Winnipeg 3, Tampa Bay 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 24, 2013
Where: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Referees:
Marc Joannette, Rob Martell
Linesmen:
Thor Nelson, Vaughan Rody
Attendance:
15004
By SportsDirect Inc.
Jets 3, Lightning 2: Bryan Little collected a goal and two assists and Ondrej Pavelec turned aside 23 shots as host Winnipeg emerged victorious mere hours after Tampa Bay fired coach Guy Boucher.
Dustin Byfuglien scored for the second straight game and fellow defenseman Tobias Enstrom added a goal in his return from a shoulder injury. Blake Wheeler notched a pair of assists for the Jets, who rebounded from a pair of lopsided losses to Washington to seize a four-point lead over idle Carolina in the Southeast Division.
Steven Stamkos recorded his NHL-leading 22nd goal and rookie Cory Conacher also scored to bring the Lightning within one at 3-2 in the third period. Cedrick Desjardins finished with 21 saves for Tampa Bay, which has dropped three in a row and 11 of 15.
After Little opened the scoring in the first period by cleaning up a broken play in the slot, Byfuglien doubled the advantage with a power-play goal 2:35 into the second. The beefy blue-liner collected a loose puck and snapped a shot from the left faceoff circle past Desjardins.
Stamkos answered under four minutes later after firing a shot from the left faceoff circle, but Enstrom regained Winnipeg's two-goal edge by converting captain Andrew Ladd's centering feed.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Tampa Bay assistants Martin Raymond and Dan Lacroix shared coaching duties on Sunday, but general manager Steve Yzerman said that he wants to have a permanent coach in place as soon as possible. The Lightning will host Buffalo on Tuesday. ... Tampa Bay failed to win on its three-game trip, falling to 5-11-0. That mark is the second-worst in the Eastern Conference, trailing only Philadelphia (4-12-1). ... The Jets, who went 1-for-3 on the power play, scored on just one of 15 previous chances entering the game.
Top Game Performances
| Tampa Bay |
|
Winnipeg |
|
Cory Conacher 1 |
Points |
Bryan Little 3 |
|
Cory Conacher 1 |
Goals |
Bryan Little 1 |
|
Eric Brewer 1 |
Assists |
Bryan Little 2 |
|
Steven Stamkos 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Dustin Byfuglien 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Cedrick Desjardins .875 |
Save Percentage |
Ondrej Pavelec .920 |
|
Cedrick Desjardins 21 |
Saves |
Ondrej Pavelec 23 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Tampa Bay
|
25 |
2 |
1-5 |
2-3 |
8 |
27 |
| Winnipeg
|
24 |
3 |
1-3 |
4-5 |
10 |
31 |
Upcoming Games
-
Winnipeg will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Jets have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .562 after a loss.
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Lightning have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .333 after a loss.