NHL Rink Wrap: Salary cap talk at GM meetings; costly win for Maple Leafs

Seen Stamkos make a difference? Then you were watching the Hurricanes and Lightning during the NHL action on Tuesday.

Stamkos scored the overtime game-winner, assisted on the goal that sent the contest to OT, and collected one other assist. So, that’s a three-point game (1G, 2A). This gives us a chance to appreciate the season Steven Stamkos is enjoying.

With the Lightning, it’s tempting to take brilliance for granted. They just keep doing this. They keep winning, their stars keep producing, Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of the few goalies we can trust, and Victor Hedman isn’t broken by those big minutes. And, yeah, they’ve shaken off the sort of free agent losses that lesser teams would find devastating.

So, you might tune out and miss that Steven Stamkos sure looks a lot like the Steven Stamkos before injuries once again disrupted his career.

With that overtime game-winner, Stamkos now has 30 goals this season, his first 30+ campaign since scoring 45 in 2018-19. Granted, Stamkos scored 29 goals in just 57 games in 2019-20, so that 30-goal plateau feels a touch misleading.

Nonetheless, this is still impressive. The 32-year-old rests at 73 points in 65 games this season. That puts Stamkos comfortably in the top-20 in scoring, ahead of the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby. Stunning stuff, Stamkos.

The Predators and Senators held a moment of silence for Eugene Melnyk, who died at the age of 62 on Monday.

The Ottawa Senators and the Nashville Predators hold a moment of silence for Eugene Melnyk, who passed away on Monday. pic.twitter.com/5QFI6YbNmh

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 30, 2022

Here’s that Stamkos OT-GWG:

Steven Stamkos' (@RealStamkos91) 30th of the season for the @TwistedTea OT winner! ⚡