The Tampa Bay Lightning had three goals on Tuesday night. First, beat an Ottawa team that had gotten the best of them in their last two games. Second, find a way to score on Ottawa goaltender Curtis McElhinney, and finally, with a bit of help, punch their ticket to the postseason for the first time in four years.
Well, as the saying goes, “two out of three aint bad”; the Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators 5-2. Unfortunately for the Bolts, though, the Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in a shootout to prevent the Lightning from clinching, but the Lightning’s “magic number” to clinch a playoff spot is down to 2 points, and they can still clinch as soon as tomorrow with a regulation win by the Montreal Canadiens.
This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2011.