The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t play badly on Saturday night, but they did drop a 3-0 decision to the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. Stunned by a stellar goaltending performance from the ageless Martin Brodeur, Tampa Bay was unable to convert on its numerous opportunities. A dominant possession performance wasn’t enough to net the Bolts their 19th win of the season. The Lightning’s seventh straight road loss moves the team’s record to 18-11-3.
Following a rather dull first period, Jon Cooper’s Lightning took control and managed to do everything but score. As the
shot attempt (fenwick) chart shows, Tampa’s skaters really took it to the hometown Devils. Unfortunately, as the Lightning learned, hockey is a team game, and each team gets to dress goalie. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was, by far and away, the best player on the ice. He stopped all 33 shots fired his way, and simply found a way to get his team the win.
It was Damien Brunner who finally opened the scoring at the 15:37 mark of the second period. After Moses split Matt Carle and Radko Gudas, Brunner jumped up the gap and sent the puck past Anders Lindback to give his team the 1-0 lead. Brunner’s seventh goal of the season was assisted by Eric Gelinas and Mark Fayne. Without saying much more, it’s worth noting that the Devils have a real gem in Gelinas.
The Bolts continued to push through the end of the second and into the third, but with every great Lightning chance came an equally impressive Brodeur save. The Devils, specifically Dainius Zubrus, rewarded Brodeur’s solid play with two insurance markers early in the final frame. Zubrus’s sixth and seventh goals of the year were both assisted by another ageless wonder, Jaromir Jagr.
Even as the third period entered its final stages, the Lightning refused to back down. Down three goals, Jon Cooper elected to pull Lindback with about five minutes left. While they were able to generate chances with the extra man, the Bolts were unable to beat Brodeur. Remarkably, as tpd11 pointed out on the last message board, the Devils didn’t manage to cash in with Tampa’s net empty. The final buzzer sounded, and Brodeur skated off the ice with a 3-0 victory and his 124th career shutout.
As good as the Lightning have been at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, it really doesn’t mean much unless the team can start to piece things together on the road. Scoring goals continues to be an issue for the Steven Stamkos-less squad, and that needs to change. Removing 91 from the roster shouldn’t eliminate every ounce of offensive production. Things don’t get any easier from here, as the team is set to take on the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night in the Motor City.
Thanks for reading.
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