Ferrablog

The Lightning continued their regular season mastery of the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year, the New Jersey Devils, with a 2-1 win at the Ice Palace tonight. The Lightning swept the season series from Jersey, going 4-0. Combine that with a similar performance against Philly this year, and you have the rare team going 8-0 against the two powers of the Atlantic Division. The winning goal was kind of fluky, coming with about five minutes left when Brad Richards' centering pass from behind the goal line hit Viktor Kozlov and deflected past a stunned Martin Brodeur. Pavel Kubina also scored for the Lightning, his 17th of the year, tops in the NHL for defensemen and a Lightning record for blueliners as well. Most notably, the Lightning topped the century mark in points for the first time in team history, and with the Islanders defeating the Flyers in Philly tonight, and Toronto beating Boston as well, their hold on the #1 seed in the East was significantly strengthened.

I don't have the final shot totals (it was 17-17 late in the game), but it was a typical close-to-the-vest defensive struggle. Khabibulin was quite sharp in goal, and Brad Lukowich deserves to be singled out for a fine performance tonight on defense.

And it was a treat watching the game in high definition tonight.

Non-hockey note: My Final Four is no longer all there, as Pitt is down 10 with a minute to go against Oklahoma State.