Just a season ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s calling card was their offense and their power play. Leading the league in goals and finishing third in power play percentage, the Lightning often found ways to generate offense on a whim. Through the first two games of the 2018-19 season, the Bolts have found offense difficult to come by.
Facing a Vancouver Canucks team that allowed 14 goals in three games entering Thursday’s match-up at Amalie Arena, this should have been an opportunity for the Lightning to bounce back and hit the back of the net often after scoring just once in regulation in their season-opening win over the Florida Panthers. Instead, they allowed the Canucks to hang around despite dominating the first 30 minutes of this game. As a result, when Vancouver finally hit their stride, it was as if the Lightning didn’t know what hit them.
Riding a 33-save effort from goaltender Anders Nilsson and a pair of goals just 1:10 apart that gave them the lead in the third period, the Canucks (2-2-0) earned their first road win of the season, a 4-1 final over the Lightning (1-1-0) at Amalie Arena. The final score appeared a bit more lopsided due to a pair of late empty net goals by the Canucks, but the Lightning let a winnable game get away from them.
In what has been a rather stunning turn of events through two games, the Lightning’s special teams have been the opposite of what they were a season ago. So far, the Bolts’ power play is 0-for-8 on the season, including 0-for-5 tonight, while the penalty kill successfully killed off all four Vancouver power plays. On the season, the PK is 9-for-9. However, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper bemoaned his team’s lack of success at 5-on-5.
“A good power play scores on one out of every four. Would that have helped tonight? Sure it would have. But they didn’t have a power play goal, either,” said Cooper. “Special teams was insignificant tonight. It was a 5-on-5 game and we lost. Most of the game’s played at 5-on-5.”
The Lightning’s speed and skill proved to be too much for the Canucks early on.
Although aided by a pair of those power play chances that came up empty, the Bolts controlled play at both even strength and on the man-advantage. Tampa Bay generated a few quality chances while a man up, but also largely controlled play at 5-on-5, out-shooting the Canucks 17-5 through 20 minutes. Whether it was the speed of Mathieu Joseph and Tony Cirelli on the third line, the tenaciousness of the fourth line with J.T. Miller, Adam Erne, and Cedric Paquette, or the second line with Brayden Point, Tyler Johnson, and Yanni Gourde, Tampa Bay dominated this period.
While it was concerning not to see more chances from Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Ondrej Palat on the top line at 5-on-5, the Bolts’ depth looked solid early on. What really stood out was the speed of Joseph, who used his wheels to negate two icings and lay a big hit on Troy Stecher into the boards.
Their stellar play early on paid off in the form of Point’s goal at the 16:36 mark. Braydon Coburn worked the puck to Johnson, who burst into the Canucks’ zone and made Nilsson work to make a save. Coburn, Johnson, and Point created havoc in front of Vancouver’s net, leading to a mad scramble. Point pounced on the rebound and put it home for a 1-0 Tampa Bay lead.
Despite drawing multiple penalties with their speed and skill, the Lightning’s power play continued to be a sore spot.
The Bolts went 0-for-2 in the opening period and 0-for-3 in the second. Despite creating a handful of solid chances while up a man, the Lightning’s power play had more than its share of listless moments where they seemed a step slow and indecisive. At times, they were looking to make the pretty play and their passing was not always crisp. While it’s still early in the season, this will be something worth keeping an eye on during this homestand.
On the other hand, Tampa Bay’s penalty kill came up large in the second period. With Ryan McDonagh in the box for interference, Cirelli also took a holding penalty, putting the Bolts down two men for 28 seconds. Most of the Canucks’ best offensive chances came on this power play, but Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Lightning’s penalty killers came up when it mattered, killing off both penalties. Vancouver’s best chance at even strength came when talented rookie Elias Pettersson took a pass and skated into the high slot before uncorking a shot that Vasilevskiy turned aside.
At even strength, the Lightning continued to assert their will, with Joseph using his speed and stick-handling to create a great chance where Nilsson was forced to make a save. Even Victor Hedman got in on the act, getting a partial breakaway when he split through the Canucks’ defense to draw another penalty. Tampa Bay held a 25-15 edge in shots through two periods while maintaining their 1-0 lead.
Despite playing well over the first period-and-a-half, Tampa Bay had trouble finishing and it cost them.
What began as a tenacious effort from the Lightning seemed to deteriorate over the latter portion of the second period and into the third. Over the final 20 minutes, Tampa Bay wasn’t putting together much in terms of quality scoring chances. There were too many one-and-done moments in the offensive zone and not enough extended time like there was earlier in the game. The Canucks hung around thanks to some quality goaltending by Nilsson, and at the 11:07 mark of the third, Vancouver finally broke through.
Derrick Pouliot fired a shot from long range that bounced off the body of Pettersson and into the net, tying the game 1-1. It was Pettersson’s fourth goal in as many games, and it gave the Canucks life. Just 1:10 later, Brock Boeser notched the eventual game-winner thanks to a miscue by Alex Killorn. Killorn’s turnover in the Lightning’s zone ended up on Boeser’s stick, and the Calder Trophy finalist from last year unleashed a wicked slap shot that beat Vasilevskiy and put Vancouver up 2-1. Despite pulling Vasilevskiy with just over two minutes left, Tampa Bay failed to tie the game up, as Kucherov’s pass was intercepted by Jake Virtanen. Virtanen tallied an easy empty net goal with 1:12 left, with Markus Granlund adding another goal with an empty cage with six seconds left on the clock.
The Lightning will look to rebound on Saturday night when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7 pm at Amalie Arena.
Game Notes
-Vasilevskiy finished with 24 saves on 26 shots faced. The Lightning outshot the Canucks 34-28.
-Boeser’s goal was his first of the season, a year after he tallied 29 as a rookie in just 62 games. It was his first appearance at Amalie Arena since being named the All-Star MVP at last year’s All-Star Tournament in Tampa.
-Nilsson earned the win in his first start of the season for the Canucks. Jacob Markstrom started Vancouver’s first three games.
-This was the first game of the season for Tyler Johnson, who missed opening night with an injury. He finished plus-1 with three shots on goal in 18:24 of ice time.
-Entering tonight’s game, the Lightning were one of six teams that had yet to give up a power play goal this season.
-The Lightning are also one of seven teams who have yet to score a power play goal so far.
-Pettersson now sits in sole possession of second place in Canucks history for the longest point streak to start a career at four games. Don Tannahill holds the team record at five games in 1972-73.
Three Stars of the Game
1st Star: Anders Nilsson – Made 33 saves for the win
2nd Star: Brock Boeser – Scored the game-winner and finished with four shots on goal.
3rd Star: Mathieu Joseph – Didn’t find the scoresheet, but was the Lightning’s most consistent player throughout the evening.
