Through the first two games of their Eastern Conference first round series against the New Jersey Devils, the Tampa Bay Lightning rode their power play, offensive depth, and solid goaltending to a 2-0 series lead. While Devils’ star winger Taylor Hall made some contributions, the Lightning mostly kept him in check.
Unfortunately for the Lightning in Game 3, that was no longer the case. And just like that, Hall and the Devils made this series a lot more interesting going forward.
Hall tallied a goal and two assists, while Cory Schneider made 34 saves in his first start of the playoffs as the Devils beat the Lightning 5-2 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Schneider took over for Keith Kinkaid, who started the first two games of the series. Will Butcher, Blake Coleman, and Ben Lovejoy scored the other goals for New Jersey, who out-shot the Lightning 41-36.
Despite being on the short end of the shot total, the Lightning played a pretty solid game through the first 40 minutes of action, and the score was a bit inflated by a pair of emtpy net goals. However, Tampa Bay played an undisciplined game, handing the Devils seven power plays, killing off six of them. While a questionable call on Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev didn’t lead to a power play goal, a couple of costly penalties on the Bolts early in the third period would turn the momentum of the game around.
Although he was charged with the loss, Andrei Vasilevskiy was largely outstanding for the Bolts, making 36 saves and keeping this one close. Alex Killorn continued his red-hot start to the playoffs with another power play goal, while Steven Stamkos finally hit the back of the net for his first goal of these playoffs. Nikita Kucherov earned assists on both goals as the Lightning’s series lead shrunk to 2-1.
Both teams saw their share of early chances, but the Lightning played a solid road period to start things off.
With the exception of an early power play for the Devils, the Lightning controlled play for the first 12 minutes. They held New Jersey without a shot for the span of about 10 minutes and saw Ryan McDonagh save a goal by clearing a loose puck out of the crease on that power play. While the Lightning out-shot the Devils 12-8 in the first, New Jersey generated more quality chances. Vasilevskiy robbed Coleman on a 2-on-1, while Hall broke out on a partial breakaway, only to blast a shot off the crossbar.
Cory Conacher, filling in for an injured Ryan Callahan, earned one of the Bolts’ best chances early on, forcing a turnover and starting a 2-on-1, only to see his shot denied by Schneider. During a delayed penalty, Yanni Gourde also had a great chance while wide open in the crease, only to see Schneider make the save. Overall, Tampa Bay played a pretty solid period and kept the game scoreless in a hostile road environment.
So far in this series, the Lightning’s power play has been phenomenal. While the PP unit gave the Bolts a lead, it also led to the Devils tying this game up.
Tampa Bay possessed 1:45 of carryover power play time going into the second period. Only 42 seconds in, Killorn found the back of the net off a tremendous pass from Kucherov, notching his third power play goal of the series and fourth overall. Over the next several minutes, both teams traded quality opportunities, but New Jersey began to turn the tide in their favor thanks to their penalty killing unit.
With John Moore in the box for clipping J.T. Miller with a high stick during a 2-on-1, the Lightning’s potent power play took the ice. However, the result was different this time, as they laid a complete egg.
Victor Hedman lazily went back to retrieve a puck, where Coleman hounded him and turned it into a shot on goal, forcing Vasilevskiy to make a tough save. Coleman then generated a shorthanded 2-on-1 that Vasilevskiy also turned aside.
New Jersey earned another 2-on-1 break on the same Lightning power play thanks to an ill-advised cross-ice pass from Stamkos. Fortunately for the Lightning, Vasilevskiy was there to make the save on Nico Hischier. Unfortunately for the Bolts, the Devils built up a lot of momentum off that penalty kill and tied the game moments after the action returned to 5-on-5. The Devils kept the pressure up, with a loose puck bouncing around in the Lightning’s zone. Hedman, who did not have a good second period, made a clearing attempt that went right to Hall. Hall immediately ripped it past Vasilevskiy, tying the game 1-1 with 7:36 left on the clock.
Towards the end of the period, the Lightning began to slowly get some momentum back in their favor, as McDonagh helped generate a few quality chances. Over the course of the first two periods, he and Vasilevskiy were the best players on the ice for Tampa Bay.
Through the first two games of the postseason, Stamkos notched a pair of assists, but his impact had largely been minimal.
However, that all changed only 38 seconds into the third period. Collecting a pass from Kucherov in his office in the left circle, Stamkos didn’t one-time it right away. He gathered himself, had time, and wristed one past Schneider for his first postseason goal since 2015, putting the Bolts up 2-1 on another carryover power play from the previous period. Unfortunately for the Lightning, Stamkos’s tally would be the last positive for the Lightning this evening.
Soon after the Lightning went up 2-1, the wheels slowly began to fall off.
Cedric Paquette took what some would consider a questionable tripping penalty while chasing down a puck in the Devils’ zone, putting New Jersey on the power play. The Lightning then proceeded to go down two men when they were whistled for too many men on the ice. At the 4:03 mark, Butcher fired a wrist shot through a screen that beat Vasilevskiy for his first career playoff goal, tying the game 2-2.
A few minutes later, a wild sequence saw Schneider appear to tweak his groin while the Lightning were swarming around the net. However, the Lightning were unable to bury three good shots there, including one stopped by Schneider while he was on the ice. Despite being shaken up, Schneider remained in the contest. Miller took a tripping penalty at the end of that play, only to see the Bolts kill off the ensuing power play. Tampa Bay also saw Paquette and Brayden Point earn quality chances in close, only to see Schneider stop one and Butcher block the other.
For the duration of this season, Hall has showed why he’s a Hart Trophy favorite, and tonight was no exception.
Having already picked up a goal and an assist, Hall used his speed to drive the Lightning’s defense back. With room to work, Hall sailed a perfect pass over to Stefan Noesen, who blasted a one-timer past Vasilevskiy with 7:05 to go, giving the Devils a 3-2 lead. Having the last line change was huge for the Devils, as they found more success keeping Hall away from Point’s line. New Jersey controversially picked up another power play when Coleman and Mikhail Sergachev collided. Sergachev was whistled for an illegal check to the head, although replays showed he clearly was skating back to the bench and wasn’t looking at Coleman. Coleman skated into Sergachev’s elbow and went down, appearing to be in pain. However, the concussion spotters didn’t take Coleman out of the game, and he remained in.
The Lightning penalty kill came up big again despite the questionable call, followed by the Lightning power play earning one last chance with under three minutes to go. However, New Jersey notched a pair of empty net goals, one by Coleman and one by Lovejoy, putting this game on ice. The game took a nasty turn when a huge melee broke out between both teams in the final minute, highlighted by Sergachev and former Bolt forward Brian Boyle wrestling around and exchanging nasty words as they were separated.
With the series taking an angry turn, the attention focuses to when these teams reconvene for Game 4 on Wednesday night in Newark. Puck drops at 7:30 pm.
Three Stars of the Game
1st Star: Taylor Hall – One goal, two assists, including the primary helper on the game-winning goal.
2nd Star: Cory Schneider – Made 34 saves in his first playoff start of 2018.
3rd Star: Stefan Noesen – Scored the game-winning goal with just over seven minutes remaining.
