When the Tampa Bay Lightning took the ice against the Minnesota Wild Saturday afternoon, it probably would not have surprised many if it took them some time to get going. After all, they had just wrapped up a playoff spot less than 48 hours before, and played an emotional game against who many believe to be their first round opponent, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not to mention the lack of success the Lightning have had historically in that building, sporting a 1-4 record previously. All the ingredients for a letdown game appeared to be in place.
But this team had something to say about that; they beat the Wild 3-1 in a very impressive road effort taking their winning streak to four straight games.
The Wild got off to a quick start in this one, when Pierre-Marc Bouchard beat Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson after he'd made the save on a Kyle Brodziak shot. The puck deflected right to Bouchard before defenseman Mike Lundin could tie him up. For Bouchard, it was his 11th goal of the year. Other than that one setback, it was a decent road period for the Lightning, who controlled the play for the most part, regardless of being out-shot 9-8 going into the first intermission.
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2011.