{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Tampa Bay 5, Anaheim 0
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 21, 2015
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Chris Lee
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Shane Heyer
Attendance: 19092

TAMPA, Fla. - Goalie Ben Bishop was sterling in the net picking up his first shutout of the season, center Steven Stamkos was a force on offense and the Tampa Bay Lightning looked like they might have finally turned a corner.

That was the hope after the Lightning, looking as much like last year's Stanley Cup finalist as it has all season, dominated the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night 5-0 at the Amalie Arena.

"It's pretty nice. It was a lot of fun," said Bishop, often a victim this season of a lack of goal support. "Obviously to get some goals; it was probably the most electric I've seen the building all season. The fans were definitely behind us. It's just fun, Saturday night, everyone's happy."

Combined with the Lightning's 2-1 victory on Thursday to end the New York Rangers' nine-game winning streak, in which they played without five of their top nine forwards due to injuries, these might be the two best games Tampa Bay has played this season.

The Lightning (10-9-3) won their second straight game for the first time since opening the season 3-0, and the five goals were the most they have scored since beating Boston 6-3 in that third game.

"We've mentioned it before, if we stick with it, this group can do some big things," said Stamkos. "Two big wins for us. Two good tests, and nice to see us pass them."

After a scoreless first period against Anaheim, a flurry of Lightning goals - two by center Steven Stamkos, three in all - in the second broke the game open.

"The second period killed us," said Anaheim center Ryan Kessler. "Back-to-back-to-back goals. We've just got to figure out a way ... we gave up a goal, it's not the end of the world, it's just one goal and we're a good team and can come back. I think everyone got a little down after (the first one)."

Despite outshooting the Lightning 13-9 in the period, it was Tampa Bay making the most of its chances.

Right wing Nikita Kucherov scored his sixth goal of the season, second-most on the team, when he put away what appeared to be an attempted shot by defenseman Andrej Sustr from just inside the right circle at the 5:57 mark to make it 1-0.

Sustr's misfire slid perfectly to Kucherov, who was stationed just outside the crease.

Tampa Bay struck again when Anaheim (7-10-4) lost the puck just outside the zone and right wing Ryan Callahan poked the puck away to Stamkos.

The Lightning captain skated to the top of the right circle and ripped a shot over Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen's right shoulder for a 2-0 lead at the 12:35 mark.

Barely a minute later, it was Stamkos lighting the lamp again on a power play. Center Vladislav Namestnikov centered a pass to right wing Nikita Kucherov, who tapped a perfect cross-crease feed to Stamkos for the put-away at 13:49 against the league's No. 1-rated penalty killing team.

"The power play was big," Bishop said. "It was nice to see (Stamkos) come alive there."

The goal, his team-high 11th this season, marked the first time since Oct. 15 against Dallas that Stamkos scored multiple goals in a game.

"We played a good team. They skated and scored on their chances," said Anaheim center Ryan Getzlaf. "I thought we played a decent first period. We came out and smothered them. Then we seemed to have lost a step in that second period, and with a couple of power plays that did not go our way, and they scored on theirs."

Center Brian Boyle made it 4-0 for the Lightning with 14:31 remaining the game, and center Jonathan Marchessault, another of the recent call-ups from Syracuse, poked home his own rebound for his first goal this season to cap the scoring for Tampa Bay.

NOTES: RW Joel Vermin, playing in his second NHL game after being called up from Syracuse due to the Lightning's shortage of forwards because of injuries, passed to D Andre Sustr to help set up the first goal and got a secondary assist and the first point of his NHL career. ... Lightning F Ryan Callahan returned to action Saturday after missing Thursday's victory over the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury. Callahan practiced Friday. ... Tampa Bay C Tyler Johnson, who also missed the Rangers game with an upper-body injury, was held out again, along with LW Jonathan Drouin (undisclosed injury). ... The Ducks recalled D Shane O'Brien, 31, Saturday from San Diego of the American Hockey League. ... Lightning C Cedric Paquette (upper body) came off injured reserve after Saturday's game, but still may not be ready for action. ... Ducks D Hampus Lindholm (upper body) did not play, and C Michael Sgarbossa was a scratch. ... Lightning assistant coach Brad Lauer faced his former team for the first time Saturday. Lauer was fired by Anaheim in the offseason after four seasons as an assistant with the Ducks.
Top Game Performances
 
Anaheim   Tampa Bay
N/A Points Steven Stamkos 3
N/A Goals Steven Stamkos 2
N/A Assists Nikita Kucherov 2
N/A Power Play Goals Steven Stamkos 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Frederik Andersen .792 Save Percentage Ben Bishop 1.000
Frederik Andersen 19 Saves Ben Bishop 30
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Anaheim 30 0 0-1 2-4 14 34
Tampa Bay 24 5 2-4 1-1 8 25
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Los Angeles. The Lightning have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Anaheim will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Ducks have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .308 after a loss.