Lightning vs. Devils Game 1: Full highlights, final score and more

The Tampa Bay Lightning struck early and were able to hold off the New Jersey Devils in a 5-2, Game 1 win on Thursday night.

The Lighting welcomed the New Jersey Devils to Tampa Bay for a first round matchup in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. New Jersey was the final team in the tournament when the NHL drew a line on Sunday night. They may have been the last team in, but don’t tell that to the Tampa Bay Lightning. New Jersey came out on top in all three meetings in the regular season against Tampa Bay.

The Tampa Bay Lightning struck three times in the first 22 minutes of the hockey game. Palat, Johnson, and Gourde got the scoring started by beating Keith Kinkaid, who was making his first career playoff start in between the pipes.

Hart Trophy candidate, Taylor Hall was the main reason the New Jersey Devils are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since losing to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. It’s truly no shock to New Jersey that Taylor Hall got the Devils on the board at 13:55 of the second period.

A slashing penalty on J.T. Miller in the 3rd period opened the door for New Jersey to cut into Tampa Bay’s 3-1 lead. Travis Zajac deposited the puck past Vasilevskiy on the power play to trim the Lightning’s lead to 3-2 midway through the final period.

New Jersey began to tilt the ice towards the Lightning netminder. After a few close calls by New Jersey, Tampa Bay forced a turnover and orchestrated one of the most beautiful 3 on 2s you will see. Yanni Gourde slid the puck back to a charging Alex Killorn, who ripped the puck off the post and into the net. You could feel the collective sigh of relief from the Lightning faithful in the Amalie Arena.

Once the Lightning regained a two-goal lead, they really put the clamp on New Jersey’s offense. Nikita Kucherov, who was quiet all game, put the icing on the cake by adding an empty net goal to cap off a 5-2, Lightning victory.

Three Stars

1. Yanni Gourde-  Yanni Gourde knows how to put the puck in the net, as he hit the 25 goal mark for the first time in his young career. He chipped in with 39 assists and was a very impressive +34. Gourde scored the Lightning’s third goal. His first career playoff goal ended up being the game-winning goal of Game 1. The young center had the key assist in Alex Killorn’s goal, which essentially ended the Devils’ hope for a comeback win.
2. Tyler Johnson- Tyler Johnson is no stranger to the big stage. He was the main part of the Lightning’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015. The Spokane native netted a backbreaking goal in the final minute of play in the first period. Prior to his goal, he assisted on Tampa Bay’s first goal. His speed and feistiness frustrated the Devils all night long.
3. Ondrej Palat- Like his buddy, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat has been a core piece of the recent successful seasons. Palat opened the scoring in the series with a nifty move to beat Keith Kinkaid. The Czech winger had a major say in the Lightning’s three straight goals to open to an early cushion on New Jersey.

Highlights

Next: Ranking every playoff team's odds to win the Stanley Cup

Next Game

Game 2 between theDevils and Lightning is Saturday, April 14 from Amelia Arena with the puck drop scheduled for 3 p.. ET

Tampa Bay leads the best-of-seven series, 1-0