TAMPA, Fla. _ The Lightning didn't need a track meet to beat Winnipeg this time around. Tampa Bay started 94 seconds in and didn't let up, beating the Jets 5-2 on Tuesday night.
Yanni Gourde scored opened the scoring. Dan Girardi passed off the puck to Ondrej Palat, who made an outlet pass to Gourde just beyond the blue line into the attack zone. Gourde ended up one-on-one with Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck, swiping the puck just past the goalie's right shoulder and into the back of the net.
Mathieu Joseph made quick work with his feet as he moved the puck back into position. He passed it off between two Winnipeg players just in Adam Erne's line of sight. The Lightning forward took a swift one-timer, putting the puck into the back of the net and notching his seventh goal on the season and first goal of 2019.
It had been Steven Stamkos' longest goal-drought of the season without notching a goal (six games). That stint finally came to a close Tuesday night with a signature one-timer from the faceoff circle.
Cedric Paquette was drifting away from the play when the puck came loose. He rounded his body around the puck before taking a shot on net, notching his 10th goal of the season and bringing up the Lightning 4-1.
Brayden Point scored his 19th power-play goal of the season. Point received a pass from behind the net from Nitita Kucherov before taking a quick shot just in front of the crease. He leads Tampa Bay with 37 goals.
