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Lightning-Jets: Andrei Vasilevskiy shows off some puck skills

Fans wouldn't mind seeing seven of these games in June. Steven Stamkos closes in on Martin St. Louis
 
Published Dec. 17, 2018|Updated Dec. 17, 2018

WINNIPEG—The Lightning may have lost on Sunday, but the team had some variety on the scoresheet. Four players scored the four goals and eight had points. Even goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy got in on the action.

It was on the power play. The Jets dumped the puck and went for a full line change, something Vasilevskiy could see better than the skaters coming toward him. So he left the net and came out all the way to the faceoff dot.

When the skaters saw the goalie come out, they changed directions. That meant not only did Vasilevskiy play the puck, he played it all the way up to Ondrej Palat at the offensive blue line. Killorn streaked into the zone and got behind everyone to score top shelf.

Vasilevskiy wasn't great with the puck when he came into the league, and his juxtaposition to Ben Bishop (who is excellent with the puck) didn't help him. He's made a lot of improvement over the past couple of years.

"It's something you work on," Killorn said. "Especially when you have a goalie like Louis (Domingue), who plays it so well, you can emulate him or work with him. He's been great this year."

Odds and ends from the Lightning's loss:

This was a fun back-and-forth game. It wasn't the prettiest of hockey at times, but it was always exciting. I wouldn't mind seeing seven of these in June … and that's the third game we've said that after. First it was the 1-0 win in Colorado, then the 4-1 loss to Nashville (a game the Lightning put 43 shots on a great goalie in Pekka Rinne).

The Jets have fared well against the Lightning. Winnipeg has a point in seven of its last eight games against Tampa Bay (4-1-3). Those games have mostly been high-scoring. The Lightning has four or more goals in eight of its last nine against the Jets.

Whispers from the ice. Bell MTS Place has a feature this reporter hasn't seen yet: the ice is mic'd up. There are microphones placed on the glass in a couple places, so you hear the skating sounds. It's kind of cool, and a little odd.

Back to those four goal scorers. Killorn, Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning. Stamkos had a one-timer from above the circle (a little above his sweet spot). Johnson picked up a loose puck in the slot to score. Kucherov snuck one in a tiny gap, banking it of goalie Connor Hellebuyck's arm.

While we're talking about Stamkos … He's one goal away from tying Martin St. Louis for second most goals in Lightning history at 365. That's a lot of goals.

Vasilevskiy saw a lot of action … again. In two games back from a month of injury, Vasilevskiy has now seen 91 shots. He's made 85 saves on all those shots, but it'd still be good to give him a little less work.

For more on the Lightning:

Jets end Lightning's win streak in overtime

Anton Stralman returns to play Winnipeg

What does Stralman's return mean for Erik Cernak?

Mathieu Jospeh put on IR