Losses, that is. The Tampa Bay Lightning had a real opportunity to grab a victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday night, but they ultimately failed. After blowing two separate one goal leads through the course of regulation, Tampa was forced to settle for the loser point courtesy of the 4-3 shootout decision. The defeat moves the Lightning’s record 34-24-7, good enough for fourth place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference’s first wildcard slot.
Just as they did against Buffalo and Boston late last week, the Lightning stormed out of the gate on this occasion. In the first period of play, the Bolts were skating hard, forechecking hard, and creating good scoring chances. That work paid off at the 11:26 mark of the first stanza, as Tyler Johnson stormed past the Phoenix defense to score his fourth shorthanded goal of the year to put the Bolts up 1-0. Johnson’s 20th overall may help to put him back in the Calder race.
When the Coyotes scored to knot things up early in the second period, Lightning fans probably weren’t all that surprised. Since the Marty St. Louis rumors took control of the airwaves, the team has had a serious problem holding leads. At times, the team has looked like a rudderless ship. Certain stretches of Monday’s game was just another exhibit of that. Brandon McMillan’s second of the year was Phoenix’s first of the night.
Ondrej Palat put the Lightning back on top with his first of two on the night late in the second. While Palat was ultimately credited with his 16th of the year, the real hard work came from Ryan Callahan. Like he was all night, Callahan was a pest in front of Mike Smith on the play. He got a couple good whacks at the puck before flipping it to Palat, who made no mistake depositing it in the gaping cage.
The Lightning’s second one goal lead of the night was, of course, blown early in the third period. Martin Erat took advantage of a bad bounce behind the Lightning net and tucked the puck past Bishop to knot things at two. That goal wasn’t the killer, though.
About eight minutes into the third, and with the game tied, Mikkel Boedker gave the Coyotes their first lead of the night with his 16th of the season. To say that the Lightning’s defensive coverage on the play was porous would be to understate things; it was horrendous. If you don’t want to take my word for it, take a look at Jon Cooper’s post-game comments:
On 3rd Phx goal, Cooper on blown D coverage "Those don’t go in in midget hockey, let alone the NHL, or at least they shouldn’t''
— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) March 11, 2014Once they had their third period lead, the Coyotes just clogged everything up. The Lightning pushed and pushed, but the clock continued to tick away. It wasn’t until the last minute of play, with only 38 seconds remaining, that Ondrej Palat scored his second of the night to tie things up once and for all. His 17th of the season and third point of the night gave the Bolts a huge emotional lift. Once again, it was the trio of Palat, Callahan, and Valtteri Filppula that made something happen. The newcomer Callahan was of particular importance on the play, though he wasn’t credited with a point.
Overtime solved nothing, and so a shootout was needed. Mike Smith stopped Palat, Filppula, and Callahan in succession, while former Bolt Radim Vrabata scored to give the Coyotes their victory. Just like that, it was over. And it hurt.
If you skipped through this blog looking for my overarching *expert* analysis of the situation, just consider the following:
Cooper is finally seeing what led Boucher to have many GIF-worthy moments. #TBLightning
— Michael Stuart (@HB_MikeStuart) March 11, 2014Standings-wise, this loss was probably a costly one for the Bolts. The Maple Leafs lead the Anaheim Ducks as of writing time, so it looks like the gap between the Lightning and the top three seeds in the Atlantic is about to widen. Should that not change, the Lightning will meet either the Penguins or Bruins in the playoffs. Can you spell disaster? And that’s only if the Bolts right the ship and manage to make the playoffs. It may not be time to press the panic button quite yet, but there’s certainly reason for concern.
If you’re looking for positives to take out of this game, I’ll draw your attention to something I’ve mentioned a few times already in this blog. That would be the performance of the team’s second line. Palat, Callahan, and Filppula just seem to work well together. While the former captain may have quit on the team, that line certainly hasn’t. All three, but particularly Palat and Callahan, were fantastic tonight. Once Steven Stamkos regains his timing, this team could be a scary beast in the offensive zone.
In conclusion, I’ll just note that the Lightning’s next three home games are of particular importance. The team will face the Panthers on Thursday, Devils on Saturday, and Canucks on Monday. All three of those games are winnable. With a few days off, hopefully the team can regroup and come back ready to hold leads.
Before signing off, I’d like to say that my thoughts are with Dallas Stars forward Rich Peverley. The situation in Dallas tonight was something that nobody ever wants to see. I'm glad to hear that Peverley was responsive to medical treatment.
As always, thanks for reading.