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The Lightning's Defense is Dominating |
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Despite Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta being sidelined with injuries, the Lightning continue to play terrific defensive hockey. The Bolts allowed 18 shots in their 3-1 victory over the Islanders, which is the fewest shots they have surrendered this season. Tampa Bay held the Islanders to six high-danger chances and posted a 1.02 expected goals against, which are, respectively, their 4th and 7th best performances in these stats this season. And in expected goals against, their six better showings all came after Christmas.
The Islanders’ M.O. is to suffocate their opponent’s offense through layers of shot-blockers and their forwards’ defensive tenacity. But the Lightning responded to these challenges impressively. They gave the Islanders only one power play. Their forwards sunk low in the zone and tightened the gaps in their defensive coverage. As exciting as the Brayden Point goal was, Anthony Cirelli chasing down Mathew Barzal on a breakaway was arguably the most thrilling moment of the game. But aside from a brilliant defensive effort from the Lightning, I’ve jotted down a few other things that stood out last night.
The Lightning forwards are flying the zone at every opportunity
As soon as Point recognized that Ryan Pulock had pulled his slap shot wide, he turned toward the middle and revved his engine. Point intuited that the puck was going to ramp up the boards, and if Nikita Kucherov could reach the puck and slip it past the pinching strong-side defenseman, Point could burst through the middle with Pulock spread out wide.
Probably because Point is often plopped lower in the zone, this is the first time I can remember him looking to leak out of the zone, although Kucherov and Steven Stamkos have embraced the tactic and have been doing so earnest. But Point was not alone in seeking to fly the zone. With 12 minutes left in the second period, Tyler Johnson flew the zone, but couldn’t handle the pass, thus flubbing the breakaway chance.
When flying the zone works, it has the Lightning forward placing himself in a lane for a breakaway. And if the opposing defenseman anticipates it, you are likely to at least tug him out of the zone since this defenseman doesn’t want a dangerous forward getting behind him. It also demands accountability from the opponent and punishes spurts of weak puck management.
Remember this goal from the game against the Winnipeg Jets in the middle of January where Kucherov and Stamkos scored on a two-on-zero?
Kucherov flew the zone as soon as he recognized that Andrew Copp was cutting through the middle, and at the 20-second mark on the replay you can see just how far Kucherov is behind the defense when Point controls the puck on the turnover.
The downside of course is if Copp doesn’t turn over the puck; then the Jets are in the offensive zone with five skaters while the Lightning have four. In last night’s game, if Devon Toews breaks up Kucherov’s pass through the middle, the Islanders have Pulock wide open on the weak side. The strategy is aggressive, and sometimes being assertive can backfire. But thus far we have seen the Lightning choose wisely when picking times to fly the zone.
Attacking off the goal line
Carter Verhaeghe’s awareness when he saw Jordan Eberle ceding the lane from the goal line was exhilarating from a hockey nerd perspective.
If the off-slot is the hot area to shoot from because the slot has become so clogged, then jamming the puck off the goal line feels like the next frontier. Sure, it requires a certain quotient of fearlessness, because you will likely get crushed as soon as you attack the paint. But since the opponent is fanning out around the home-plate area and creating a double screen (thanks Barry Trotz), attacking from beneath the goal line spreads the adversary out and inevitably opens up room above. Not to mention, if that person doesn’t score, he still creates a rebound and loose puck opportunity in the low slot!
Maybe attacking off the goal line is not a regular season maneuver because of the injury risk. But in the postseason the Lightning would be wise not to ignore a segment of the ice where the goalie doesn’t have eyes and the tactic instigates an offensive chance in a prime scoring area.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
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