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TAMPA - Scott Sabourin of the Tampa Bay Lightning fights Nick Foligno of the Minnesota Wild at Benchmark International Arena on March 24, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images)
NHLI via Getty Images
After taking seven of eight points during a trip that saw them travel to Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, it was not the least surprising the Tampa Bay Lightning had some difficulty in ramping up the emotion early in Tuesday evening’s matchup against the visiting Wild at Benchmark International Arena.
A slow start could be expected after not arriving back home until late afternoon Monday following four games that were multiple time zones and as much as 3,000-plus miles away from the friendly confines in downtown Tampa.
“I don’t think we want to use any excuses,” said defenseman Erik Cernak. “Obviously, a hard schedule, hard travel coming from the West Coast. We are not going to blame that. We are professionals and we have to start a little better.”
The Lightning fell behind the Wild – a game played with heavy hearts in the press box – less than three minutes into the match. As Cernak noted, there are no excuses. Instead, the Bolts went to work in creating their own energy. Specifically, 40-year-old trade deadline acquisition Corey Perry and journeyman Scott Sabourin dropping the gloves with Michael McCarron and Nick Foligno, respectively.
Though the Lightning ultimately fell behind by two, coach Jon Cooper noticed his squad shed the cobwebs and picked up the pace following the first period bouts. The Sabourin/Foligno tussle was one rarely seen these days from the standpoint it was lengthy and concluded when the participants needed to come up for air.
“The guys took it to heart,” said Cooper, of his team’s response. “It’s like, ‘These guys are doing this for us.’ I think that really got us going.”
Jake Guentzel’s 300th career goal, Darren Raddysh’s 20th of the season to tie the team record (Victor Hedman, Dan Boyle) by a defenseman, and Cernak’s game-winner with less than three minutes to play in the third period put Tampa Bay up 4-3. A couple of empty-netters filled out the score sheet and two points were in the bag. In the clubhouse following the game, it all came back to Perry and Sabourin as reasons why.
“Those two guys standing up for our team and what they did in the first (period), I think that really got the crowd into it and it kind of brought us all into the fight,” said Guentzel, with an appropriate choice of words. “A lot of credit goes to those two guys.”
Rebounding from post-Olympic slump
The Lightning returned from the three-week Olympic break looking nothing like the team that went 20-1-1 in 22 games prior to the hiatus. Not that anyone was expecting such a phenomenal run to continue, though it did temporarily with a win versus the Maple Leafs in the first post-break game. However, the Bolts lost the next four and seven of nine. They allowed 37 goals in the seven defeats.
“This little rut we’re in has lasted a lot longer than I anticipated,” said Cooper, following a 5-2 home-ice loss to the Blue Jackets on March 10.
Things changed in the Pacific Northwest as a 6-2 win over the Kraken seemed to straighten the steering. It was the first of three straight victories by a combined 17-6 as the Lightning won in Vancouver (6-2) and Edmonton (5-2) before settling for a point in a 4-3 overtime loss at Calgary.
The Lightning have been without the services of Victor Hedman since the first period in Vancouver when the captain left due to illness. The team announced Wednesday the defenseman would miss more time on account of personal reasons. Still, Tampa Bay, which is 27-7-3 without the future Hall of Famer in the lineup this season – he missed a chunk of time recovering from elbow surgery -- continued on its roll with their comeback against an outstanding Minnesota club.
“After the Olympic break, (the way we were playing) I don’t think we would have come back in this game, but we are playing different hockey now,” said Cernak, whose game-winner was the third of his 490-game career. “Everybody is on the same page and everybody knows what to do. Work hard, compete and put pucks on the net. Our overall game is way better right now. We have to stick with it.”
Tampa Bay absolutely has to stick with it because a glance at the standings reveals an Eastern Conference with precious little margin for error.
“It seems like everyone’s winning every night and we just got to make sure we’re taking care of our own business,” said Guentzel.
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