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The Tampa Bay Lightning have had their throwback, or perhaps better yet a continuation, to last year’s first-round series in both Game 1 and 2 of this year’s series with Detroit Red Wings with dominations by the Tyler Johnson line, which had accounted for seven of Tampa Bay’s eight goals through two games. But with the Wings in an 0-2 hole, first-year head coach Jeff Blashill decided to hark back to last year, too, and gave the net to Petr Mrazek in a near must-win Game 3 in Detroit.
It worked, though the Bolts did very little to, well, make Mrazek work.
The Red Wings came out with the desperate energy you expected. They focused on hounding the Lightning puck-carrier, and came with a physical presence headlined by two big hits on Tampa skaters in the opening four minutes of action, and a significant 5-on-3 power play killed by the Lightning.
But Tampa Bay’s back was broken in a middle frame that came with just three shots on goal for the Bolts, and two goals against, the first on a laser by Andreas Athanasiou at 12:42, and a redirect off Henrik Zetterberg and into the Tampa net at 17:22.
The Lightning continued to struggle through the neutral zone on into the third period, and Mrazek was rarely tested, as the Wings cruised to a pivotal Game 3 victory at the Joe.
“We had some chances early,… Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said after the loss. “Our biggest thing was we didn’t shoot the puck. We had our chances, and every time we either shot it into shin-pads, or over-passed, and there hasn’t been room in the neutral zone the whole series.…
Tampa Bay’s room spoke of those neutral zone limitations the Red Wings presented their offense, but Cooper didn’t necessarily buy into the middle of the ice being the endpoint for his club.
“They didn’t change the style of play. They play the exact same way every single time we play them. But our will was there, and where it needs to be a playoff game, wasn’t there tonight, and it cost us.…
The Tampa Bay penalty kill went an impressive 7-for-7 on the PK, and had nine penalties against.
Random thoughts and notes
- The loss of J.T. Brown, who was injured on a blocked shot in Game 2, was noticeable when this game became a chippy one. Brown really is that emotional sparkplug for the Bolts, and it became apparent that they missed his presence, especially when you see Brendan Smith knock Cedric Paquette on his behind in the corner with Vladdy Namestnikov left to be the one to respond to Smith’s hit. That’s a job that’s much better suited for Brown, to be honest.
Brown’s loss was Erik Condra’s gain, as No. 22 skated in his place in the Tampa Bay lineup as the team’s 12th skater, and finished the night with a minus-1 and one giveaway in 7:28 of time on ice,
- The Lightning had six shots on goal 10:25 into the first period. They finished the game with 16. So that means they had just 10 shots in the final 49:35 of the game. That’s just plain unacceptable.
- If there’s a silver lining in this loss, it that’s it was not a product of Bishop playing poorly. I think, as frustrating as this game was, you can live with a playoff loss so long as your goaltender plays well. It’s a confidence thing, and the 6-foot-7 netminder’s 28-of-30 night doesn’t shake yours at all.
- Is there anybody more hated in that Tampa Bay locker room than Justin Abdelkader?
- The interesting thing about this series -- and when I say that, I mean both regular season and playoff -- is that home ice has been the difference maker in all seven games now. The Bolts are 4-0 in games at Amalie Arena, and 0-3 at games played at the Joe Louis Arena. Fortunately, this trend would ultimately favor the Lightning if and when this series comes back to Tampa Bay in a must-win Game 7.
Up next
It’s a Tuesday night Game 4 at the Joe. And this one’s gigantic. A Tampa Bay win and it’s a 3-1 series advantage heading back to Amalie Arena. A Tampa Bay loss and it’s a tied series with the pressure on the Lightning. If it’s positivity you seek, it’s worth noting that the Lightning were 8-3 in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs following a loss, and 3-0 in such situations against the Red Wings.
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.