The possession numbers tell one story, but anyone who watched what transpired between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at Amalie Arena saw something very different. The Bolts were simply unable to execute on their way to a very disappointing 3-1 loss.
Trouble found a home in the Tampa zone early on during Saturday’s game. Only 2:37 into the first period, Boone Jenner beat Ben Bishop with a long-range shot that shouldn’t beat any National Hockey League goaltender. Maybe Bishop misread the situation. Maybe he couldn’t see the puck. Maybe he was still enjoying the nap he started during the Buffalo game. Regardless, Columbus held a 1-0 lead.
Things went from bad to worse for the Bolts at 12:48 in that first period when David Savard was able to sneak the puck through Bishop’s mammoth frame. Assisted by Jack Johnson and Cam Atkinson, Savard’s power play goal was another one that Bishop would probably like to have back.
One bad goal is excusable. Two becomes a problem. As the old saying goes - fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Bishop needed to stop both of Columbus’s first period goals. He didn’t. The result was a two-goal deficit for his Lightning through 20 minutes of play. They never recovered.
Bad giveaways and sloppy defensive plays combined to gift the Blue Jackets a number of opportunities. They converted in the first period, and were therefore able to sit back after that. While the Bolts fired 12 shot at Sergei Bobrovsky in the second period, the Jackets only sent four at Bishop. Neither goaltender was beaten in the middle frame.
Coming back from two down with 20 minutes left on the clock isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it’s far from impossible. The Lightning’s offense is arguably the most talented and potent in the NHL. Combine that with the fact that this injury-plagued Columbus team has really struggled to start 2014-15 and the makings for a comeback were certainly there.
That was until Jack Skille scored his fourth goal of the season just less than five minutes into the third period. Game. Set. Match. That goal was a backbreaker.
Ondrej Palat did break Bobrovsky’s shutout bid with just more than a minute left in the game, but it was far too little too late. The goal was nothing more than another tick in the scoring column for Palat.
It’s hard to describe what happened on Saturday between the Lightning and Jackets. To say the Bolts were ‘off’ would be to leave out oodles of detail. But it’s true. They need to be better. It might just be that simple. Bishop didn't make the save he needed to make. Bobrovsky did. The team that destroyed the Buffalo Sabres last game was nowhere to be found. It needs to come back.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter. 
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