TAMPA, Fla. _ The shots came in succession, one after another like nearby waves in the Atlantic Ocean crashing into the shoreline.
But Wild goalie Alex Stalock didn't budge, not when the pucks sailed just wide of the goal, up over the top or right into him. He weathered the storm, keeping his teammates afloat until they jumped onboard to help.
Eventually, though, the Lightning struck _ once, twice and then again _ and with minimal time to recover, the late-game blow sunk the Wild, 3-0, Saturday at Amalie Arena to force them into the three-day holiday break amid a two-game slide that wrapped their four-game road trip 1-3.
Defenseman Dan Girardi resolved the goalie duel 17 minutes, 18 seconds into the third when he pinched, one-timing a feed by Stalock.
Just 52 second later, the Lightning added a second on a Tyler Johnson shot before winger Nikita Kucherov scored into an empty net at 19:07 to extend Tampa Bay's win streak on home ice to seven. Stalock finished with 28 saves, while Andrei Vasilevskiy had 22.
The Lightning were as-advertised, a dazzling display of speedy skating, slick shots and smooth setups _ characteristics that helped them pace the NHL in wins (25) and points (52) before facing the Wild amid the franchise's best start. But execution was lacking, a surprising development considering Tampa Bay entered the game with a league-high 128 goals.
Not long after puck drop, Stalock gloved a Steven Stamkos redirect, stopped a close call from center Cedric Paquette and turned aside a look from defenseman Dan Girardi. At one point, Tampa Bay was outshooting the Wild 10-1.
Overall, the Lightning put 12 pucks on net in the first period with another 16 missing the net or blocked _ a number that ballooned to 41 by the time the game ended.
Stalock's ability to withstand that early push was key, as the Lightning could have easily built a multi-goal cushion.
And amid Stalock's steadiness, the Wild slowly started to transition the action to the other end of the rink.
A pair of power plays helped the team earn back some momentum, even though it blanked on the two chances.
Actually, neither team ended up capitalizing with the man advantage _ another unexpected wash, as the Lightning boasts the league's best power play.
Tampa Bay went 0 for 6, which included 1:09 of 5-on-3 time that was snuffed out by the Wild amid two key shot blocks from defenseman Jonas Brodin and winger Daniel Winnik. As for the Wild, they were also 0 for 6 but they did generate 10 shots with the man advantage.
The second period was much of the same, with the Wild and Lightning taking turns applying pressure.
Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made his best save to date late in the second when he stopped forward Charlie Coyle twice in tight _ this just before winger Nikita Kucherov's one-timer caught a piece of the post.
And that's how the chances were split most of the night; nearly all of the Lightning's shots looked like they could be destined for the back of the net, while the quality of the Wild's looks was hit-or-miss.
Yet there they were, tied with the NHL's gold standard with just one period to go _ an encouraging spot after the team wasted a third-period lead the night before en route to a 4-2 loss to the Panthers, but a position it couldn't capitalize on to avoid going into the break in a rut.
