The Lightning are having a rough stretch. They had lost three straight coming into this one. The last two were particularly troubling, as they fell to the flailing Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night and then took a pummeling from the Ottawa Senators Thursday night. Obviously, they would like to stop the bleeding. Upcoming games against the top two teams in the league is probably not exactly what the doctor would have ordered for that. But here they are. In Boston. Facing off against the Bruins. You know the Bruins will be hungry because a win in this game will clinch them the Atlantic Division. Can the Bolts find a way to right this ship against the NHL’s best in a Saturday matinee game or will the Lightning woes continue?
Lightning Penalty Woes Plague Opening Minutes
The Bolts were collectively in a bad mood today. And it showed. Just seconds into the game, Pat Maroon got into it with Garnet Hathaway. They both went to the box for five minutes, but the Bolts took the extra two minutes, giving the Bruins an early power play. The Lightning killed it off. But less than a minute later, Tanner Jeannot interfered with Connor Clifton and the Bolts would be shorthanded once again. And once again, they killed it off. But they were not done yet! Fourteen seconds after Jeannot returned to the ice, Pat Maroon yelled something from the bench. The referees did not like it and the Bolts had themselves a third penalty. The third time proved to be the charm for the Bruins as Patrice Bergeron’s shot went in on a funny bounce of Victor Hedman’s foot.
And for the next minute and a half, we had no more penalty calls! Jeannot could not let that last, as he high sticked David Krejci and went to the box for a double minor- 4 minutes. Just over a minute into that call, Hedman made up for the unfortunate bounce off his foot by absolutely drilling a shot past Linus Ullmark for the first shorthanded goal of his illustrious career.
BIG SWEDE BIG GOAL #TBLvsBOS
Victor Hedman with a short-handed BOMB to tie this game, as called by @DaveMishkin
🎧: @1025TheBone or Lightning Radio 24/7 on the Lightning app pic.twitter.com/yfXzDxR3fi
— Lightning Radio (@BoltsRadio) March 25, 2023
Lightning Power Play Woes on Display
After giving up 5 early penalties, the scales started to tip a bit toward the Lightning. Unfortunately, they could not capitalize. Four straight penalty calls went against the Bruins. The fourth gave Tampa Bay a one minute and 10 second 5 on 3 advantage. A two-man advantage is huge for any team. Yet, all season, the Lightning have struggled to capitalize on these advantages. This one had to be frustrating for Bolts fans as we watched pass after pass after pass with no one taking a shot. Steven Stamkos had every opportunity but chose to pass rather than attempting the shot.
End of Second Period Woes Continue
In the first two games of this road trip, the Bolts had trailed 2-0 and fought to get back into them by making it 2-1 in the second period. Both times, their opponent scored late in the second frame to regain a 2-goal advantage. Today, the Lightning had a chance to take a lead late in the second. But Nikita Kucherov’s shot hit the goalpost and back came Boston. Garnet Hathaway snapped his 12th of the season past Andrei Vasilevskiy to put the big bad Bruins up 2-1. Once again, the dying moments of the second period would prove to be the undoing of the Lightning.
Lightning Woes Continue in Third
The Lightning needed a comeback in the third. But they were facing an opponent that knows how to close out games. Anthony Cirelli had a great opportunity shorthanded but puck luck was not on his side. And as the clock ticked down, it became clear that the Lightning woes would continue, as they dropped their fourth straight.
3 Stars
1- Garnet Hathaway- game winning goal
2- Victor Hedman- shorthanded goal
3- Linus Ullmark- 26 of 27 saves
Up Next
The Bolts will take their 4-game losing streak into Carolina Tuesday night as they face the Hurricanes at 7pm.
