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 The line of center Tyler Johnson, left winger Ondrej Palat and
right winger Nikita Kucherov produced the go-ahead goal and an
insurance marker as part of a dominant, four-goal second period.
"Every night they do something that makes you go 'wow' and it seems
like they only get better every game," Lightning goalie Ben Bishop
said. "They feed off each other so well and they know what each
other is going to do before they do it."
Johnson and Kucherov lit the lamp for Tampa along with center Steven
Stamkos and defenseman Anton Stralman, who also notched an assist.
Palat contributed two helpers.
Left winger Patrick Maroon scored for Anaheim.
In a battle of U.S.-born netminders, Tampa's Bishop made 24 of 25
saves while Anaheim's John Gibson stopped 28 of 32 shots.
The Ducks were missing starting goalie Frederik Andersen, left
winger Matt Beleskey and two of their top defensemen, Sami Vatanen
and Hampus Lindholm, the latter three of whom all competed in their
previous game.
 They are no strangers to second-period struggles, having produced
several stinkers, including being bombed 5-0 in a Jan. 29 loss to
San Jose that snapped a six-game winning streak.
"We might be the worst differential team in the second period in the
league right now," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It's something
we have to address and find a cure for."
Anaheim opened the scoring 4:17 into the game. Maroon started the
sequence by knocking puck loose on the forecheck and finished it by
swiping in a Rickard Rakell rebound for his seventh goal of the
season.
Tampa tied the score at 4:31 of the second period when, after a
keep-in at the blue line, center Brian Boyle sent a long shot in
that was redirected home by Stralman. It was the defenseman's fourth
goal of the season.
They quickly took their first lead of the game, scoring 1:24 later
as Palat found Johnson on the backdoor for a tap into the open net.
Johnson's goal total moved to 22 for the season.
The Lightning outshot the Ducks 14-2 in the first 10 minutes of the
second stanza.
"I think that was one of our better periods of the year in the
second; we really dictated the play," Stamkos said.
Maroon and left winger Rene Bourque each had breakaway opportunities
in the middle frame, and both players missed the net entirely.
"I knew in my mind when we missed them that they could come back to
haunt us and they did," Boudreau said.
[to top of second column] |
Tampa took a commanding lead, striking twice in the final 1:55 of
the period. At 18:05, it was Kucherov poking in a loose puck under
Gibson's pads for the 22nd goal of his campaign.
With 20 seconds left in the period, another backdoor play saw left
winger Alex Killorn set up Stamkos for a one-timer into an empty
net. The goal was Stamkos' team-leading 31st of the season.
"That's a big goal, it's one thing to be up two but to be up three
you can breathe a little bit easier," Stamkos said.
A scoreless third period was punctuated by a minor scuffle between
the two sides after Anaheim left winger Devante Smith-Pelly roughed
up defenseman Victor Hedman in front of the net.
The Ducks are losers of five of their last six games, putting
aspirations of the West's top seed and the Presidents' Trophy in
jeopardy.
"We're not sitting there thinking 'we played a pretty good game, why
didn't we win?'" Ducks defenseman Ben Lovejoy said. "We know how
we've played. We're not proud of it."
NOTES: Anaheim went with G John Gibson in net for a third straight
game, however G Frederik Andersen (neck) participated in the morning
skate and may travel on the team's upcoming two-game road trip. ...
The Ducks recalled D Josh Manson and RW Emerson Etem from their AHL
affiliate in Norfolk, Va. Etem dressed in place of RW Tim Jackman.
... The Ducks were without LW Matt Beleskey (upper body), who will
be sidelined two to four weeks. D Sami Vatanen (lower body) was also
out of action and will be for the next four to six weeks. Both
players were injured Sunday against Washington. Manson drew in for
Vatanen, and LW Rene Bourque took Beleskey's spot. ... Anaheim D
Hampus Lindholm (ankle) did not play and was replaced by D Eric
Brewer ... The Lightning were once again without D Matt Carle
(abdomen) and D Radko Gudas (knee). Neither is expected to return
this month.
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