Who knew that Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Malone had a second career as a basketball superstar?
In last night’s overtime victory over the Winnipeg Jets, Ryan Malone tied the game mid-way through the third period with a nifty alley-oop pass to himself up and over the Jets defense. As Malone moved the puck out of the defensive zone and into the neutral zone, he flipped the puck up and into the offensive zone before striding around Winnipeg’s defense to pick it up again, made a quick fake and then buried a wrist shot behind goalie Ondrej Pavelec. The goal was Malone’s second of the game and and his fifth goal during his last two games. Malone recorded a hat trick in a 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils last Thursday. Malone now has 20 goals and 47 points in 64 games this season.
Steve Stamkos secured the victory over the Jets with an overtime goal. The goal was his fifth overtime winner of the season, a single-season record, and his 56th goal of the year. The win did little to help the Lightning attain a playoff spot as the team currently occupies the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference – nine points out of a playoff spot. But the overtime victory my have done more to dampen Winnipeg’s postseason hopes. The Jets currently sit 10th overall in the East, seven points behind the eighth seed Washington Capitals. With each passing game, the jets appear more and more likely to be eliminated from the postseason picture despite a strong second-half surge.
Check out a video of Malone’s move below:
