The season series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Atlanta Thrashers this year was the equivalent of Wile E. Coyote chasing the elusive Roadrunner. On this night, the Thrashers, playing the part of the Coyote, fell off the cliff before they knew what happened to them, and the Tampa Bay Lightning rolled to an easy 7-1 victory, sweeping the season series by winning the sixth and final match-up.
After a quiet first period that saw the teams put a combined 27 shots on goal – but neither team scoring – the Lightning opened the floodgates in the second. Nate Thompson got the Lightning on the board with a short-handed goal – the Lightning's first of the season – to give the Bolts the lead. For Thompson, the unassisted goal was his seventh of the year.
This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2011.