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Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Vasilevskiy Shuts the Door as Lightning Take Game 1

May 30, 2021, 8:38 PM ET [3 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Florida Panthers were a high-quality opponent for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of these Stanley Cup Playoffs, but – if Game One is any indication – the Carolina Hurricanes are on a completely different level. Even so, the Bolts managed to grab a first-game victory from the Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon thanks to a gift goal scored by Barclay Goodrow and stellar play from Andrei Vasilevskiy. Here are today’s thumbs:

Thumbs Up: A Sign of Things to Come

As mentioned in a previous blog, the Florida Panthers often looked like a team just happy to be at the dance; they were freewheeling, loose, and incredibly entertaining to watch. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, looked like a team on a mission today; they were laser-focused on a methodical neutral zone structure that really served to limit Tampa Bay’s effectiveness throughout the game.

Had it not been for Andrei Vasilevskiy stopping nearly everything he saw, and Barclay Goodrow scoring one of the ugliest goals you’ll ever see at the NHL level, this game easily could have gone to the Hurricanes. The Lightning will want to figure out a way to break through Carolina’s structure before the second game begins.

Thumbs Up: Andrei Vasilevskiy
He stopped 37 of 38 shots fired his way, and sent this Carolina fan home looking foolish:


Thumbs Up: Settling in After Weathering the Storm
The Hurricanes started this game as if they were going to try to rock the Lightning like a… hurricane. It was fast-paced, precise hockey that helped Carolina generated 15 (!) first period shots. After that opening frame, though, the Lightning settled into a bit of a rhythm. The two teams played the remaining two periods fairly evenly. While Carolina’s neutral zone worked to limit Tampa’s chances, the Bolts also didn’t give up a ton in the other direction. We’re looking at a real chess match in this series.

Thumbs Down: Injury Concerns
Tampa Bay announced before the game that David Savard would miss the game with an upper-body injury. Things went from bad to worse when Erik Cernak was on the wrong end of an awkward collision and did not return to the game. Right-side defence is already an obvious area of weakness for this Lightning squad, which makes the health of those two players tremendously important. Imagine going into next game with both Luke Schenn and Cal Foote in the lineup, behind a top-pairing that features… Jan Rutta?

Thumbs Up: David Ayres

It’s super cool to see the Hurricanes continue to find ways to keep him involved:

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Game 2 goes Tuesday in Carolina.

As always, thanks for reading.
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