The Tampa Bay Lightning played as if it is running short of time. Which, in a way, it is.
Entering its final 10 games, the Lightning clobbered the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night, 6-2, in one of its easiest wins of the year.
โWe have 10 games left, and we’re not going to waste any of them,โ said reserve Eric Condra.
In fact, it was Condra who led the way for Tampa Bay, scoring twice. That’s not bad when you consider that Condra had scored only three times all year coming into the game. Condra has been the only newcomer to the Lightning this year, and as such, has sat out 28 times. That’s a vexing position to be in.
But Condra scored twice โ coach Jon Cooper said it could have been five times โ and led the Lightning to one of its highest-scoring victories of the year. Vlad Namestikov, Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat also scored. For the night, the Lightning scored the first three goals of the game and the last three.
Tampa Bay held a 3-0 lead against the Red Wings, but then surrendered two goals. This time, unlike against Dallas, the team did not panic and pulled back ahead on a five-on-three power play.
Goaltender Ben Bishop won his 31st game of the year, stopping 23 of 25 shots.
โIt’s tough when you aren’t always in,โ Condra said. โYou can play well, but the next night, someone else is in there. This is how I want to play.โ
The Bolts plays the Islanders on Friday night.
