Lightning 4, Wild 3 (shootout); Nolan scores sensational goal; Wild to hold skills competition Jan. 24

I've got to be honest. I don't know if I remember a team that played as poorly as the Tampa Bay Lightning did tonight and still win. Or to say that conversely, or more positively, I don't know if I remember a team play as well as the Wild did tonight and not win.

After applying some pressure early, the Lightning was outplayed by the Wild in every area. It was absolutely unbelievable how many times the Lightning turned the puck over in the Wild end or couldn't get the puck through the neutral zone because of back pressure or the relentlessness of Wild forwards.

The Lightning D was terrible. Mattias Ohlund, tough night. Same for rookie Victor Hedman.

But with the Wild in firm control in the third, a couple mistakes by Kyle Brodziak and Cal Clutterbuck on one shift led to Steve Downie's goal that made it 3-2. But Brodziak and Clutterbuck took admiral swan dives on the knife afterward. You can read their quotes in the game story (Incidentally, I don't even know why I write during games. Wound up rewriting story completely in 15 minutes. Not one previous word from during the game survived).

Then, Marek Zidlicky turned into the Marek "Minor Penalty" Zidlicky of last year. Seconds after Downie scores, Zidlicky takes a penalty. Wild kill that, but then Zidlicky takes a careless hooking penalty on Jeff Halpern with 1:18 left. Referees could not let that one go because the hook resulted in a turnover.

The Wild was doing a great job killing the penalty, but then star in the making Steven Stamkos got the puck. Bad news. He beautifully got the puck to Bugsy Malone, and the Plymouth, Minn., resident roofed it for Goal No. 11.

The Lightning, which hadn't scored a single shootout goal in four losses (which I didn't mention today because I didn't want to tempt fate and stick this sucker into a shootout), got goals from Vinnie Lecavalier and Stamkos, who also scored shorthanded in the game. Mikko Koivu and Martin Havlat missed.

Here's the link.

Also overshadowed by the loss was the strong play by the Wild's fourth line of James Sheppard, Benoit Pouliot and Derek Boogaard. They were good all night, and Sheppard got his first point of the season when he split the D in the first period, got around Hedman, stuck a pass by Ohlund and created an empty net for Pouliot about the size of the Gulf of Mexico.

It was Sheppard's first point since April 10, Pouliot's first goal since Oct. 16.

OK, I've got a 3:30 a.m. wakeup call ahead of me. I'd be shocked if Josh Harding doesn't play in Washington.

Also, here's a press release: