Pool Windfall in Tampa, Bolts Take Series Lead

The Tampa Bay Lightning are proving themselves as legitimate contenders in these playoffs, as they have looked in the face of the President's Trophy winners and have yet to blink.

The New York Rangers got off to a blistering start on Wednesday night, scoring a couple of times before the midway point of the opening frame, but the Lightning were not phased by this, scoring one shortly after and then three straight markers in the 2nd period to take and assume a good lead.  After the 2nd, it was 4-3 Tampa, and by no means, were these guys done scoring.

An early power play goal in the 3rd brought the Rangers back on level terms, but just when the Lightning thought they could close the game out with a late marker with six minutes left to play, the Rangers tied it up again with less than two minutes left.

Overtime lasted only three and a half minutes and Tampa Bay came away victorious, taking a 2-1 series lead.

Nikita Kucherov scored the winner in overtime, sharing top honours in the game with 3 points with Ondrej Palat, while Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Victor Hedman, Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop all had 2 points for the Bolts in the hockey pool.

Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan and Keith Yandle all had 2 points each for the Rangers in the hockey pool, concluding a big night for both teams and a serious windfall of scoring for the pool.

What did all that scoring mean to the standings?

Well, Fontanna continues to pull away at the top, as their team now ranks 3rd in this round of the playoffs with 28 points, bringing their total up to 207 points, the first team to eclipse the 200-point barrier.

Jesse P. continues to hold on to 2nd place in the standings, but his grip on the position is becoming rather shaky.  His team now has 196 points, 5 points up on 3rd place, but his team only has 19 points in the round, good enough for 8th in the round, but the better teams in the round have their sights set on his spot.

In 3rd place, it's just as shaky for Stacey M. at 191 points, as Thor is now at 190 points and climbing, while Sean L. is in 5th place, but dropping with Sairosh, who is in 6th.  Chris M., the round leader at 30 points, sits in 7th and is moving up the ranks quickly.  Chris would be hoping for a long Conference Finals at this point, as his team seems to have all the right answers.

Wes M. is 2nd in the round with 29 points and is now in 10th place, 15 points back of 3rd place.  A couple of 7-game series might do him a lot of good too.

Game-Winning Goals
Nikita Kucherov continues to have a huge playoff season, as he scored his 3rd game-winner of these playoffs, becoming a huge help to the seven teams that picked him up in the playoff pool this year.

Of course, our pool leader, Fontanna, has Kucherov and continues to lead the pool in bonus points as well, as their team now has 17 points, 3 points better than three more teams.