Lightning 4 Coyotes 1 (NHL)

[swamprat]

Tampa Bay locked up the Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference home ice, and President's Trophy last night in Amalie Arena.

 

In the first period, Steven Stamkos scored his 384th goal of his career, bypassing Vinny Lecavalier for most goals scored in franchise history and tied the game 1-1.

 

The Victor Hedman gave the Bolts the lead 44 second into the third.

 

With 1:39 to go in the game, Stamkos almost made a tragic error by throwing the puck over the glass and getting a delay of game penalty. Arizona had already pulled their goalie so went on a 6 on 4 power play. However, instead of taking advantage of the situation and tying the score, the Coyotes gave up 2 short handed goals, one to Anthony Cirelli and the other to Yanni Gourde to set the final score.

 

Winning the President's Trophy gives the Lightning home ice throughout the playoffs. It should be noted that in the 32 years the President's Trophy has been awarded, only 8 teams that have won it have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. The Bolts still have a lot of work to do.

[Run To State]

Pretty cool that Rick Tocchet was there as Arizona's head coach for the record setting goal. Tocchet was the Lightning's head coach when Stamkos scored his first NHL goal on October 30th, 2008 in Buffalo.

[swamprat]

The 1995/96 Detroit Red Wings, who hold the record for the most wins in a season and had 131 points that year, did not win the Stanley Cup. They did not even make the finals, losing to Colorado in the Conference Finals.

[Run To State]

The 1995/96 Detroit Red Wings, who hold the record for the most wins in a season and had 131 points that year, did not win the Stanley Cup. They did not even make the finals, losing to Colorado in the Conference Finals.

 

Just goes to show how tough it is to win the Stanley Cup!

[swamprat]

The Bolts end up having a brutal end of season schedule. In their last 9 games, they only play 1 team that is not fighting for a playoff spot. They play Washington twice and Boston twice. They end the season on a 4 game road trip that ends at Toronto and Boston.