It wasn’t a banner night for the Tampa Bay Lightning. It wasn’t a banner night for the Ottawa Senators. It certainly wasn’t a banner night for the two officials tasked with calling the game. When all was said and done, though, it was the Bolts who walked away from the Canadian Tire Centre with their fifth straight (!) win and two very important points.
After playing and beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in Ontario’s capital on Wednesday night, Tampa went into Canada’s capital as a fatigued team looking to emerge victorious against a divisional foe. A visibly tired Lightning squad weathered the storm and managed to do exactly that. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.
Just as they’ve done so many times post-Olympics, the Bolts jumped out to an early lead that they didn’t manage to hold. Teddy Purcell got the Lightning on the board just 23 seconds into the contest when he one-timed home his 11th of the season, and first in 19 games. Tyler Johnson and Victor Hedman, who was really the architect of the scoring play, were credited with assists.
It was after that Purcell goal that the referees really took control of the evening. In the final fourteen-and-a-half minutes of the first period, seven minor penalties were called. For those of you who aren’t mathematicians, that’s 14 minutes of penalties in 14.5 minutes of play. Regardless of whether all the calls were warranted or not, there’s no disputing that the constant stoppages disrupted the flow of the game.
Ottawa’s Clarke MacArthur got the special teams party started at the 10:44 mark of the opening twenty when he took advantage of a flat-footed Sami Salo and wristed home his 21st marker of the season, a shorthanded tally. Credit MacArthur for taking what was given to him, but the Bolts can’t let that play happen. A should-be easy chip-in turned into a goal against.
Before the first period concluded, Teddy Purcell and Erik Karlsson traded goals to make the score 2-2. Purcell’s 12th of the year and second of the game was assisted again by Hedman and Johnson. Another two assists for Player-77 gives him a whopping 45 points in 63 games on the year. To say that he’s been excellent would be an understatement, and people are noticing.
Victor Hedman deserves a lot more Norris Trophy buzz. He'd probably win it outright if he played for a big market with the year he's had.
— Fear The Fin (@fearthefin) March 21, 2014Valtteri “Filthy Mitts… Filppula regained the Lightning lead just 5:43 into the second when he dangled his way into the Ottawa zone and cashed in an Ondrej Palat rebound for his 23rd of the year, which ties a career high. The Lightning’s leading scorer now has 52 points through 65 games. Detroit thought that Stephen Weiss, he of four points this season, was a better option. I’d laugh, but I was always taught not to kick someone when they’re down.
Not willing to be outdone by Filppula’s moves, Ales Hemsky tied the game at three with one of the prettier dekes you’re ever going to see. The former-Oiler made Radko Gudas and Matt Carle look like peewee players before tucking the puck past the Lightning goaltender for his 11th of the year. Words can't describe what happened on that sequence. The Hemsky show was on full display, and we were lucky enough to be spectators.
In a *shocking* twist, Eric Brewer scored his first of the year just 3:48 into the third to give his Lightning the 4-3 lead. Assisted by J.T. Brown and Alex Killorn, Brewer’s goal came as he sent a back hand shot right past an unsuspecting Robin Lehner. Like all of us, Lehner looked legitimately surprised that Brewer was able to score like that. As much as Lightning fans have criticized Brewer over the last couple seasons, the fact is that he’s been a huge part of the team’s success this year. He’s been more than just effective. It was great to see him get rewarded with a goal.
Despite being outplayed for most of the third period, and the game for that matter, the Lightning scored an insurance marker (read: dagger) with about eight minutes remaining. Ryan Callahan’s second as a Bolt, which turned out to be the game winner, came off a slapshot from the slot courtesy of a nice Palat feed. If you’ve got your abacus out at home, be sure to note the following:
Callahan with Lightning: 2 goals
St. Louis with Rangers: 0 goals
— Kyle Churchill (@Kyle987TheFan) March 21, 2014The one question I’ll pose before wrapping this up is this: was it really necessary for Jon Cooper to give Ben Bishop the start in net? Yes, I understand that the Bolts are fighting for positioning in the standings. Yes, I understand that Ottawa is Bishop’s former team. But I’m confused as to why the coaching staff felt the need to start a goalie on the second half of back-to-backs when he has looked very tired at times over the past few weeks, including on Thursday in Ottawa.
I’m not going to sugarcoat things. This is a game that the Lightning probably deserved to lose. This is a game that the Ottawa Senators probably would have won, had it not been for a less-than-stellar performance from Lehner and a small handful of questionable decisions in the defensive zone.
After starting the game with promise, the Bolts withered away and allowed a non-playoff team to dictate terms. Blame it on being tired or whatever you want to blame it on, but the fact is that it wasn’t good enough. This team can be and needs to be better. Escaping Ottawa with two points is great, but let’s not pretend that this was a perfect game.
Things don’t get any easier for the Lightning now, as they’ll head to Pittsburgh for a tilt with the Penguins on Saturday.
As always, thanks for reading.