The Tampa Bay Lightning threw a lot of rubber at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, but they were ultimately unable to secure their second victory of the 2014-15 season. A very solid goaltending performance from Robin Lehner was enough to lift Ottawa to a 3-2 shootout victory. The loss moves Tampa’s record to 1-0-1.
Despite losing the possession battle in the first period, the Lightning were able to score the game’s first goal. With his team on the power play, Victor Hedman smashed home his second goal of the season at the 15:42 mark of that opening frame; Steven Stamkos and Valtteri Filppula were credited with the assists.
For a long time, it looked as though that Hedman goal would stand up as the winner. Despite absolutely dominating the second period, the Bolts weren’t able to sneak anything by Lehner. Likewise, Bishop was solid in the Tampa net when called upon.
The stalemate ended just 7:34 into the third period, as Erik Karlsson scored his first of the campaign off a nice pass from Alex Chiasson. With Bishop caught out of position, Karlsson had what looked like an eternity to pull the trigger and pot the puck. He made no mistake.
Things went from bad to worse for the Lightning when Mark Stone scored less than two minutes later to take a 2-1 lead. With the Lightning watching the puck like fans at home, Kyle Turris sent a great feed to Stone, who didn’t have any trouble firing the puck past Bishop. The Lightning’s breakdown on the play was one that shouldn’t and can’t happen at the NHL level.
What looked like a winnable contest all of a sudden felt like a lost cause. That’s what happens when you take your foot off the gas.
That would have been a tough way to lose a hockey game. Thankfully, Brett Connolly scored his first of the season to knot things up at two and force overtime. Brian Boyle found Connolly in the slot, and he was able to fire a big-league shot past Lehner with ease.
Overtime solved nothing, so a shootout was needed. Kyle Turris and Nikita Kucherov traded goals in the opening round before Mika Zibanejad scored in the third round to put the pressure on Steven Stamkos. With the game on his stick, and needing to score, Stamkos… lost control of the puck. That sealed the deal on Ottawa’s first win of the season.
Moving away from the boxscore-like recap, here are a few observations:
1. The fourth line of Brenden Morrow, Brian Boyle, and Brett Connolly was fairly solid in limited minutes. In addition to Connolly’s goal, the trio managed to create a number of memorable scoring opportunities.
2. Victor Hedman had another very strong game with partner Anton Stralman. One game sample sizes aren’t good for overarching analysis, but it’s absolutely worth nothing that the Hedman-Stralman pairing dominated possession again. Hockey fans around the NHL are already taking note of just how good Hedman has become over the last season-plus.
3. Another line that was really, really solid on Saturday was the “ov… line. J.T. Brown, in particular, was buzzing. All three were strong in the possession department, and all three helped to create solid scoring chances. While there were instances in which the Senators were able to push them off the puck, the good certainly outweighed the bad.
4. The five-on-five game *continues* (it’s only been two games) to be a problem. One goal at even strength in two games isn’t going to cut it. The fact that the goal came from a fourth line stick only makes matters worse. It’s great that the special teams are clicking, but the Bolts need to start potting goals at even strength.
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As disappointing as Saturday’s result was, it’s hard to be disappointed with the fact that the Bolts have managed to grab three points in their first two games. That doesn’t mean the team should be content. The guys have a huge matchup on Monday, as the Montreal Canadiens are in town for a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. The Canadiens are already 3-0-0 on the season, meaning that a Tampa loss would put the Lightning five (!) points back in the Atlantic Division race.
Thanks for reading.