TAMPA, Fla. _ Steven Stamkos knows when to hold them and when to fold them, ahem, pass them. The Lightning center showed off those instincts Wednesday night with a four-point game.
"He was above, he was skating, he was winning puck battles all over the ice," coach Jon Cooper said of Stamkos after Wednesday's 7-3 win over Florida.
First, Stamkos showed when to pass. Yanni Gourde fed a pass over to Stamkos and the puck rolled on his stick. Stamkos knew Florida goalie Robert Luongo had had time to react, so he sent the puck back to Gourde at the back door. Goal 2:37 into the second period to put the Lightning ahead 3-1.
"Finding me back door was a great play," Gourde said. "He sees the ice so well. You can tell on all the goals tonight, he made great passes around me. He made amazing plays tonight."
Later, Stamkos showed when to hold. Just 1:30 into the third period, Stamkos got the puck to Luongo's right while, Nikita Kucherov cleared Mark Pysyk out from in front of the net. That gave Stamkos space to skate across the net, holding the puck for an extra count to tuck it inside the post for a 5-2 Lightning lead.
"I knew I had plenty of time, so you just try to wait the guy out there," he said. "I just wanted to make sure I put it in."
He didn't have one on Wednesday, but on many occasions, Stamkos has shown a sense for when to rip a one-timer (often from near the faceoff dot) to beat a goalie.
It's no surprise Stamkos is a good offensive player with a sense for when to do what but where does it come from? He says its as simple as trusting your instincts.
"There's different demands on you (depending on who you're playing with)," Cooper said. "He just adapts and that's what makes great players great."
Stamkos added assists on the Lighting's sixth goal (Ryan McDonagh) and seventh goal (Dan Girardi).
