FIVE STRAIGHT WINS for the Tampa Bay Lightning | Are the Bolts Officially Back?

FIVE STRAIGHT WINS for the Tampa Bay Lightning | Are the Bolts Officially Back?

Fivegame win streak for the Tampa Bay Lightning. This one coming over a very good Utah team. Are the Lightning back for good? We’ll talk about it on today’s Locked on Lightning. You’re Locked on Lightning, your daily podcast on the Tampa Bay Lightning, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Thank you for making Lockdown Lightning your first listen of the day every single day. We are your free daily Tampa Bay Lightning podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. As always, we want to begin with a shout out to our everydayers. Those of you who tune in to every single show, every single day, we love you. We appreciate the support you give us week in week out. I’m Nick Morgan and I am joined by the cookie to my cookie monster, Greg Steven. Greg, happy Monday, my friend. Happy Monday. Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Halloween. I know I had a good time and it was even better because the Lightning picked up another dub. The fifth one in a row. Fifth one in a row. Pretty remarkable. And it’s coming against a great Utah Mammoth team, one of the best offensive teams in the NHL. Lightning defense and Jonas Johansson were there to close the door all day long. We’re gonna have a recap of the game, plus a big clutch performance from a guy I called the MVP of the team last week, Anthony Celli. We’ll talk about his clutch game. And that got me and Greg thinking, who are the top three Lightning MVPs this season so far? Who are the Lightning MVPs for the month of October? All of that coming up on today’s show, but first want to mention today’s episode brought to you by Game Time. Uh download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. All right, let’s get to Tampa Bay versus Utah. We’re going to dive into the recap for those of you who weren’t able to see the game. Lightning uh coming down short early. Uh turnover at the blue line. Maybe should have been an interference call on Utah. Either way, leads to a loss on Krauss breakaway. Puts it past Jonas Johansson to make it one- nothing Utah. Later in the first, beautiful tic-tac-toe between the Lightning’s three biggest offensive threats. Greg Zus Gurgensson, Zamil Lberg, and Yanni Gourd. Gourd taps it into an empty net basically to make it 1-1. Second period now. Greg said it before, said it again. Faceoffs matter. Lightning win in the offensive zone leads to Anthony Serelli’s shot from the circle. Seventh of the season, 2-1 Lightning. Third period, Utah tied up just a few minutes in. 22. Unusual rough defensive sequence from Victor Heman there. Two giveaways on the same shift. We’ll talk about his performance a little bit more coming up, but leads to the game tying goal. About eight minutes left in the game. Greg, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Faceoffs matter. Another Anthony Celli faceoff win. This time leads to a Jay Gensel wraparound goal. That’s the game winner. Brandon Hegel adds an empty net late. It’s 42 Lightning. Fifth straight win for the Bolts. And as we mentioned this time coming up, a team that was first in the division coming into this game. Mammoth looking good. But, uh, you got to love Tampa Bay coming through with a big win on the road against a very, very good team. Greg, let’s start this off like we normally do with our plus minus. Give me a positive and a negative from this game. Absolutely. You know, first thing that comes to mind when I think of this game is plus Jojo. Wow. Excellent goalending. had some really clutch moments in this game. I think this could have easily been, you know, 54 if it weren’t for Jojo. I thought he played extremely well. Um, he looks so sharp this whole season to be honest with you. Um, and I think he deserves the plus for this one. I agree with that. Uh, love the his performance. That’s the second performance in a row that I thought he’s really come out and given them some good stability in net. I think Jonas Johansson has properly quelled the concerns about whether he was going to be able to be that spell piece for Vasilki fulltime uh throughout this season. Uh okay. Okay. So, give me a minus from this game. I I really think they played a strong game overall. Um that being said, the minus is going to just be the turnovers and the power play zone entry. again, still they’re just so many times just trying to enter the zone. Bad turnovers. Um, you saw it on both power plays in my in my opinion. Um, and I I don’t think the power plays looked particularly bad this time around, but still just a few seconds here and there where you kind of wish they they were able to set up a little easier. Um, and you know, again, it’s just the giveaways. The giveaways are are not good. Um, and we’ll talk about that some more when we talk about uh Victor Hedman’s performance. But yeah, just some just some bad turnovers. Um, I think the second goal is almost entirely avoidable if you make a smart breakout play there. So yeah, just carelessness with the puck overall is probably my minus. Yeah, I’m I’m with you there. I will say Devil’s Advocate on the power play that I thought they got some really good opportunities on the power play. Yeah, this time I think they they only had two, but I think that was their first one. And I want to believe right at the end of the first period. Um might it might have been halfway. I I don’t know. But whatever their first power play was, you know, they had a really really good sequence where they just kept hitting rebound after rebound. Um they they Utah was able to shut the door, but I thought they played well. Like I thought that the actual offense once they got set up looked really good on the two power plays. They just need to score. Like they just need to finish. And I think it’s kind of one of those things where you you know we’ve talked about a few times before like once you get one I feel like it should get like the floodgate doors open specifically from that top line. Yeah, for sure. I mean, with with how deadly we know this this uh top line is, it’s definitely disheartening when they can’t notch a power play goal every so often. Yeah, I’m with you there. I’m gonna get to my plus, and I’m going to say this because I know you never will, Greg. I’m gonna give a plus to Emil Lberg. Okay. Okay. So, here here’s the thing. you obviously made a great pass, great feed over um to Yanni Gourd on that first lightning goal. Loved him jumping into the play there. But to me, it’s just I feel like he’s gotten so much better during this fivegame win streak. Just one minor penalty during this fivegame win streak and it came during the first win, the Anaheim win. Um I thought he’s played really good hockey, really clean hockey. He hasn’t done a whole lot, but that’s not an insult to somebody like Emil Lberg who’s playing on that third defensive pair. His job is to go out there and not screw up. And I I’ve said this before, I said it again. It sounds a little like facitious, insulting, but that really is what you want from your third defensive pair is somebody that you know you can put up there and get good minutes and basically just not screw up. You don’t necessarily have to jump in, create plays, you know, be an offensive differencemaker or anything that you just have to go out there and play good, solid sound hockey. Emil Lberg, I think, has been doing that. This fivegame win streak. I thought he played really well last night. Got a assist for his efforts. And yeah, I’m just going to call out another really strong performance from a little Milberg Greg. Um, okay. Please don’t have steam coming out of your ears over there. No, but I I do want to play devil’s advocate. The first goal is entirely on him. Re-watch it back. He’s got to be back and covering that guy that’s cherry-picking. Instead, he kind of like slightly pinches in the neutral zone. Blown coverage. Terrible. Other than that though, I completely agree with you. One penalty in the last five like you said, and that’s a reason these these games are wins because he’s not just giving up a power play every so often. He does pick up an assist outside of that one goal. He did look great. I don’t disagree with you, but that one goal is entirely on him in my book. Ah, are you talking about the turnover? That’s I’m talking about Lawson Krauss goal. First goal of the game that he’s got he’s got to stay back and cover. I’m re-watching it now. No, there there’s no way. I mean, back. He was on He was on the other point. Gage Gonzalez got nailed from behind. He was covering the left side. That’s where the breakout happened. But like that first D is pinching in the left and he needs to be responsible and come back if he sees a guy flying. Like that’s just I don’t think I don’t think he was pinching. I think the D just got hit. I don’t know. I I I It’s a good thing for for everyone else to let us know. What do you Who do you Whose fault was that? Yeah, I respectfully disagree. I don’t think you can put any blame on a mill for that one. Okay. Okay. You know minus a Liberg. Do what? Is your minus Emil Liberg too? No. Oh no. But it is another defenseman uh whose number starts with a seven. And this is a very rare one. And this is Victor Hedman. Um I didn’t and Victor Hedman during this fiveame win streak. His overall played really good, really solid strong hockey. Um to me just had a lot of weird mistakes last night. Even if you go back and watch the first lightning goal, um the the one scored by Anthony Cerelli, um I guess that was the second lightning goal, but if you go back and watch that goal, he almost just fumbles that puck at the blue line. It was almost a breakout for Utah the other way because he couldn’t get his sickle and it did kind of, you know, it was able to poke it back into the zone and that set up the play that led to Celli’s goal. the the play you’re talking about um the game tying Utah goal. Watch Victor Hedman and that was like a highlight reel. Like we’re used to seeing the amount of mistakes he made on that play spread throughout the course of Victor Hedman’s 82game season, you know, and and that’s it’s kind of rough, you know, in the blue line loses the puck kind of like a weak clear. Winds up getting taken on the boards. Um, you know, puck goes back behind the boards, gets it again, whiffs on the puck again, then finally gets a stick out on it. It goes straight to a Utah player. They’re able to create the play that leads to the game tying two- two goal. So, just kind of weird uncharacteristic mistakes, I think, for Victor Heden throughout the game. Five giveaways, uh, led the Lightning last night. He scored a point, so good for him. But yeah, it’s just not kind of the use of the the solid defensive play we’re used to seeing from Headman. Yeah, I mean, five turn turnovers on his own is is more than a third of the turnovers for the team. So, not so great. Um, and like you said, that was an awful breakout. Like, he had, I think, ample opportunity to either hold that puck and make a better play or just get it off the glass and get it out at least or even ice the puck would have been better. Um, yeah. Yeah. tough game for him, but like you said, I think he’s been playing well. I think this was just a bad game for him. So, um, but he does deserve the minus from this one. I agree with you. Yeah. Uh, I’ll tell you, Sue, somebody else who deserves a big plus for this game, Anthony Cerelli coming through in the clutch yet again. We’ll talk about his big game plus what else stood out uh during this Lightning fivegame win streak and in yesterday’s game against Utah. A lot coming up on today’s show. We’ll have more for you when we come back. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Hey, hockey is one month in, but guess what else, guys? The NBA is back. Oh god, it’s so good to see the teams back on the hardwood. There’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game or just want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score the next basket to whether your team is going to mount a fourth quarter comeback. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. 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It’s helped me organize my accounts, track my spending, and get a better handle on my investments without ever having to touch a spreadsheet. It’s so easy to use. All I have to do is upload my bank account information. I just link it straight so it updates automatically. Credit cards, 401ks, all of that. And within seconds, I get categorization of my spending. So, I know where my money is going. I know how much my investments are worth. And it makes it easier to plan out concise goals and understand where my money is going and how to make it work harder for me. So, don’t let this financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code lockdown NHL at monarch.com for 50% off your first year. Again, monarch.comcode locked on NHL for half off your first year. Welcome back to Locked on Lightning. Nick Morgan here alongside Greg Steven. And Greg, one guy that I want to call out is Anthony Celli, who is coming through in the clutch yet again last night. Um the big thing big thing for me first and foremost I I said it during the recap faceoffs matter but comes through with two huge faceoff wins in this game. Both of which lead to the goal for Lightning. Um we we saw him on that first play u that that led to the uh the 2-2 goal. We saw him on the faceoff win that leads to the 3-2 goal. He also scored uh on that first sequence. his seventh goal of the year, leads the Lightning. I said this last time, Greg, it just seems like whenever Tampa Bay needs somebody to step up and make a clutch play, whatever the situation, Anthony Cerelli is usually that first guy who’s there to do it. Yeah, you’re absolutely right. I think um he’s been deadly. And I think we all know this, but he’s just so elite defensively as well. And I think that’s one of the most important qualities to a strong forward is just being able to play defense just as well as you can play offense. And not only does he have 11 points on the season right now, but he’s also plus seven and that’s the best on the Lightning by three. So, um I just think he’s so reliable in every situation. I mean, like you said, he won some draws. I mean, he notched a goal and he’s playing just great defensive forward and look at the penalty kill. I mean, I think the Lightning are third in the league if let me triple check. Yeah, they’re third in the league on the penalty kill, 90%. And he is a huge reason why. Absolutely. And I think being plus seven while being on the penalty kill constantly is so impressive. Like I just think that that’s remarkable as a guy who’s always out there short-handed and and you just you’re still the highest differential on the team. I just think that’s that that is remarkable really. It is. And I know you don’t get a mark against you for plus minus if you’re scored on in the on the penalty kill, right? But I think it still highlights just how solid Anthony Cerelli has been this season that he’s able to play big minutes on the kill. um you know, he’s able to go out there in clutch offensive situations. He’s just a really, really solid all-around player. And, you know, I said it last week, I think he’s the MVP of the team right now. You and I can debate this on our third segment when we talk about this, but I I just I don’t think throughout this season how sort of up and down it’s been, I don’t think you found somebody who’s been more of a constant like a constant lock into this team um than Anthony Selli this year. That’s my take. Yeah. No, completely agree with you actually. I mean, I think, you know, you look at this lineup and and there have been some some strong performances um from a few of these guys, but overall, yeah, he is he is certainly the most impressive right now. I I think I finally caved and I think he is is the guy right now for the Lightning. Yeah. Um I I know you wanted to talk about this too, Greg, but we have to talk about goalending again because look, we’ve talked about Vaselki has finally hit his stride. I thought we saw some really good saves from Jonas Johansson in this one. Um, it’s I feel like any questions about goalending, whether they were about Vaselk’s health, whether they were about Jonas Johansson’s quality, I feel like the Lightning have answered them these past few games, Greg. Yeah, I think so, too. Vassie started 0 and5, right? Or did he start 0 and4? Either way, get really improved. I can’t remember who was who had that Boston win. Yeah, I can’t remember. I think I think it was Joe Hansen. I think Joe I think you’re right. I think it was 0 and5 for I’m pretty sure it was 0 and five. I mean, let’s just say for argument sake that it is. That means he’s on a three-game win streak. Vassie himself, Jojo is three and one on the season, which is just great. And as a backup tender, he’s only letting in 2.78 goals against on average. and his save percentage is, you know, 916. So Jojo, that’s very good. He’s silencing the haters. He’s silencing. It’s me. I was a hater. I think a lot of people were haters to be honest with you. Yeah. Um I’ve been defending him for over over a year and a half now. I mean, you have I think he’s just a great goalie. I do. And I know it sometimes it doesn’t look like it, but you got to remember how awful sometimes this team is defensively. Yeah. And you know, I think you’re sometimes when there’s a backup goalie in play, um I think maybe just the thing with Jojo is, you know, he he can make his fair share of great saves, but there’s always like one or two goals a game that you look at and it’s like I feel like Andre Vasilowski would have saved that one. I haven’t seen that from Jojo this year. You know, you look I neither of those two goals last night you could pin on Johansson. No, you know, one’s a breakaway, one’s just result of a turnover at the zone. That kind of, you know, unset the apple cart a little bit, but yeah, I like the mammoth dumped a ton of shots, but he 27 shots is is not a low amount either. Yeah. Um, I want to ask you this. Jonas Johansson obviously playing well. We’ve talked about maybe the concept of, you know, Andre Vasilleski doesn’t need to play, you know, 65 games this year. Are you I mean, and it’s not it’s I’m prefacing this by saying it doesn’t need to be an even split. I’m saying that right off the bat, but are you in favor of maybe lightening the Vaselki workload a little bit and giving Jojo more of a I guess a bigger share of the starts for the Lightning? Yeah, I mean I am um I think they kind of look like they have been doing that. He’s already played four times and I know they’ve had a few backto-backs already, so it was kind of a forced hand, but you know, they’ve only played 12 games and he’s played four of them. So, yeah, I think I think he can eat more games than we probably thought he would. Um, and honestly, there have been games where I think he’s looked better than Vassie. So, I don’t see the harm in him playing more than what we we are used to seeing. Like 5030 even in in my book. I I think he can do it. Um, and I think the more you play him, the better he’s going to get, right? I mean, that’s just true of everything. But it’s also just the repetition and not having large gaps in games. I think that really hurts goalies. Um, you want to stay in the rhythm, stay hot, and if you make him play one game, make him sit 12 and play another one, you know, he’s not going to be that strong in that next one because he’s probably in his head a little bit. One, and two, he’s pretty cold. Um, so I think playing him a little more consistently is actually better for everyone. Um, so yeah, I think he could eat eat more than more than what 15 games. I think he could eat more than that. Yeah, I’m with you 100%. And I think you kind of see this come into play later in the year because I know like you know if in close division races and stuff you tend to ride your number one a lot more. But I I do feel like maybe managing some of that now um maybe keeps Vaselowski fresher for that deep playoff run where he’s going to probably have to play two three games in a very short span. Um that leads us to this discussion. Who is your MVP for the Tampa Bay Lightning right now? We’re going to have our top three for you and debate them when we come back. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Hockey season’s officially here and nothing beats being in the arena for those opening games. But let’s be honest, folks, getting tickets can be a total nightmare. Between waiting in cues, surprise fees, and prices that seem to jump right before you hit checkout, it’s easy to get frustrated when all you want to do is cheer on your team. That’s where Game Time comes in. 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So, take the guesswork out of buying NHL tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms supply. Again, that’s code locked on NHL for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. We’re back on Locked on Lightning. Nick Morgan here alongside Greg Steven. And Greg, interesting debate going on right now between you and I. started on Friday’s show about who our MVP for the Lightning would be. So, now that we’re a month into the season, we finally hit November, which that’s kind of a weird thing to think about. That year has gone by super fast, but we’re into November. So, let’s look back at October and let’s rank our three Lightning MVPs in order. So, you go first. Give me your top three. Okay. number one. I’m gonna go with Anthony Celli. Oh, you changed that from the last time we did this. Yeah, he just looks so good. Um, so consistent and I’m not going to beat it to death because we just went into him pretty heavy, but yeah, I think Sell’s number one. Number two for me right now, probably Jake Gensel. I think he still just looks so good. I mean, he has absolutely nullified the hate that he would be not that good without Crosby and all this nonsense. And we talked about that last week, too. Um, but he just he still has 12 points. He’s positive in the differential. Um, he’s impacting every single game. Every shift you see Jake Gensel out there, you know, it’s him. You know, he’s he’s grinding out there and, uh, I respect that a lot. I think he he is number two. Number three, this is where it gets tough. A name that I would never have guessed I’d be saying is an MVP right now, but how about Yanni Gourd? Mitchell Chief, get him out of here. I love the Gourd pick, though. Go ahead. It’s Yanni. I mean, he looks so good. Like, I really didn’t think he was going to have the impact he’s had um at his age. And I would argue he was a better return than than Borkstrand right now. I mean, I notice him every shift, just like I said about both these other guys. But he’s flying. He’s so fast. You can see the effort on every shift. He just loves being on the Tampa Bay Lightning. It looks like since he was traded back, he has just come right back to life. He looks like he’s 25 out there. Um, and he’s had some really clutch moments, too. And he’s plus four. Uh, and at his age and and you know what his role really is for having four points only, Yanni. Yanni number three. Yeah, I love that pick so much cuz I’m with you. I I love Yanni Gordon. I almost put him in my top three because I look at him and I’m like, “Yeah, I mean, he’s doing everything that you wanted him to.” And I think honestly with Nick Paul being out, I think Yanni Gourd has had to play a little bit of a bigger role than even the Lightning thought he would be playing, right, season, but he’s not shied away from it at all. And it’s gotten to the point where look, he’s cooking so much on that third line right now, especially the chemistry he has with Oliver Bjorkstrand that you look at this and it’s like I I I when Nick Paul comes back, I don’t know what the Lightning are going to do. Yeah. They’re gonna have to shuffle something because I I don’t think you want to break up that Borkstrand Yanni Gourd pair right now. Agreed. Yeah. I’m gonna go number one, Anthony Celli. For all the reasons I talked about at the top and all the reasons that you just talked about, I can’t say it better, so I’m not gonna try. For me, number two, I’m with you. I think it’s Jake Gensel right now. Nice. And and I will add to to what you say a little bit because I do think the energy that Jake Gensel has brought has been consistent throughout sort of the up and downs of the season. Um, you know, even at the sort of at the top of the season when we were talking about, okay, Cooer off for some reason doesn’t look right right now. Braden Point looks a little bit off right now. We’ve always said, but Gensel at least looks solid. Yes. I think that’s kind of been the key thing is you’ve never looked at him and said his game is off, right? I think that’s kind of been the big thing for Jake Gensel is he’s been able to sort of roll with these ups and downs. we know he’s changed lines um a bunch this season um and and he’s never looked, you know, out of place a little bit and obviously leads the team in scoring right now with 12 points in 12 games, five goals, uh second on the team in goals behind Celli. I I just think the energy for Jake Gensel has always been there no matter where he’s sort of following the lineup. And then I’m gonna throw a name that we haven’t talked a lot about, but you said Yanni Gourd. And um I I don’t want to be unoriginal. Pontis Holberg. So I’m going to go Ryan Mcdana on this one. Oh, I almost said Pontis Holberg, too. Nice. Um but for me, Ryan Mcdana on the blue line, I think is somebody that we haven’t talked a lot about this year. him and Eric Chernack both, but he’s done so much so well and especially on the penalty kill. I think he’s been a major part of the penalty kill. You we never talk about him because he just doesn’t make a lot of big mistakes, right? He’s never out of position. He’s always been reliable, but you you’ve talked about some things that have been hard for the Lightning to get going this year. I feel like Ryan Mcdana has sort of been that calming presence on the blue line. And you look at him, he’s scoring like it’s 2014 Ryan Mcdana, you know? I was gonna say that. Yeah. Like I feel like we just pulled that trigger on that Rangers trade. You know, three goals, three assists this year. Um Yeah. I mean, he’s just done a lot of things so well, and we never talk about him because he’s one of those players that unless he sort of scores a goal or has a bad turnover, you don’t really notice him a whole lot during games, but you go back and rewatch the games and what, you know, watch his shifts and he’s always, you know, getting his stick in the right place. he’s always, you know, kind of making the other team’s offense a little bit boring because he’s always in a passing lane or he’s always taking away a guy that’s cutting to the front of the net. He’s just always in the right place at the right time. And I I do love the play that I’ve seen from Mcdana this year. So, I’m going to give him that third spot. Completely agree. And if you told me he’d have six points through 12 games, I would have called you a liar. Yeah, I think he’s outscoring he’s outscoring some big names. So yeah, this list. So yeah. Um yeah, but but I just I just think he deserves, you know, a little bit of credit for how well he’s played this year. And you know what? So many there’s so many others, too. Like Pontis Holberg you could easily put on this list as well. I mean, you know, who knows where guys are going to be this year. Hegel looks great recently. Yeah, after a really bad start, Brandon Hegel has been on fire. It’s just there there’s so many people especially during this fivegame win streak that you could point to and that’s a great sign for this. You know what we need to do tomorrow? What do we need to do tomorrow? Tomorrow we need to talk about the three players you’re most concerned about. Okay. Trying to think if there’s more than three I’m concerned about. I can bring six if you need me to. There. There you go. Okay. All right. So, let’s talk about maybe some some things to watch or players to maybe improve upon. Yes. One is Mitchell Schaffy. No. All right. Yeah, we can do that. Um maybe maybe not concern, but three players who you want to see more from. Yes. All right. Exactly. Well, there’s tomorrow’s segment. Yeah. I have a lot to say. Yeah, we have a I’m sure you do. It’s It’s all about a mill again. Uh no, it’s not. It’s not. Actually, he’s not going to be one of them. Okay, it’s also Tuesday, so as we preview tomorrow’s Colorado game, let’s do some hot take Tuesday and dive into some hot takes uh from both the Lightning and across the NHL. So there you go, folks. A lot to look forward on tomorrow’s show. Uh in the meantime, you can follow us on social media, Locked on Lightning, everywhere you scroll. Uh and if you haven’t already, be sure to hit that subscribe button wherever you’re listening to us, whether you’re watching us on YouTube or listening on your favorite podcasting platform. Uh, it helps us out and it helps keep you guys in the know when we have new content out for you. That’s going to do it for us on today’s Locked on Lightning. Thanks for making us your first listen of the day. Back with a new show in some Colorado Avalanche preview tomorrow. We’ll see you then.

Tampa Bay Lightning extend their winning streak to five games with a 4-2 victory over division-leading Utah. Can Anthony Cirelli maintain his MVP-caliber pace while leading the league’s third-ranked penalty kill?

Nick Morgan and Greg Stephen break down the Lightning’s clutch performance, highlighting Cirelli’s seventh goal and game-changing face-off wins that directly set up two Tampa Bay scores. The discussion covers Jonas Johansson’s stellar goaltending that’s silencing critics, Jake Genszel’s team-leading 12 points, and Victor Hedman’s uncharacteristic struggles with five giveaways. Key topics include the Lightning’s improved defensive play during the streak, Yanni Gord’s surprising resurgence on the third line, and the goaltending workload debate between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Johansson.

The hosts rank their top three Lightning MVPs for October, debating between Cirelli’s two-way dominance, Genszel’s consistent production, Ryan McDonagh’s penalty kill excellence, and Gord’s unexpected impact at age 36.

Discover which players are driving Tampa Bay’s turnaround and whether this five-game surge signals a legitimate playoff contender.

0:00 Intro
1:15 Lightning beat Utah for fifth straight win
4:01 Plus minus breakdown from Utah game
7:11 Emil Lilleberg’s improved defensive play
9:58 Victor Hedman’s uncharacteristic mistakes and turnovers
17:25 Goaltending concerns finally answered by Vasilevsky and Johansson
21:25 Should Jonas Johansson get more starts?
25:51 Ranking the Lightning’s top three October MVPs
28:48 Jake Guentzel’s consistent energy and production
30:37 Ryan McDonagh’s underrated defensive excellence

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