Paul scored the game-winning goal Thursday in a 4-2 victory over the Maple Leafs in Game 5.
Paul was in the slot when a forechecking Mikey Eyssimont popped the puck out and off the skate of a Leafs defender straight to the center, who caught Ilya Samsonov out of position. Paul hadn't scored in 30 games (26 regular season, four postseason) and hasn't been great in this series. He, Jon Cooper and the rest of the Bolts will be hoping Game 5 is a turning point.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Seven hits in Game 1 win
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Paul laid seven hits in Tampa's 7-3 win over Toronto in Game 1 on Tuesday.
Paul ended the regular season on a 12-game scoring slump, but the Bolts don't rely on him for offense. On Tuesday, Paul played 16:37, including 1:10 shorthanded. And his hits disrupted a Leafs squad that simply had no comeback, especially against the Bolts bottom six.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Thriving with Bolts
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Paul registered an assist to complement five hits in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Sabres.
Paul's breakout campaign continues, as he's posted career highs in several offensive categories, including goals (17) and total points (30) through 60 games. He also tied a season high with those five hits in the latest contest and advanced to a plus-14 rating. Remember, the Bolts signed Paul to a seven-year, $22.05 million contract last summer, and that seems to have been a major boon to his confidence as he finishes out his eighth season.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Set to return
Rotowire
Paul (upper body) is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday against Colorado, Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports Florida reports.
Paul has accounted for 16 goals, 26 points, 80 shots on goal and 72 hits in 50 games this season. He is slated to play between Ross Colton and Patrick Maroon following a two-game absence.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Not playing Saturday
Rotowire
Paul (upper body) is not in the lineup versus Dallas on Saturday, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
This will be the second game in a row that Paul will miss. He has 16 goals and 26 points in 50 games this season, but had been slumping before his injury, scoring once adding an assist in his last 11 games.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Doubtful Saturday
Rotowire
Paul (upper body) is doubtful for Saturday's tilt in Dallas, Chris Krenn of the Lightning's official site reports.
Paul sat out Thurday's game versus Colorado and did not practice Friday. Paul has 16 goals and 26 points in 50 games this season, but is pointless in his last five games.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Practicing Thursday
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Paul (undisclosed) is practicing Thursday, according to Erik Erlendsson of LightningInsider.com.
Paul left Tuesday's game in the second period versus the Sharks and did not return. This is a good sign for the 27-year-old center to return to the lineup Thursday versus Colorado. Paul has 16 goals and 26 points in 50 games this season but is pointless in his last five games.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Leaves Tuesday's contest
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Paul (undisclosed) left Tuesday's game versus the Sharks in the second period, Chris Krenn of the Lightning's official site reports.
Head coach Jon Cooper had no update on Paul's status after the game. The 27-year-old has filled the third-line center spot pretty well, though he's now gone five games without a point. If he can't play Thursday versus the Avalanche, the Lightning will likely either recall a forward or use seven defensemen, with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare likely to pick up extra minutes in either situation.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Face-off mastery
Rotowire
Paul won 13 of 17 face-offs Saturday in a 5-2 win over the Kings.
He has one goal and one assist in his last nine games, but Paul delivers in other ways. His ability at the dot is valuable, especially late in the game in the defensive zone. But his fantasy value is limited to specialty formats.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Two points against Columbus
Rotowire
Paul scored a power-play goal and an even-strength assist in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Blue Jackets.
It was the first multi-point effort from the 27-year-old in over a month, as Paul had only three goals and four points over his prior 15 games. As long as he keeps a spot on Tampa Bay's second power-play unit he'll have some fantasy appeal, but his third-line role at even strength makes him a risky lineup option in shallower formats. On the season, Paul has 15 goals and 24 points in 39 games, and he needs two more goals for a new career high.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Snaps five-game scoring drought
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Paul provided a goal in a 4-1 win against the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
Paul's marker came at 18:54 on an empty net. The 27-year-old has 14 goals and 22 points in 36 contests this season. He had been held off the scoresheet in his previous five games.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: On pace for career mark in goals
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Paul has four goals and one assist in his last 10 games.
Paul already has 13 goals in 32 games this season and is just three from tying his career high (16) set last year. He's on pace to double that mark and remains a solid fantasy option in goal-heavy formats.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Game continues to warm up
Rotowire
Paul scored twice, including the game winner, in a 4-1 win over Philadelphia on Thursday.
He scored on a one-timer off a pass from Corey Perry on a first period power play, but it was Paul's second (that came in the second) that is etched in history. Steven Stamkos picked up a secondary assist on that goal to become the first member of the Tampa Bay Lightning to score 1,000 points. Paul has seven points, including five goals, in his last five games and 18 points (11 goals, seven helpers) in his last 18.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Gets two points in win
Rotowire
Paul scored an empty-net goal and earned an assist during Friday's 5-2 victory over the visiting Blues.
Paul, who has five goals in six games, appears to be finding his way as a second-line center, collecting nine tallies in 20 outings. The 2013 fourth-round draft pick notched a career-high 16 goals in 80 combined games with the Senators and Lightning last season. In six previous seasons, he tallied 18 times. Paul, who earned a first-period assist Friday, clinched the Lightning's fifth win in six games with an empty-netter with 3:48 remaining.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Opens, caps Monday's scoring
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Paul scored two goals during Monday's 5-3 loss to the visiting Bruins.
Paul, who leads the Lightning with a plus-11 rating, scored the first and final goals Monday. It just seemed like a matter of time before the slow-starting Bruins surrendered the game-opening tally, Paul's first in 13 appearances. When the 27-year-old left winger converted his seventh tally, the Lightning held a 10-2 shot advantage. Paul's third-period tally came during a man-advantage situation and marked his fourth goal in five games. He added three shots and four hits in the home defeat.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Poised to play Saturday
Rotowire
Paul (undisclosed) is expected to play Saturday against Buffalo, Chris Krenn of the Lightning's official site reports.
Paul is on the ice for the pregame warmups and appears to be good to go after leaving last Thursday's contest against Carolina. He was initially considered to be a game-time decision for Saturday's matchup with the Sabres. Paul has two goals and three assists over a four-game point streak.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Game-time decision Saturday
Rotowire
Paul (undisclosed) will be a game-time decision against Buffalo on Saturday, Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports Florida reports.
Paul skated Saturday morning but coach Jon Cooper said after practice that the winger would be a game-time decision for the evening's contest. He was injured in the third period Thursday against the Hurricanes. Paul has three goals and seven points in 11 games this season.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Leaves game Thursday
Rotowire
Paul (undisclosed) left Thursday's game versus the Hurricanes in the third period, Erik Erlendsson of LightningInsider.com reports.
There was no update on Paul's status after the game. It's unclear how the 27-year-old was injured. He scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in 10:05 of ice time prior to the injury. If Paul can't play Saturday versus the Sabres, the Lightning may need to recall a forward from AHL Syracuse.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: Collects two more points
Rotowire
Paul scored an empty-net goal on three shots, dished an assist, went plus-2, blocked three shots and added two hits in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Ducks.
Paul set up Mikhail Sergachev on the Lightning's first goal before tallying an empty-netter in the final seconds of the game. The 27-year-old Paul got a promotion to the second line for this contest, and his 19:29 of ice time was his second-highest total in eight games. He started slow, but he's collected all four of his points in his last three outings. The forward has added 18 shots on net, 11 blocked shots, 10 hits and a plus-3 rating.
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Lightning's Nick Paul: First points of season
Rotowire
Paul scored a goal and added an assist in a 5-3 win over the Islanders on Saturday.
Paul's goal struck a dagger into the heart of the Isles at the end of the second period, scoring with 0.1 seconds on the clock. Nikita Soshnikov turned the puck over at the Isles' blue line and Ross Colton fired the puck to Paul, who wired a quick wrist shot low blocker side on Ilya Sorokin from the right circle. Paul's goal put the Bolts up 4-2 and they never looked back. These were Paul's first points of the season.
