Tampa Bay 2, Vancouver 1
When: 10:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 13, 2022
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia
Referees:
Garrett Rank, Ian Walsh
Linesmen:
James Tobias, Mitch Hunt
Attendance:
18760
By Field Level Media
Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman and Ross Colton scored early first-period goals, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made them stand up with 35 saves as the Lightning edged the host Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on Sunday night.
Hedman and Colton both found the net in just over five minutes of play in the teams' second meeting -- the first a 4-2 Lightning home win on Jan. 13.
After losing three of four starts dating back to March 3, Vasilevskiy improved to 31-11-4 by allowing only J.T. Miller's goal in the third period.
The win was the Lightning's sixth in the past seven games against Vancouver and fourth straight overall. They improved to 7-1-0 in the second half of back-to-back matches.
Tampa Bay is 10-3-1 against the Pacific Division and 17-6-3 versus the Western Conference.
Miller extended his point streak to 12 games with the marker for Vancouver, which is 1-1-1 on its second seven-game homestand and has dropped two straight contests (0-1-1).
Thatcher Demko recorded 29 saves, and Conor Garland and Tanner Pearson dished out assists.
After a tough 4-1 loss in Edmonton Saturday night, the Lightning struck fast against Demko and the Canucks, getting on the board twice in the game's first 5:06.
Hedman opened the scoring by finishing off a drop-pass by Pat Maroon, who skated behind Demko and slid the puck back to the defenseman. Hedman's marker was his 15th, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also had an assist.
Corey Perry's forecheck and steal led to Colton's one-timer -- his 11th tally -- as the Lightning recorded 13 of the match's first 14 shots on goal.
In the final minute of the frame, Steven Stamkos netted a goal, but Vancouver challenged that the Lightning captain was offside. The review proved he was, and the goal was overturned.
Pushing for a wild-card berth, Vancouver stepped up its game in the second period and peppered Vasilevskiy with 14 shots but could not beat the netminder.
In a strange play in the third period, Miller scored while alone in front of Vasilevskiy when the Lightning thought the play should have been halted due to icing.
With 1:10 remaining in regulation, Vancouver pulled Demko for the extra skater but failed to produce a good scoring chance as the Lightning held on for the victory, which snapped their three-game losing streak.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Tampa Bay |
|
Vancouver |
Ross Colton 1 |
Points |
J.T. Miller 1 |
Ross Colton 1 |
Goals |
J.T. Miller 1 |
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 1 |
Assists |
Conor Garland 1 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Andrei Vasilevskiy .972 |
Save Percentage |
Thatcher Demko .935 |
Andrei Vasilevskiy 35 |
Saves |
Thatcher Demko 29 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Tampa Bay
|
31 |
2 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
6 |
28 |
Vancouver
|
36 |
1 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
6 |
27 |
Upcoming Games
-
Vancouver will play their next game at home against New Jersey. The Canucks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Seattle. The Lightning have a W/L % of .611 after a win and .667 after a loss.