The Lightning have a glitzy forward group and superlative goaltender, and these players understandably consume all of the airtime. Yours truly is as guilty as anyone of getting weak in the knees over a Nikita Kucherov bomb or drooling over a Brayden Point-led rush. But the role the Lightning defense has played in this squad’s blazing start should be commended, and last night’s 1-0 victory of the Avalanche is a prominent example. With nearly ten percent of the season completed, Tampa Bay’s defense is propelling the Lightning, and the numbers are revealing.
The Lightning have moved into third in the NHL in goals against per game, and they have the league’s best penalty kill. They are a top-five team in controlling shot attempts at 5v5 and rank second only to San Jose in Scoring Chances for percentage. A lot of credit goes to a defensive group that is making great plays— quietly—on both ends.
In a game where the Lightning only mustered 16 even-strength Scoring Chances, the defense powered the forwards by activating on the rush. For instance, in the second period, Kucherov generated two notable scoring opportunities. With 4 minutes and 30 seconds left, he carried the puck end-to-end before swinging it to Tyler Johnson in the slot. But the room that was provided was due to Braydon Coburn driving the net and pushing the Avalanche defense back. Johnson had space to catch the puck as the trailer and rip it on net, and Coburn’s engagement in the rush precipitated that opportunity and room for Kucherov on the entry.
On the second chance, with 15 seconds left in the middle frame, Kucherov received a pass in the slot from Steven Stamkos that Kucherov tried to belt near post. This time it was Victor Hedman who had driven the middle and caused a retreat of the Colorado defense. Unfortunately, Kucherov’s shot hit Hedman when he tried to pick a corner, so while the process was exemplary, the outcome was cruel.
The Lightning defensemen acting as decoys to help their forwards have more time and space is a much needed boost when the offense stalls. (And they weren’t always just decoys—Anton Stralman slithered toward the far post with 13 minutes left in the game and almost banged in a wobbling puck after a Ryan Callahan-led rush.)
The boards also play a valuable role in the relationship between the Lightning defensemen and forwards. For the Tampa Bay defense, casting the puck toward the half wall is the objective. (The forwards will do the rest.) Beneath the goal line and below the circles, the Lightning defensemen have the freedom to rough up the puck-carrier or poke-check. They are working in conjunction, with each pairing communicating well to create something like a reverse forecheck; one defenseman separates the puck from its possessor, and the other scoops it up and chucks it toward the outlet.
Most importantly, the outlet has consistently been there. A defenseman can ring the puck toward the half-wall and there will be a winger ready to chip the puck out of the zone. For as fast as the Lightning have been on retrievals, their ability to swing the puck at the outlet, have that outlet tip the puck out of the zone, and then have the puck corralled by one or two forwards shooting through the middle makes the zone exit to transition supremely effective yet subtle because it transpires so quickly. It jolts the viewer. At the snap of a finger, the Lightning went from defending to putting the opponent on its heels. It makes for thrilling television.
In the neutral zone, the Lightning are also quite good at using the boards as a prop for the counterattack, while also using it as their enforcement tool. (Mikhail Sergachev had a gorgeous indirect pass that led to an Alex Killorn chance.) The Lightning like to provoke confrontations along the boards and halt their opponents’ entries, and that hostility is fostered by the forwards’ speed underneath. Without a self-aware and speedy transition defense, the Lightning gaps would be looser, and it would bleed into the their offensive zone time.
The defensive group is not perfect. Ryan McDonagh had a play where he tried to self-pass behind the goal line that resulted in a turnover and an amazing scoring opportunity for the Avalanche. With nine minutes left in the third, Hedman tried to intercept a pass up the gut, missed it, and Marko Dano had a mini breakaway as a result. The same was true when Dan Girardi tried to step up on Nathan MacKinnon on the power play with under six minutes left in the game. The puck crawled past Girardi and MacKinnon whipped a shot from below the circle, but Vasilevskiy was there for the stop.
But confidence bordering on arrogance is a feature, not a bug, for the Lightning. Part of the reason Tampa Bay’s defensemen are so emboldened below the goal line, or to step up in the neutral zone and spring a counterattack, is because they have Vasilevskiy in goal and his brilliance affords that mentality. It’s like a workplace for creative people: a forgiving environment liberates and breeds confidence.
Finally, there are the rotations, and this is part and parcel with the theme of support and positioning. When Hedman had his miscue on the Dano breakaway, his next two actions were a) swatting the puck toward the corner (and out of danger) for Ryan Callahan to go battle for, and b) rotating to the top of the circle for a shot block.
The Lightning are not just fast to the puck, they are purposeful. Yes, they are great skaters, but they have been a vastly superior penalty-killing team this season mainly because they have simplified. That extra pass that would go awry, or that extra stride that would result in a takeaway, has transformed into an area pass. The Lightning have recognized that, as long as the puck is going north and is not buried deep in their own zone, they have the tenacity and skill to win it back. And this speed in pursuit of the puck can cause fits for an opponent. It certainly did last night.