Saturday, November 5, 2011

Bolts comeback to beat Hawks in OT thiller

The Lightning defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 in overtime in an exciting Friday night match-up.

While the first and third periods saw zero scoring from each team, they score 4 goals apiece in the second period. The Lightning's scoring included Brett Connolly's second goal of his career, and the 4th career hat trick, the second versus Chicago, for Steven Stamkos. The Blackhawks had been up 4-2 at one point, scoring 3 goals within 1:05, but the Bolts were able to battle back with Stamkos' second and third goals on the night to tie the game. With no goals in the third period, the game went into overtime, and with less than a minute left until a shootout plagued the Lightning again, Marc-Andre Bergeron made a fantastic steal to keep the puck in the offensive zone, followed by a heads-up pass to Marty St. Louis, and Vinny Lecavalier would sink St. Louis' subsequent pass into the back of the wide-open net for the game winning goal.

At this point in the season, Bergeron has probably the team's MVP. Although Stamkos is now tied for second in the league with 9 goals on the year, Bergeron is tied for sixth in the league in points, first among defensemen, and has 13 assists, which is tied for the league lead. And while he has typically been classified as an offensive-minded defenseman, MAB has been one of the most consistent performers in defense this year, making smart decisions and some great plays, such as the steal that set up Lecavalier's game winner.

No comments:

Post a Comment