Don’t let the final shot clock fool you. The Tampa Bay Lightning were thoroughly outplayed on Thursday night, and dropped a 2-1 decision to the San Jose Sharks as a result.
While the aforementioned shot clock and the score itself depict a fairly close game, the Bolts were miles away from perfect, perhaps even light years. The following possession chart accurately shows that the Sharks took control early and didn’t really let up, even when Tampa made its push in the third period.
5v5 shot attempts (Corsi) chart for #TBvsSJ game courtesy of @HockeyStatsCa. SJ took control early and didn't let go. pic.twitter.com/HY6iNkM5LD
— Michael Stuart (@hockeybuzzstu) November 14, 2014It became clear early on that San Jose was going to be the better team all night long. In the first period alone, Ben Bishop was forced to face and stop 17 shots. As if his stellar performance against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday wasn’t enough, Bishop was at his best again on Thursday. He gave his team a chance to win the game.
The Sharks finally broke through in the second period when Joe Thornton scored his sixth of the season. Just 5:23 into that middle frame, some brutal in-zone play from Eric Brewer and Brian Boyle gave Thornton the opportunity he needed to break Bishop’s shutout bid.
Things went from bad to worse for the Bolts about five minutes later, as Tyler Kennedy scored his first goal of the year on a breakaway. Sprung beautifully by Brent Burns at the end of a Tyler Johnson penalty, Kennedy made no mistake beating Bishop through the five-hole.
Lightning fans were very (and rightfully) upset with the penalty call that resulted in the Kennedy goal. Johnson, called for goaltender interference, was clearly pushed into Antti Niemi and was left without any way to avoid contact. The call was made anyways. What was particularly irritating from the Tampa perspective was the fact that a similar call went against the team in the Chicago game; Bishop was bowled over, Chicago scored, and the goal stood. It’s abundantly apparent that nobody, not even NHL officials, knows what goaltender interference is or how to call it.
While the officiating was bad, the Lightning can hardly blame the referees for their misfortunes. The easy solution would have been to simply play better.
Down 2-0 through 40 minutes, the Lightning looked to be in trouble. Opportunity knocked in the third period, however, and all the Lightning had to do was answer the door. Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a penalty 2:39 into the final frame, and Tommy Wingels put the Sharks down two men when he was called at 3:29. That gave the Bolts the two-man advantage they desperately needed.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying, but the Lightning were unable to convert on that power play. Niemi made a handful of highlight reel saves that maintained his team’s two-goal advantage.
The Lightning did eventually break through Niemi at the 9:35 mark of the third, but it proved to be too little, too late. Steven Stamkos tipped home an Andrej Sustr point shot for his 11th of the season to bring the Bolts back to within one. That’s as close as they would come. Unable to generate much of anything with the goaltender pulled, the Lightning were forced to skate off with a disappointing 2-1 loss, their second straight defeat.
After winning six straight games, the Bolts have now lost two in a row. They need to get things back on track. Unfortunately, the schedule doesn’t get any easier with games against the New York Rangers, Islanders, and Toronto Maple Leafs on the horizon.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.