The Tampa Bay Lightning played a lot better than the end result might suggest, but weak goaltending from Curtis McElhinney and a myriad of unlucky breaks cost them in the form of a 6-4 defeat to the Detroit Red Wings. It marks the team’s first regulation loss to Detroit since 2015. Here are tonight’s thumbs:
Thumbs Down: Curtis McElhinney’s Goaltending Per Natural Stat Trick, the Lightning generated 72% of the five-on-five shot attempts and 68% of the five-on-five expected goals in this game; they only gave up 2.58 expected goals in ALL situations. The eye test looked upon them just as favorably.
So, what was the difference between the play and result? McElhinney’s goaltending. He was bad. Whether it was Troy Stecher beating him cleanly with a wide angle shot for the opening goal, or Anthony Mantha putting the puck past him with (??????), or Luke Glendening scoring from the goal line, McElhinney failed to make the saves the Lightning needed him to make.
Thumbs Up: Erik Cernak’s Importance As has been discussed in this space on more than one occasion this year, the Lightning’s right-side defence is woefully thin when Erik Cernak is out of the lineup. The last two games have proven just how important he is to this organization. After a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in his last outing, Cernak delivered another gem tonight. He didn’t hit the scoreboard, but he played great defensive hockey, moved the puck in the right direction, and even created a scoring chance for himself. His underlying numbers reflect that good work, as he sported a 91% five-on-five shot attempt share and a 99.57% (!) five-on-five expected goal share. The Red Wings had nothing when he was on the ice.
Thumbs Up: Barclay Goodrow, Heavy Weight? It’s always the guys you least expect:
Barclay Goodrow drops Adam Erne. Holds Erne's jersey so he didn't hit his head on the ice pic.twitter.com/Yb80YateFQ
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) March 12, 2021
Thumbs Up: Steven Stamkos’ Two-Point Performance Another two-point performance lifts Stamkos back above the point-per-game threshold so far this season. He’s been such a consistent force for this organization, proving every doubter wrong on almost a nightly basis. Seeing him healthy and thriving is such a joy.
Thumbs Up: Ondrej Palat’s Three-Point Performance Players like Stamkos and Brayden Point generate the headlines, but Ondrej Palat is arguably the most valuable forward on this roster these days. His goal and two assists tonight give him 24 points in 25 games this year, which puts him on a career-best pace. Beyond the offensive contributions – which are obviously nice – Palat is a nearly unrivalled puck mover. Nobody on this team has the combination of smarts, forechecking ability, and offensive touch that he brings to the ice. All of it was on display tonight, in what was a classic Palat performance.
He, along with Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point on his line, were as close to perfect as you’ll ever see a line be in a National Hockey League game these days.
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There aren’t many lessons to be learned from this game. The Lightning were good enough to win, but lost out due to an unfortunate performance from their goaltender.
As always, thanks for reading.