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Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Lightning Sleepwalk to 4-3 Loss vs. Stars |
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The Tampa Bay Lightning were on quite a roll heading into Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Stars, so it was only natural that a letdown was on the horizon. That letdown came in the form of a sleepy effort yesterday, and resulting 4-3 defeat. The score flattered the Lightning, who were outplayed basically from start to finish. Here are yesterday’s thumbs:
Thumbs Down: Blowing the Lead
Even when you’re being outplayed, there’s no real excuse for blowing a 2-0 lead in the NHL today. This Lightning team has gotten a lot more comfortable playing with and defending leads over the last couple years, but was seemingly unable to put those lessons to work last night. The dam finally broke, allowing Dallas to score three goals in the latter half of the second period to turn that 2-0 lead into a 3-2 deficit.
There was no better example of the lackadaisical effort delivered by the Tampa lineup than on the goal that let Dallas back into the game. Leading by two midway through the second, quite literally every Lightning player on the ice stopped skating to allow Miro Heiskanen to break away in alone on Andrei Vasilevskiy. It was a perfect encapsulation of the “controller disconnected” meme that often makes the rounds after lazy hockey plays.
Thumbs Down: Tyler Johnson’s Play on the Third Dallas Goal
If you needed a more pinpointed example of the Lightning’s laziness, Tyler Johnson’s display on the third Dallas goal should make the point. With a relatively easy opportunity to clear the zone, Johnson decided to throw the puck back into the middle of the ice, which let Dallas waltz into prime scoring territory. There was no excuse for it. Even usually even-keeled/easygoing Head Coach Jon Cooper made a point of calling it out after the final buzzer:
After a nice run of games, this looked like the Tyler Johnson that ended up on waivers last summers.
Thumbs Down: Luke Schenn’s Spot on the Roster
He took a penalty. He lost a fight. He got caved in at even strength. As Erik Cernak’s absence has shown on my occasions this season, the Lightning’s right-side D is a glaring weakness these days. There has to be a better option available somewhere on the market.
Thumbs Up: The Gourde Line… Again
Like clockwork, the Yanni Gourde line was once again phenomenal for Tampa Bay. Gourde himself contributed a goal and an assist, and the line as a whole was basically the only group actually driving play for the team. Per Natural Stat Trick, the trio together generated a five-on-five shot attempt share of 58% and a five-on-five expected goal share of 66%. Those numbers are fantastic on any night, but particularly so when the team is being outplayed to the extent that it was in this game. It seems like no matter what is going on, Yanni Gourde & Co. can be counted on to deliver quality minutes for this team. That’s a valuable option to have available to you as a coach.
Thumbs Up: Unusual Circumstances
As much as the Lightning were really bad yesterday, it’s tough to be at your absolute best with two players like Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak out of the lineup, and a roster of 17 rather than the usual 18. Everything about this game screamed “loss,” and Tampa delivered on that promise. The fact that they were able to keep it relatively close despite being outplayed by such a wide margin is a silver lining of sorts. We know this is a good team. A loss like this is hardly defining.
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The Lightning will be in action next on Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.
As always, thanks for reading.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
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