There was little concern the Tampa Bay Lightning would let Thursday’s loss in Colorado carry into Friday night’s matchup at Arizona.
Tampa Bay responded early, completely reversing what had been a disappointing 10-minute start against the Avalanche, in a 4-3 win over the Coyotes at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
Here are three things we learned from the win:
—Bouncing back
The Lightning continue to respond well after a loss, especially in back-to-back games. Tampa Bay is 5-0-1 in the second half of back-to-backs this season, with three of those wins coming with backup goaltender Brian Elliott (16 saves) in net.
The Lightning offense hummed from the start against the Coyotes. And it never hurts when Brayden Point has the puck in open ice.
Slightly more than three minutes into the game, Point grabbed the puck along the boards in the Lightning zone and raced down the middle of the ice toward Karel Vejmelka. He fired a shot from the top of the right circle, beating the Arizona goaltender gloveside to give the Lightning a quick 1-0 lead.
After being outshot 13-1 and allowing two goals in the first 6:39 against Colorado, Tampa Bay had five shots on goal by the time Point opened the scoring.
—Raddysh showing growth at NHL level
The Lightning have needed depth on the back end all season, with defensemen racking up injuries like they’re minutes on the ice.
Darren Raddysh, recalled from AHL Syracuse on Tuesday, added to that depth the past two games, eating up a combined 19:49 of ice time while skating with his younger brother, Taylor, for the first time at the NHL level.
Darren Raddysh on Friday delivered one hit and blocked one shot to finish plus-1 in 9:06 while skating alongside Cal Foote.
“He’s smart about what he does,” Lightning TV analyst Brian Engblom said during Friday’s broadcast. “Keeps the game real simple.”
Still, with coach Jon Cooper saying that defenseman Erik Cernak could return as early as Tuesday, when the Lightning play in New Jersey, it’s unlikely Raddysh’s stint will extend beyond Friday’s game.
—Katchouk is odd man out
Lightning forward Boris Katchouk sat out for the second straight game.
With Nikita Kucherov returning Thursday after missing the final three games before the All-Star break after entering COVID-19 protocol, Katchouk seems to be the odd man out when Tampa Bay has a full slate of healthy forwards.
The Lightning has struggled through injuries on both sides of the puck, with Kucherov missing 32 games earlier in the season with a lower-body injury and Point missing 14 with an upper-body injury.
Katchouk, who has skated on the fourth line with fellow rookie Taylor Raddysh and second-year player Ross Colton, has played in 36 games, scoring twice and logging four assists.
