Plus/Minus: Lightning Give Up Late Lead, Stamkos Gets the Winner

We're trying something different to replace the old Newsmakers in the NHL posts. Hopefully you'll like it. Each weekday we'll take a look at one positive performance from the previous night (a plus), and one negative performance from the previous night (a minus). It's the plus/minus.Tell us what you think at nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

More Coverage: Sunday's NHL Scoreboard

Plus Of The Day: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Rewind back to November 22, 2008, and Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft, had recorded just two goals (both in the same game) and five assists in his first 19 games. One year later, and Stamkos has already scored 15 goals (tied with Jarome Iginla for fourth most in the league) and added nine assists to lead the Lightning with 24 points through the team's first 21 games.

How impressive is the 15-goal mark for the 19-year-old Stamkos at this point in the campaign? Well, consider that he didn't score his 15th goal last year until March 17.

He's currently on a pace for well over 50 goals.

He continued his white-hot start on Sunday when he tallied the game-winning goal in overtime -- he also had an assist and seven shots on goal -- during Tampa Bay's 4-3 win against Atlanta, a game that saw the Lightning surrender a 3-1 lead with less than five minutes to play.

Going back to the start of last February, Stamkos has now scored 32 goals in his past 54 games, which will surely get the attention of Steve Yzerman when it's time to put together the Team Canada roster.

Minus Of The Day: Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers

Slim pickings on Sunday with only two games on the slate and few bad performances, but Ilya Kovalchuk was on the ice for three of Tampa Bay's four goals -- including the game-winner -- and didn't record a point in the Thrashers' 4-3 loss.

He did get seven shots on goal, but on a day with few options, Kovalchuk's line in the box score is one of the few that stands out in a negative way, and there haven't been many from him this season. Consider that Saturday and Sunday's games were the first time this season he went back-to-back games without a point, while he's been held off the score sheet just four times in 14 games.