The Tampa Bay Lightning bounced back in a big way Tuesday night after they found themselves on the wrong side of a third-period comeback, surrendering five goals in the final frame to the Vancouver Canucks Sunday night. This late-game debacle happened on the second night of a back-to-back for the Lightning, in which the night before, they claimed victory in a strong effort over the Florida Panthers. However, the Lightning once again managed to rally back to the game they want to play, decidedly besting the New Jersey Devils 5-1.
Injury Depletion
This latest homestand for the Lightning has been one of adversity, as injuries have decimated the lineup. The depleted roster was first thoroughly dismantled by the New York Rangers earlier last week, 7-3. The Lightning missed Hedman, McDonagh, Cirelli, James, Holmberg, and Paul, and would lose Hagel early into the game
Not much changed on the injury front going into Saturday’s game against the Panthers, but the Lightning were able to put forth a much stronger showing in the first half of their back-to-back. With this being the first meeting between the two Florida rivals, expectations were for a heavy, scrappy game. Although there was as much as the usual expected rivalry shenanigans, both teams were perhaps saved from a preseason rematch by their already injured lineup. Andrei Vasilevskiy was able to bounce back in a huge way after getting pulled the game prior against the Rangers, stopping 22 of the 23 shots he faced.
Sunday’s Collapse
The Lightning kept the momentum going from the Panthers game the night before, and were hot out of the gate. Hagel drew back into the lineup against the Canucks, giving some extra hope to Bolts fans. The game started out all Lightning, leading in shots 13-1 after the first period. The Canucks were fortunate to only surrender 1 goal against in the first 20 minutes, coming late in the first on a quick break-in from the Lightning.
Brayden Point broke into the Canucks zone with speed and control and set up with Darren Raddysh at the blue line. Raddysh then found Nikita Kucherov below the far side circle with a great cross ice pass. Kucherov would make no mistake and blast a lethal one-timer past Kevin Lankinen to grab the first lead of the game
The Lightning would continue the pressure into the second period and grab the insurance marker 5 minutes into the frame. Erik Cernak got the puck at the point and fired a shot towards the net, where a battling Jake Guentzel would get his stick on it to make it a 2-0 game for the Lightning. The second period would end with the Canucks getting on the board on the power play, Jake Debrusk banging in the rebound created off a nifty move and shot from Elias Pettersson.
At the start of the third period, the script was flipped. The Canucks piled on the pressure and were quick to start getting shots on net. The Canucks first goal came just over 4 minutes into the period on the man advantage, wherein a tipped shot banks off of J.J. Moser’s skate and past Jonas Johansson.
With a little bit of life now, the Canucks continued the push, firing everything towards the net. 43 seconds is all it took for the Canucks to grab another and hold their first lead of the night, another tipped shot in front of Johansson from a fairly innocuous backhand shot from distance. Only 57 seconds after their go-ahead goal would Vancouver get their insurance, and once again, a screened tip-in front puts it in the back of the net.
Vancouver would eventually tack on another goal and add the empty netter to seal the game 6-2 in their favour. Although there were some definite positives to take away from that game, early-season problems are beginning to creep their way back into the Lightning’s game.
Get back to the basics
Sometimes it is good to have a short memory, and coming off of a mixed bag 3 game stretch, the Lightning can make do with forgetting about their games against New York and Vancouver. The Lightning have 2 more games at home before heading back out on the road. The good news is that Anthony Cirelli made his return, but trading places with Erik Cernak, who missed Tuesday’s game against the Devils.
Jake Guentzel continues to be the brightest spot on this talented Bolts lineup this year, tallying a hat-trick against the Devils. His first came halfway through the first period when Guentzel snatched up an errant pass at the blueline and broke out with blinding speed on a breakaway, beating Markstrom with a quick shot that the netminder barely reacts to. Guentzel’s second and third goals of the game both came on the power play, with Guentzel parked right in front of the net, where he has been so good all season long. Both goals featured excellent passes from Raddysh and Kucherov, respectively, which Guentzel, with his stick on the ice, makes good work to deflect both pucks into the net.
Both Kucherov and Raddysh had excellent games as well, with Kucherov recording a goal and an assist, and Raddysh a goal and two assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy has also had himself a couple of tremendous starts in a row, since getting pulled in the blowout loss to the Rangers last week. Vasilevskiy made 31 of 32 saves, getting beaten only late in the second period off a weird rebound that hits Nico Hischier as he drove to the net. This Marks Vasilevskiy’s second game in a row allowing only 1 goal against, and a SV% above .950.
Next Up
The Lightning have another strong test ahead of them, hosting the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night. The Lightning will still be rostering a rather depleted lineup, but Nick Paul looks to be fully participating in practice and is getting ready to make his season debut against the Oilers. It is not ideal to continually need to bounce back after tough losses, so the Lightning will look to come out strong and maintain their momentum through the entire game.
