 1 |
Points |
Victor Hedman 2 |
|
Damon Severson 1 |
Goals |
Victor Hedman 1 |
|
Taylor Hall 1 |
Assists |
Victor Hedman 1 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Brayden Point 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Cory Schneider .886 |
Save Percentage |
Ben Bishop .974 |
|
Cory Schneider 31 |
Saves |
Ben Bishop 37 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| New Jersey
|
38 |
1 |
0-4 |
3-4 |
10 |
34 |
| Tampa Bay
|
35 |
4 |
1-4 |
4-4 |
10 |
38 |
Upcoming Games
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Lightning have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .600 after a loss.
-
New Jersey will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Devils have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .500 after a loss.
For more information, contact us