The Lightning Refuse To Go Away

Stevie Nicks famously sang the line "Lightning strikes / maybe once, maybe twice." But on Tuesday night, Tampa Bay exceeded Ms. Nicks's expectations, lighting up the night with four goals as they beat the league-best Avalanche to extend their win streak to eight games.

It was tense and tight throughout, as the Bolts came back from a 2-1 deficit at the midpoint and could only exhale once they potted the empty netter. Jake Guentzel opened the scoring for the Lightning late in the first on the power play, when he had approximately one billion years to aim and fire from close range. The Avs responded in the second with a neat rebound goal and then a Brock Nelson softie. A depth Lightning who's taken on a slightly larger role this year—Zemgus "Big Z" Girgensons—knotted the score back up with a tap-in late in the second. And the big moment came eight-and-a-half minutes into the third, when Nikita Kucherov drew a double team with a dance along the boards in the O-zone, then offloaded the puck into a two-on-one look for a Brandon Hagel winner. Kuch has some tough competition if he wants to lead the NHL in assists for a third straight year, but plays like these remind you why he's one of the league's most valuable players.