Powerful Design: Stamkos' perfect feed caps off textbook passing sequence
The Tampa Bay Lightning's second goal in an 11-second span on the power play against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday was a shining example of the vision and skill Tampa Bay's most dangerous players possess.
It was Brayden Point's second of the game and fifth in the last two contests, but it wouldn't have been possible without Steven Stamkos' precision, nor the awareness shown by both Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman.
Let's take a look at how they did it.
As we begin, the public address announcer in Philadelphia hasn't even had time to announce Tyler Johnson's marker that made it 4-1 for Tampa Bay moments earlier, but the Lightning are pressing again. What was a 5-on-3 is now a 5-on-4.
J.T. Miller fires the puck into the Flyers' zone, and it heads to Hedman at the blue line after bouncing off Dale Weise's left skate.
Hedman spots Kucherov - who's out of view on the broadcast - and taps it in his direction.
Kucherov, camped out on the edge of the circle, surveys the scene before receiving the puck and notices Stamkos (at the point to Hedman's left) turning on the jets down the wing.
Like Hedman did just a second or two earlier, Kucherov directs a perfect pass without wasting any time controlling the puck, and it slides toward Stamkos, who remains unmarked at the point on the left wing.
Stamkos receives it while cruising into the slot, and has to decide whether to shoot or try to find Brayden Point, who's positioned in front of the net.
Now, let's pick it up from another angle for a better view. Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald drops to the ice, perhaps expecting a shot.
Despite having an extremely tight window for a potential pass to Point, Stamkos somehow feathers a perfect feed under the sliding MacDonald and right to his red-hot teammate.
Point makes no mistake on the redirection and it's in the net.
Stamkos' nose for the net and impressive hand-eye coordination were the biggest factors on this goal, but the Lightning's power-play structure and passing ability showed why they're one of the most effective units in the NHL.
(Images courtesy: NHL.com)