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Panik's Blunder, Ovechkin's Killer Instinct Cost Lightning in Washington |
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A dominant performance at even strength wasn’t enough to push the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night, as special teams unfortunately took center stage. Despite holding leads of 3-0, 4-2, and 5-4 at different points in the game, the Bolts ultimately fell by a score of 6-5 in the shootout. A four goal performance from Alex Ovechkin was enough to hand Tampa its sixth straight road loss. The “L” moves the Lightning’s record to 17-10-3.
For a team that was struggling both to score goals and to play well on the road heading into the contest, the Lightning got off to a picture perfect start. Just 2:26 into the game, with his team on the power-play thanks to a Mike Green high-stick, Marty St. Louis notched his 13th goal of the year to give the Bolts a 1-0 lead. Assisted by Sami Salo and Tyler Johnson, Marty’s marker was exactly what the Lightning needed after failing to generate much attack against Winnipeg on Saturday night. Don't look now, but Marty is on pace for a 35 goal, 82 point campaign.
The first period’s offensive party didn’t stop there, as Nikita Kucherov fired home his second of the season at the 10:49 mark to extend the Lightning lead to two. Another power-play goal, Kucherov’s tally was assisted by Teddy Purcell and Matt Carle. The young Russian, who was a threat all night long, is just so electric with the puck. His skillset was on full display against the Capitals.
Only 18 seconds after Kucherov scored, Nate Thompson scored his third of the season to give the Lightning a commanding 3-0 lead. Thompson’s second goal in his last two games came off a two-on-one rush with JT Brown; Brown made a perfect pass to set up the play and Thompson sent the puck to the back of the net with conviction. After allowing three goals on eight shots, Braden Holtby was pulled and replaced by Phillip Grubauer, who was incredibly solid in relief.
At 3-0, Bolts Nation was breathing easy. Two early power-play markers, courtesy of the 18 penalty minutes compiled by Mike Green in the first frame, and one even strength tally were enough to give the Lightning what almost looked like an insurmountable lead. That was until Alex Ovechkin scored his first of four (!) on the night at the 14:15 mark of the first to bring his Capitals back to within two. The game was on.
Washington made it a one goal game at the 6:24 mark of the second period when Nicklas Backstrom scored a power-play goal, his seventh of the season. Mikhail Grabovski and Troy Brouwer notched assists. The back-and-forth continued, though, as Tyler Johnson gave the Bolts a 4-2 lead about six minutes later when he scored his seventh of the year from Ondrej Palat and St. Louis. Things were just heating up.
The “TSN Turning Point” of Tuesday’s game took place with about three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the middle period. Richard Panik was assessed a five minute major penalty for boarding on Karl Alzner. Just like that, the Bolts were facing a five minute kill against the league’s best power-play. The Capitals (read: Alex Ovechkin) made the Lightning pay not once, but twice. Ovechkin’s 24th and 25th goals of the year brought the game back to square one at 4-4. As this blogger so eloquently pointed out on Twitter, the wheels just fell off in the second period.
Regardless of whether Panik deserved a major or a minor for his hit on Alzner, the fact is that number-71 can’t put the referee in a position to make that call. Panik could have let up. Panik could have stepped back. He didn’t. The penalty and resulting Washington power-play cost the Lightning in a big way. A microcosm of his tough season, Panik’s night was full of struggles. It might be time for the organization to send him back to Syracuse for a little bit of extra seasoning just like it did with Brett Connolly.
The Lightning grabbed a 5-4 lead just over eight minutes into the third period when Ondrej Palat sent home his fifth of the season. Assisted by Johnson and St. Louis, Palat’s marker was absolutely clutch. Just as he was in the playoffs for the Crunch last season, Palat has been a big-time player for the Lightning this season. It’s been said before, but Palat is really a Mr. Everything for Tampa right now.
Tyler Johnson’s assist on Palat’s goal, his third point of the night, moved him into a tie for second in the league’s rookie scoring race. His 17 points tie him with the likes of Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado and Torey Krug of Boston. He’s been very good for the Bolts so far this year, and he’s only getting better. The diminutive forward plays and brings a huge game every night.
With only 33 seconds left in the game, and with their goalie on the bench, Washington pulled even. Alex Ovechkin’s 26th of the season and fourth of the night knotted things up at five. When he winds up for a big shot, you know it’s going to find the twine. Say what you want about the ‘Great 8,’ but he’s mighty entertaining to watch. On a night that saw his team get thumped at five-on-five, Ovechkin singlehandedly earned his team a victory.
After a scoreless overtime frame, the Capitals won the game in the shootout. The teams traded goals in the skills competition before Ondrej Palat failed to score, sealing the deal on a 6-5 Washington victory. While they didn’t manage to win the game, the Bolts can’t be entirely unhappy with the way they played on Tuesday evening. One five minute stretch of the game was all that cost the team. The Lightning will now return home to the friendly confines of the Tampa Bay Times Forum, where they’ll take on the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.
As always, thanks for reading.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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