Best of the Bolts: Round of 32 Voting – Lightning Bracket

Voting for the second group of Best of the Bolts matchup starts at noon on August 3 and ends at noon on August 5. Each matchup is listed below and you can vote as many times as you’d like for your favorite play in each matchup.

Vladdy with the Hatty vs. Goal Garrison

JANUARY 15, 2016: VLADDY WITH THE HATTY

The Tampa Bay Lightning only had one hat trick in 2015-16.

It came from Vladislav Namestnikov, who notched three goals, including the overtime game-winner, against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Amalie Arena.

Namestnikov’s best of the three was goal No. 1.

Before two minutes had come off the clock, Namestnikov raced onto a pass from Steven Stamkos at the center line. The Russian forward sped past the Penguins’ defense and charged hard at Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. From the circle, Namestnikov unleashed a wrist shot over the glove of Fleury for the game’s first goal.

Namestnikov would score a power-play goal in the second period to put the Bolts up 3-1 before his winner 2:11 into overtime to complete the first hat trick of his career.

MAY 6, 2016: GOAL GARRISON

Once Tampa Bay’s second round series against the New York Islanders shifted venues to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, the Lightning found a familiar pattern on the road: fall behind, rally in the third and win the game early in overtime.

Brian Boyle was the hero in Game 3, scoring 2:48 into the extra session.

Jason Garrison did him about a minute and change better three nights later.

Andrej Sustr collected the puck along the left boards and swung it along the blue line to Garrison right point. Garrison wound up and cranked a one-time slap shot. Nobody on New York got in the way to block Garrison’s notoriously heavy shot, and Greiss couldn’t find the puck quick enough to stop it on the far post.

The Lightning took an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the series just 1:34 into overtime of Game 4. The Islanders had played well in both Games 3 and 4, perhaps well enough to expect to go back to Tampa with a 2-2 split. Losing both games in Brooklyn was the end of the road for the Islanders, though, and Garrison provided the finishing shot.

Tampa Bay would close out the Islanders with a convincing 4-0 win in Game 5 at Amalie Arena and move on to the Eastern Conference Final for the second season in a row.

Round of 32 Vladdy with the Hatty Goal Garrison free poll maker

The Stralman Spin vs. Gud Save

JANUARY 15, 2016: THE STRALMAN SPIN

The Lightning were scrambling late in their first meeting of the season against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Bolts had sprinted out to a 3-1 lead by the game’s midpoint, but the Penguins scored three-consecutive goals to take their first lead with 6:12 to go.

The Lightning needed to answer or risk letting two points slip away.

Anton Stralman supplied the lifeline.

The defenseman took possession of the puck just inside the offensive zone along the wall, …

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