Wins over Peterborough and Milton Keynes have given leaders Telford a two-point cushion, with Basingstoke the only other side within striking distance.
The Bison have a game in hand over The Tigers, while Guildford – who travel to Shropshire next weekend – are a further two points adrift.
Saturday night’s 4-1 success at Bretton Road was followed by a 7-1 win over visitors Milton Keynes on Sunday, as Telford served notice of their title-chasing intentions.
And Watkins, who tinkered with his formations against the Lightning, was delighted with the success of that rotation policy.
He said: “During the second and third periods on Sunday, we really changed the lines about and threw together a lot of different combinations.
“None of the guys knew when they would get back on the ice again, so they had to work hard. If not, they wouldn’t have got back into the game.
“That changed the shape of the match and to win the second period was really excellent.
“There was some great fore-checking from our guys and wonderful plays. It made us very hard to defend against.”
On Saturday, a tense encounter against the Phantoms saw the first 38 minutes goalless, despite Telford outshooting their hosts by 33 shots to 19.
But 39th minute strikes from Blahoslav Novak and Scott Mckenzie gave The Tigers useful lead at the second interval.
Dan Davies added a third goal on 46 minutes, before Peterborough cut that advantage 60s seconds later.
A frantic final ten minutes saw the hosts pull their netminder, but Telford secured the points with a late empty net goal from Max Birbraer.
Watkins added: “Both netminders had very good games, but we had the better chances. Sometimes you have to rely on unclean pucks, or greasy goals.
“If you don’t score in the first period, and most of the second, then in hockey you can run into that sort of thing.
“The thing that pleased me most was the mentality of our guys and the way they kept going.”
Sunday’s encounter with Milton Keynes was the third such meeting between the two sides in Shropshire this season.
That familiarity with the home side’s systems saw them pegged back at the start of the game, as the Lightning took an early lead.
But a second period onslaught from The Tigers gave them a 5-1 lead, thanks to goals from Max Birbraer, Dan Scott, Joe Miller, Scott McKenzie and Dan Davies.
Further strikes from Jason Silverthorn and Danny Rose in the third period sealed the points for Telford.
“Sometimes, you can feel a little bit of frustration when we don’t score straight away,” Watkins said.
“But it is a 60 minute game and we have to realise that teams will make it hard for us to score against them.
“Saying that, we had some great chances to score in the first period, so to get that goal, right at the start of the second period, was really pleasing.”
The Tigers face a tough set of games next weekend, when they host Guildford Flames on Saturday (5.30pm), before a trip to Manchester Phoenix on Sunday.