Carlson Fills the Sheet From the Back End in Tampa's Buffalo Blowout
The Lightning blueliner drove the road win with a power-play goal just before the first intermission and a helper on the man advantage.
John Carlson had one of the busiest nights of anyone in Tampa Bay's 8-3 win at Buffalo. The defenceman finished with a goal and four assists for five points and a plus 4 rating.
His 22:43 of ice time was a team high among the Lightning's 18 skaters and first among their six defencemen. He played 28 shifts.
The goal came on the power play at 19:38 of the first period, his lone shot on goal. He added a power-play assist, and three of his five points came at even strength, all of them assists. He also blocked three shots, with one giveaway and no hits.
This was a clear step up from his season line. Coming in, he had 6 goals and 9 assists in 18 games, and he averaged 19.5 minutes a night. Five points in one game is a third of that assist total in a single night.
Tampa Bay is now 12-4-2 and third in the Eastern Conference. Columbus is next on the road Thursday.
More from this game
- Strong Player PerformanceVasilevskiy Turns Aside Every Sabres Shot Early in Buffalo
- Player Game InsightKucherov Buries Three in Third as Tampa Romps in Buffalo
- Weak Player PerformanceSabres Out-Chance Tampa, Then Watch Eight Pucks Cross the Line
- Strong Player PerformanceHagel Keeps Finding the Good Ice as Lightning Bury Sabres