Mikhail Sergachev was a healthy scratch the last two games before the All-Star break. As a teenager and rookie, he has shown unbounded promise. He has been a catalyst for the offense from the blue line. But his mistakes, which were always present, were beginning to overshadow the positive. While Sergachev was taking his respite, the modus operandi of the Lightning defense changed significantly. The mobility of the defensive group plummeted, and in turn, the responsibility of the forwards increased dramatically. The Lightning play differently without Sergachev, and even when he comes back, more restraint and a change of pace might be the status quo until Victor Hedman returns.
The Lightning forwards are sinking deeper on breakouts, and against the Flyers before the All-Star break, there was still a barrage of shots on goaltender Andre Vasilevskiy. When Hedman was healthy and Sergachev was playing next to Anton Stralman as the second pairing, the sheer offensive force of the defense permitted a more vigorous playing style. Forwards could leave the zone earlier, opening up passing opportunities for a stretch pass, empowering the transition. Zone exits were less taxing because Hedman could act as a one-man breakout, puncturing the opposing forecheck and slapping the puck across the middle for the first pass. The forwards were expected to cover the top half and do some legwork along the half-wall and in protecting the home-plate area, but it was a charmed life. Their focus was engineering offense.
Without Sergachev, the Lightning skaters are playing more restrained. Tampa Bay plays slower (hello dump-and-chase), and some of the best transition chances are fueled by the counterattack. With a more deliberate pace, the hope is that those odd-man rushes and costly turnovers decrease. The defensemen, not the most deft of foot, can keep a tighter gap than a contest where a speedy, talented opposing forward is charging at Braydon Coburn in space. In the defensive zone, Tampa Bay’s forwards are much more active checkers and defenders below the circles. The rush takes a back seat to exiting the zone, even if it means flicking the puck out to no one in particular.
This is not to say the Lightning defensemen are stick figures; any sentient NHL defenseman in 2018 needs to jump into the forecheck, pinch, and try to exploit open space when it is presented. (Think of the Chris Kunitz goal against Nashville – the pinches by Coburn and Andrej Sustr did not create offense, but helped maintain territorial advantage, which led to a Predators turnover.) But the transition is different because the defense can no longer be an expected scoring complement without Hedman and with maybe a more cautious Sergachev.
Against Nashville, the Lightning were able to produce more Scoring Chances than the Predators, and the Corsi count was close. Against Philadelphia, the Lightning were bested in possession. More responsibility has been placed at the skates of the Lightning forwards. They are expected to thwart the opponent in the offensive zone, and then lug the puck from the defensive zone to the offensive zone. The first two goals against Philadelphia were prime examples of how Tampa Bay hopes to generate going forward. An entry by Nikita Kucherov, good puck support by Tyler Johnson, and Brayden Point scooping the puck off his skate in traffic and finishing. On the second goal, Alex Killorn swooped in as the F3 and kept the puck in the Lightning’s possession. Then it was the work by Matthew Peca, with his back to the net and a nice spin move, that enabled Yanni Gourde to stuff the rebound in. A more controlled entry that succeeded off short passes. A gritty forecheck. It is a Lightning team that does not need, or expect, separation to succeed.
But that is not to say Tampa Bay will not take space and separation when they can get it. The Steven Stamkos-Vladislav Namestikov counterattack against Nashville is a nice side effect of the tight-checking style being executed by the Lightning. When Tampa Bay forces a turnover, like Kunitz did on the Namestikov goal, there are players with momentum ready to snatch up the puck and sprint in the other direction.
By seeking out a slower pace, the Lightning are suddenly in the opposite corner of where they started this season; a team that could ping-pong the puck around the ice, and gleefully harness speed and skill to capture space and time, has evolved due to hampering injuries. Now crowds are not detested but welcome; trading rush chances are a bad thing. The Lightning players seize on the one-on-one battles that spill out from the forecheck and, on the other end, use their heavy forward presence to clog up any room below the circles.