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If the Tampa Bay Lightning had it their way, the season would have started with a return to the postseason; Just skip the grind of the 82 games, and go straight into the playoffs in search of their very own redemption tale following last year’s run to the Stanley Cup in which the Bolts came up two wins shy of their second Stanley Cup in team history, and first since 2004, in a six-game war with Chicago.
They were a team that reflected this idea throughout the regular season, too.
While not a positive trait, the Lightning had countless nights over the course of the demanding 82 where they just didn’t look engaged or particularly interested in competing with the over team.
But that went out the window when the puck dropped on Game 1 of the Bolts’ first-round rematch series with the Detroit Red Wings at Amalie Arena on Wednesday night.
The Lightning struck first behind Nikita Kucherov’s laser shot high and over Jimmy Howard just 6:23 into the first period. It was a goal that featured everything the Bolts will need in this series, and their entire playoff run actually, if they are to be successful. Goaltender Ben Bishop played the puck to Braydon Coburn and accelerated the breakout up to Alex Killorn, then to Tyler Johnson, who was off the races, and found a streaking Kucherov for his 12th career postseason goal.
Kucherov’s tally held as the lone score through 20 minutes, and the Lightning skated to a 1-0 edge through the first period of the series, but with the hate level already fully charged for each group.
It would be Detroit that responded in the middle stanza, though, with two goals in 1:53, the first from Mike Green (his first playoff goal since May 6, 2013) at 2:11, and then a wacky deflection credited to Justin Abdelkader off a Kyle Quincey shot at 4:07 of the period.
One Jonathan Drouin penalty later, and with the Red Wings on the power play and looking for the kill-shot (or close to it), the Lightning seemed close to the edge of letting this game slip.
But Bishop, like he has again and again this year, came through with some beautiful shorthanded stops, none better than his denial of Brad Richards’ prime scoring chance 8:00 into the period.
Tampa Bay made it count, too, when Kucherov banged away at a loose puck under Howard twice, and gave the Lightning the equalizer at 9:29 of the second. Coburn and Nikita Nesterov picked up assists.
The stalemate continued as the Bolts and Wings traded punch-for-punch, quite literally, until Tampa Bay appeared to pull ahead with a Victor Hedman bomb that beat Howard in the third period.
Upon review following a challenge issued by Detroit bench boss Jeff Blashill, though, it was clear that Drouin was in before the puck, and the tie continued in a white-knuckle ride to the finish.
The non-goal didn’t break the Lightning. It did the opposite, actually, as the Lightning continued to just pour the pressure on Howard, and eventually broke through with a takeaway, and Killorn’s deflection at the net, a tip that Howard and put the Lightning up 3-2 with just 11:08 left to play in the third.
And Bishop hung on.
Even when the Red Wings threw everything they could at his crease towards the end -- Green had two incredible chances in alone that Bishop stopped (and the second one had some help from Valtteri Filppula’s stick) -- the 6-foot-7 netminder stood tall as ever, as the Bolts took Game 1.
Random thoughts and notes
- What a weird story this Jonathan Drouin Story truly has become for the Lightning. Not that you’re complaining about it, of course. In his first playoff game since he logged just 8:04 in a Stanley Cup Finals game against the Blackhawks a year ago, Drouin finished the second-most time-on-ice among Tampa forwards, as his 17:39 was second only to all-situation-expert Ondrej Palat’s 20:35.
It was a great -- and at times frustrating game -- for Drouin, too.
He came out with the energetic jump, and shoot-first mentality that the Bolts needed him to have. His offensive game really put the Wings on notice, too, and his net-front game -- in terms of screens and trying to pick up rebound opportunities -- was a welcomed bonus to the Lightning offensive attack.
But the Wings also goaded Drouin into two bad penalties, and clearly made it to a point to try and take advantage of Drouin’s energy, something noted when Brian Boyle was allegedly yelling, “No, Jo!… towards Drouin, essentially pleading with No. 27 to not take a retaliatory penalty, in the third period when Abdelkader smoked him with a hit up high that put Tampa Bay on the power play. (He did not.)
- Speaking of Abdelkader, this is a player that you can expect to be a thorn in your side all series long. It’s who he is as a player, and it works for the Wings most nights. Staying away from the matching game in terms of penalties and minors, of course, will be the biggest key for the Lightning. Like look at last night’s finish: Abdelkader and frustrated and draws Palat into the box with him with Detroit in search of the game-tying goal. You do not want that tradeoff if you’re the Lightning.
- Nikita Kucherov’s playoff resume now reads 13 goals and 26 points in 29 games. Lethal.
Up next
Game 2 at Amalie Arena on Friday night should be an absolute doozy. Given all the Wings have been through just to get to this stage, you have to think that they approach Game 2 as a must-win. You can’t go down 0-2 to a goaltender of Bishop’s caliber and expect to go 4-1 to finish the series. It’s just an entirely too daunting task. So, it’ll be on the Lightning to find a way to match Detroit’s desperation.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.