Ek's note: We are excited to welcome Sam Hitchcock as our new Tampa Bay Lightning writer. Sam uses hockey analytics and extensive study of game tape to examine NHL players, teams, trends, and strategies. He founded his own website, Intelligent Hockey, and has been a contributor to ESPN Insider and NBC Sports.




The Lightning and Coyotes are two teams traveling on opposite paths. Tampa Bay is headed toward the playoffs and a possible Cup berth; the Coyotes are marching toward the dais to make their pick for the 2018 NHL Draft.

Thursday night’s 4-1 win wasn’t the Lightning embarrassing the Coyotes. A glance at the Scoring Chances and High Dangers Chances illustrates that, over 60 minutes, the tallies were close (or equal in the latter department). The Lightning generated more shot attempts, but that should be no surprise considering they were facing the second-worst team in the NHL in Corsi Plus-Minus.

Tampa Bay’s victory was a controlled effort. Their offensive off the rush was relatively modest, and most of their shot attempts came from their forecheck putting intense pressure on an overwhelmed Coyotes’ breakout. The first power play for the Lightning was a result of their spending a minute in Arizona’s zone. The Coyotes briefly cleared the puck from the zone, and the Tampa Bay forwards executed a quick neutral-zone re-entry where Ryan Callahan drew a penalty as he cut to the net.

The ensuing man advantage was an extension of Lightning territorial domination. The puck also never left the offensive zone during the entire 75 seconds it lasted. The top half of the Lighting power-play umbrella is rightly celebrated for its dynamism, but the work below the circles by Vladislav Namestikov and Alex Killorn enables the puck movement and plethora of scoring chances. On the first goal, both players were dogged in their retrieval of the puck, facilitating some great outside-to-inside passing. Nice work by Nikita Kucherov trying to take a hard snapshot off the Victor Hedman drive, and after the first attempt recognizing the seam pass to Steven Stamkos was available. (Stamkos’s one-timer didn’t cross the goal line, but Namestikov was in the blue paint to tap the puck home.)

The second goal followed quickly, and was a three-zone failure by the Coyotes. An incredibly soft forecheck by Arizona allowed for Anton Stralman to retrieve the puck and complete the first pass to Tyler Johnson, who proceeded to shovel the puck on his backhand through the middle of the ice to Ondrej Palat. The pass was easily completed, and Palat, under no duress, threaded a pass to Brayden Point, who was shooting up the weak side. The puck, and the off-the-puck-cutting forward, eluded both Coyotes defensemen, leading to a breakaway goal. For the Coyotes, the sequence was a tortured reminder of the perils of human fallibility.

The game split wide open before the first commercial time out in the second period, when a nice pinch by Victor Hedman allowed the Lighting to obtain possession of the puck. Tampa Bay thrives on its forward-defenseman interchange, and Kucherov had retreated to the point. Hedman transported the puck to him, and Kucherov snapped a shot at net (which an Arizona skater then tipped into the goal).

The Coyotes did end up scoring on a power play in the second, but overall, the Lightning were able to play their brand of hockey in a managed way that minimized mistakes. Tampa Bay was able to consistently stay in front of the puck and their man.

The Lightning identity is aggressive hockey. When things are working well, they subvert opponents’ schemes and wreak havoc with puck support and movement. When it is errant, the forecheck and transition defense are baggy and compulsive -- the breakouts slapdash and the entries disjointed. The Bolts have speed and skill in abundance, but when they are at their most effective their timing is notable. The fourth goal was a quick counterattack off a sloppy Coyotes pass in the neutral zone. Stralman connected with Point in the neutral zone, and the puck suddenly teleported to Tyler Johnson, who exploded up the wing and buried a shot near-side post.

The patience and confidence the Lightning possess with the puck acts as their best friend, but occasionally can go Brutus on Julius Caesar. In the game against the Blues, on the Brayden Point goal, Johnson took the path behind the net and bought time; the extra few seconds revealed a passing lane to Point on the second wave of the attack. But in the second period of that game, this puck-hubris almost doomed the Lightning. Blues Sharpshooter Vladimir Tarasenko had two golden opportunities on the same shift in the middle frame due to turnovers by Kucherov and Hedman. The skill that opens up lanes for Tampa Bay makes them the envy of the league, but it can also be weaponized. In that same game, poor puck management by the Lightning forwards on line changes almost felled them multiple times.

Arizona does not have the facility to expose these vulnerabilities. Tampa Bay played restrained, won the territorial game, and, with their speed on the forecheck and cycle, forced the Coyotes’ defensemen to play ham-fisted hockey.

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