Face-off wins plagued the Lightning as the game went on and despite being outshot Tampa pulled through to beat the Flames and extend their win streak to 3 games. Andrei Vasilevskiy tamed the Flames while the offense came alive at the right time to secure the win. Phillipe Myers scored his first as a member of the Lightning in a game that easily could have gone Calgary’s way.
Successful challenge
In the early minutes Tampa’s offense made sure to get busy early with a couple of shots on net. Then, Lightning continued with the strong play on offense keeping the Flames defense busy. Afterwards, action on ice would not slow down much however neither team generated a decent scoring chance. Next, Nazem Kadri fired the puck that Milan Lucic then directed past Vasilevskiy for the opening goal. However, Jon Cooper wasted no time in challenging the goal for off-sides. As a result, the goal was quickly reviewed and was called back for off-sides. Game remained scoreless but it would not be for much longer. Steven Stamkos then scored to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead after an odd series of events. Calgary at this point were 9-1 on the face-offs despite giving up the goal to Stamkos.
Defense needs to improve
Flames continued to dominate on the face-off as the period went on which caused some miscues on the Lightning side. Thankfully, no damage was done due to the mistakes, but Tampa had to improve before it would cost them. Later on, Calgary received the first power play of the night after Mikhail Sergachev was called for tripping. Lately Tampa have struggled on the penalty kill but did kill off this one to keep the score 1-0. Calgary kept up the pressure late in the period but could not answer Vasy. On the Lightning side, defense has not played well and needed to improve to keep the lead. First period ended with the Lightning leading 1-0.
Face-off woes continue
Second period began with yet another face-off win for the Flames. Momentum was with the Flames, yet Vasy remained a stalwart in net. Face-offs stayed in favor of Calgary 20-5 to this point in the game. Following, Tampa continued to struggle with getting the puck out of their zone feeding Calgary more chances to tie the game. Soon after, Lightning offense started to come alive in hopes of extending the lead. Once again, Calgary kept up the pressure while Tampa was still trying to find their game.
Extending the lead on the power play
Jacob Markstrom remained sharp in net for Calgary stopping the minor chances Tampa was able to generate. After, Flames went on the power play for the second time of the night after a questionable call on Brandon Hagel. Lightning killed off the penalty to keep the game 1-0 with 5 minutes to go in the second period. Finally, with a couple minutes to go, Tampa went on the power play for the first time after Rasmus Andersson is called for holding. Following, Nikita Kucherov took advantage of a nice play by Sergachev to score on the power play and extend the lead 2-0. Before the period ended Calgary nearly cut the lead but again Vasilevskiy bailed his teammates out.
Flames answer back
Heading into the third period Calgary was outshooting the Lightning 28-17. As expected, Flames won the opening face-off and minutes later went on the power play for a third time. Jonathan Huberdeau thought he scored, but Vasy made a huge stop. Unfortunately, Calgary then scored on the power play to cut the lead 2-1. Fortunately, ten seconds after the Elias Lindholm goal Tampa answered back with a goal. Philippe Myers scored his first as a member of the Lightning to make it a two-goal game again. The goal would be Myers’ first since March 17th.
Pair of goals secure the victory
Game calmed down for a bit following the goal as Tampa looked to defend the two-goal lead. With 7:10 to Tampa went on the power play for the second time tonight after Nikita Zadorov was called for holding after losing his glove. Despite some solid chances the Lightning could not score on the man advantage thus the score remaining 3-1. After, 4-on-4 hockey would be played after Jonathan Huberdeau and Haydn Fleury are sent off for roughing. With 1:37 left in the game Calgary pulls Markstrom for the extra attacker on ice. All in all, Kucherov would net an empty net goal sealing a 4-1 victory. Despite being outplayed in the face-off circle Tampa extended the win streak to three games.
Myers' first as a Bolt!! pic.twitter.com/PVPgO1yfj6
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 18, 2022
Three stars of the game
1st Star: Andrei Vasilevskiy – Saved 39 of 40 shots faced
2nd Star: Mikhail Sergachev – 2 assists
3rd Star: Steven Stamkos – 1 goal, 1 assist
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