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Lightning vs. Canadiens: Game Two Preview

April 18, 2014, 2:19 AM ET [60 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
After being outplayed from start to finish and ultimately dropping a 5-4 overtime decision in game one of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup with the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have a chance for revenge tonight in game two at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Don’t let the 5-4 score from game one fool you; the Bolts had absolutely no business extending that contest past regulation time. Had it not been for some uncharacteristically bad goaltending from Carey Price, Montreal likely would have walked out of the Forum with a blowout victory in hand. Despite only firing 16 shots at the Montreal goaltender during regulation time, Tampa was able to put up four goals. On the other side of things, it took the Canadiens 35 shots to get four past Anders Lindback.

I’ve made note of the fact that Carey Price has traditionally struggled once the postseason rolls around. You’d have a hard time arguing that his performance in game one did anything to alleviate that reputation. While he did eventually secure the win, Price didn’t exactly inspire much confidence in the process. Like the Lightning, who will be looking to rebound from an abysmal performance, Price will have a chance to bounce back from a less than stellar outing.

In the Lightning net, Anders Lindback will be given the opportunity to even the score after losing his first career playoff start. Despite the fact that Ben Bishop did don full gear and practice with the team’s goaltending coach yesterday, Jon Cooper announced that he won’t be available for game two. The coach went further than that and basically said that fans shouldn’t expect to see their MVP goaltender any time soon.


Adding to the team’s injury woes, it was also announced that Ondrej Palat did not practice with the team on Thursday. He’s been diagnosed with a non-concussion upper-body injury. That report sort of takes away from CBC’s view that Palat was injured courtesy of a knee-on-knee collision with Montreal’s PK Subban. There seems to be some confusion as to how Palat was injured. Regardless, the fact that he’s a game time decision probably isn’t good. He’s been an integral part of the Lightning’s 2013-14 campaign.

With Palat unable to practice, Cooper was forced to juggle his lines. Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune was able to jot down the new combinations.


Of particular note is that first line combination. I’ve mentioned already that game one was a hot mess for the Lightning, but two of the team’s better players were Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos. Both gentlemen tallied two points on a night when it was tough for the home team to create offense. Johnson, who notched one point of his own, was also quite good.

Granted, the line combinations won’t matter much unless Cooper can adapt and beat Michel Therrien’s system. The Lightning were guilty of playing right into the Canadiens’ hands on Wednesday, and that can’t happen again tonight. The up-the-middle passes don’t work. The dump-and-chase isn’t effective. Tampa needs to find a way to penetrate Montreal’s neutral zone coverage and work the puck into their attacking zone. This is where Cooper can truly establish himself as one of the year’s best coaches.

Simply put, the Bolts need to be better tonight than they were in game one if they want to have any hope in this series. They can't expect Price to give up four goals in regulation time every night, so it's imperative that their defensive game improves. While this second tilt isn’t mathematically a must win for Tampa Bay, it effectively serves as one. This team can’t afford to be down 0-2 after two games at the Forum. A 1-1 split gives the Lightning hope. At this point, it’s hard to ask for much more.

I’ll be back with a game recap tonight. As always, thanks for reading.
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