Gourde, Raddysh Lead Lightning Into Stadium Series Weekend With Win Over Jets
- Mike Smith
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports
Yanni Gourde and Darren Raddysh both scored and added two assists on Thursday night as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Winnipeg Jets, 4-1. The win brought the Bolts' record over the last 18 games to 16-1-1 and kept them pacing a two-point lead over Detroit in the Atlantic Division.
Dominic James opened the scoring for the Lightning at 14:58 of the first period when J.J. Moser found Raddysh streaking through the neutral zone. As Winnipeg's Elias Salomonsson challenged, Raddysh found James alone at the top of the left circle. Crashing the lane, James fired the puck between the pads of goalie Connor Hellebuyck to the back of the net.
Lightning Find Their Groove and Pull Away in the Second Period
The second period started quickly as Raddysh scored what would be the game-winning goal only 1:37 into the period. Gourde found Raddysh high at the blue line on an end-around pass from Zemgus Girgensons. Raddysh's slap shot was clocked at 98.9 mph as it cracked the back of the Winnipeg net.
Hellebuyck would look back as if he never saw the shot go by, and at that speed, one can not blame him.
Kyle Connor put Winnipeg on the board at 12:25 of the second period with a tip-in of a Dylan Samburg shot. From there, the Tampa Bay defense would stymie any scoring chance by the Jets. The Bolts held Winnipeg to eight shots in the second and four shots total in the third period.
Gourde would add an insurance goal at 15:17 of the second on a delayed penalty when Nikita Kucherov found him open in the slot for a deflection past Hellebuyck. For Gourde, this was the 12th three-point game of his career and the first since 2023.
Kucherov iced the game away late with an empty net goal with 1:08 remaining in regulation.
Vasilevskiy Continues to Dominate Between the Pipes
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy continued his dominance in net Thursday night, stopping 22 of 23 shots. The Russian phenom is 13-1 in his last 14 games, with a 1.85 goals against average (GAA) during that span.
Since his last loss on January 16th to St. Louis, Vasilevskiy has held his five opponents to less than a goal a game with a 0.80 GAA. The loss to St. Louis is the team's only since December 18th, when they lost at home to the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1.
When asked about the team's recent success, coach Jon Cooper emphasized the importance of both the team's play in front of the net and Vasilevskiy's command of the crease:
"We're not the perfect team by any means, but they know how to self-correct," Cooper said. "There are just consistent plays, and they're not shooting themselves in the foot, and that was a big part of why we were not having success early in the year."
"And when they do break down and (the other teams) breakaway, the Big Cat's there to stop it."
Tampa Bay Gears Up For Gasparilla and the Stadium Series Game
Since the NHL announced the Stadium Series game between the Lightning and the Boston Bruins last year, Cooper and the team have not said much about the upcoming spectacle at Raymond James Stadium.
The focus has been on the here and now, the present game at hand as the season progressed, then the next one on the schedule. Now that the Stadium Series game is next on the schedule, Cooper opened up on his thoughts going into the weekend.
"It's going to be great. It'll be great for this city," Cooper said. "Especially the celebration of Gasparilla. It's just once a year, and it's so much fun."
"And then be capped off with an outdoor game that, quite frankly, I think is going to be magical. Especially with the way the weather is, with a true outdoor game in the open air."
Three Stars of the Game
Darren Raddysh, Tampa Bay. One goal and two assists for three points. Raddysh continues to make a name for himself this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay. Stopped 22 of 23 shots Thursday night. In the past seven days, Vasilevskiy has saved 68 of 70 shots, including a shutout win on Monday against Utah.
Yanni Gourde, Tampa Bay. A goal and two assists. He leads by far one of the toughest lines in the NHL right now.
Up Next
Sunday is the game everyone has been waiting for since it was announced last year: The Stadium Series! The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium. Game time is at 6:30 pm.
Comments