National Hockey League
Tampa Bay 2, Vancouver 1
When: 10:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 13, 2022
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia
Referees: Garrett Rank, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: James Tobias, Mitch Hunt
Attendance: 18760

Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman and Ross Colton scored early first-period goals, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made them stand up with 35 saves as the Lightning edged the host Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on Sunday night.

Hedman and Colton both found the net in just over five minutes of play in the teams' second meeting -- the first a 4-2 Lightning home win on Jan. 13.

After losing three of four starts dating back to March 3, Vasilevskiy improved to 31-11-4 by allowing only J.T. Miller's goal in the third period.

The win was the Lightning's sixth in the past seven games against Vancouver and fourth straight overall. They improved to 7-1-0 in the second half of back-to-back matches.

Tampa Bay is 10-3-1 against the Pacific Division and 17-6-3 versus the Western Conference.

Miller extended his point streak to 12 games with the marker for Vancouver, which is 1-1-1 on its second seven-game homestand and has dropped two straight contests (0-1-1).

Thatcher Demko recorded 29 saves, and Conor Garland and Tanner Pearson dished out assists.

After a tough 4-1 loss in Edmonton Saturday night, the Lightning struck fast against Demko and the Canucks, getting on the board twice in the game's first 5:06.

Hedman opened the scoring by finishing off a drop-pass by Pat Maroon, who skated behind Demko and slid the puck back to the defenseman. Hedman's marker was his 15th, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also had an assist.

Corey Perry's forecheck and steal led to Colton's one-timer -- his 11th tally -- as the Lightning recorded 13 of the match's first 14 shots on goal.

In the final minute of the frame, Steven Stamkos netted a goal, but Vancouver challenged that the Lightning captain was offside. The review proved he was, and the goal was overturned.

Pushing for a wild-card berth, Vancouver stepped up its game in the second period and peppered Vasilevskiy with 14 shots but could not beat the netminder.

In a strange play in the third period, Miller scored while alone in front of Vasilevskiy when the Lightning thought the play should have been halted due to icing.

With 1:10 remaining in regulation, Vancouver pulled Demko for the extra skater but failed to produce a good scoring chance as the Lightning held on for the victory, which snapped their three-game losing streak.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Tampa Bay   Vancouver
Ross Colton 1 Points J.T. Miller 1
Ross Colton 1 Goals J.T. Miller 1
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 1 Assists Conor Garland 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Andrei Vasilevskiy .972 Save Percentage Thatcher Demko .935
Andrei Vasilevskiy 35 Saves Thatcher Demko 29
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Tampa Bay 31 2 0-2 2-2 6 28
Vancouver 36 1 0-2 2-2 6 27
Upcoming Games
  • Vancouver will play their next game at home against New Jersey. The Canucks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Seattle. The Lightning have a W/L % of .611 after a win and .667 after a loss.