Thanks to an incredibly solid team-wide performance, the Tampa Bay Lightning managed to extend their record to an impressive 8-1-1 last night with a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. With two of the goals coming with the Nashville goalie pulled, the game was actually much closer than the scoreboard might suggest. Here are last night’s thumbs:

Thumbs Up: The Overall Team Performance
Looking at the Lightning’s underlying numbers last night, it’s quite clear that this was a near-perfect team performance. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Lightning generated 62.67% of the five-on-five shot attempts and 74.19% of the five-on-five expected goals. They did a phenomenal job of essentially giving the Predators nothing.

Thumbs Up: Curtis McElhinney’s Return to Action
After 11 months without playing in an NHL game, Curtis McElhinney returned to action and earned the victory. He wasn’t tested in a particularly significant way, thanks to the phenomenal work of the skaters in front of him, but he made the stops he needed to make and didn’t look at all rusty. When things were particularly tense in the third period and on the penalty kill, McElhinney was there to get the job done.

Thumbs Down: Penalty Trouble in the Third
This game was a lot closer than it should have been. Taking two penalties in the first-half of the third period in a 2-0 game opened the door for Nashville to make it even closer. Two minor penalties doesn't sound like a big deal, but situationally it felt like a concern. Discipline matters, especially in close games that a team deserves to win.

Thumbs Up: Anthony Cirelli’s Two-Goal Night
This victory doesn’t happen without Anthony Cirelli cashing in on two goals, including the game winner. The first was a bit of a knuckleball that beat Pekka Rinne from a bad angle, and the second was a fastball that got past Rinne from a similarly unfortunate part of the ice. Neither one screamed “goal scorer’s goal,” though they both counted just the same.

Thumbs Up: Stamkos Earns an Empty-Net Goal
With just two seconds left on the clock, Steven Stamkos scored the 4-1 goal to cap things off for his Lightning. While it won’t go down as one of the most impressive goals in Stamkos’ career, it might be one of the most deserving. The Captain was excellent for the Lightning on Monday night, using his speed to push the puck in the right direction on nearly every shift. That great work was reflected in his underlying numbers, which included five-on-five shot attempt and expected goal shares in the ~80% range.

Thumbs Up: The Makings of a Rivalry
It certainly seems like these two teams don’t like each other. A playoff series would be fun.

Thumbs Up: Mikhail Sergachev’s Play
Another player who really stood out last night was Mikhail Sergachev. It was Cirelli who was credited with the 2-0 goal, but Sergachev did all the work on that man-advantage opportunity to make it happen. When he’s moving his feet and has the puck on his stick, Sergachev is one of the most dynamic young defenders in the league. He was ‘on’ last night, both at even strength and on the power play. It’s crazy to think that the Bolts can run with Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Sergachev on three separate pairings whenever they so choose.

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We’ll see if the rivalry between the Lightning and Predators continues to develop, as the two teams are right back in action against each other later tonight.

As always, thanks for reading.

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