National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Tampa Bay 3, New Jersey 0
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 15, 2014
Where: Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Tim Peel, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Ryan Galloway, Brad Kovachik
Attendance: 19204

Lightning 3, Devils 0: Ben Bishop turned aside 23 shots for his fifth shutout of the season as Tampa Bay blanked visiting New Jersey to extend its point streak to four games.

Defenseman Michael Kostka recorded a goal and an assist while Bishop won his 31st game to break Nikolai Khabibulin’s franchise record for victories in a single season. B.J. Crombeen and Nate Thompson also scored goals and Valtteri Filppula added a pair of assists for Tampa Bay, which is 2-0-2 in its last four games.

Martin Brodeur, who came in with 39 career victories against the Lightning and two in 2013-14, had his four-game win streak snapped while making 29 saves. The Devils have lost two straight after going 5-2-0 in seven games after the Olympic break.

New Jersey had a goal disallowed due to incidental contact on Bishop and Brodeur stopped all nine Lightning shots in a scoreless first period. Brodeur also denied J.T. Brown on a penalty shot 11:19 into the second session, but Crombeen opened the scoring by deflecting Kostka’s shot into the net 67 seconds later.

Kostka doubled the lead with 3:02 left in the second by flipping a backhand shot past Brodeur from close range after a nifty pass from Ondrej Palat on a 4-on-4. Thompson sealed it when he knocked home a Brown pass with 3:19 left in the contest and Bishop closed the door for his eighth career shutout.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Filppula has a goal and six assists during a four-game point streak and is one shy of 300 points in his career. … Devils C Ryan Carter was scratched due to a lower-body injury after playing Friday at Florida. … Khabibulin won 30 games in 2002-03 and Bishop is 31-11-6 in 2013-14.
Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Tampa Bay
N/A Points Michael Kostka 2
N/A Goals Michael Kostka 1
N/A Assists Valtteri Filppula 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Martin Brodeur .906 Save Percentage Ben Bishop 1.000
Martin Brodeur 29 Saves Ben Bishop 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 23 0 0-2 1-1 6 25
Tampa Bay 32 3 0-1 2-2 8 31
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Lightning have a W/L % of .514 after a win and .562 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game at home against Boston. The Devils have a W/L % of .367 after a win and .474 after a loss.