The Tampa Bay Lightning entered play Wednesday night in desperate need of a win. The only team in the NHL that may have needed a win more was the opposing New York Islanders. Even though it wasn't pretty, the Lightning got the job done, defeating the Isles 4-2 behind a huge goaltending effort by Dan Ellis.
The Bolts jumped out to a late first-period lead when Steven Stamkos scored on a rebound in front, just 0.3 seconds ahead of the final horn. After league officials reviewed the goal, it was determined that Stamkos did in fact beat the buzzer for his 16th goal of the year. For the Lightning, it was also somewhat of a milestone goal, being the 3600th goal scored in franchise history. This was the good start the Lightning needed, out-shooting the Islanders 19-11 in the first period.
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2010.