Coming off an embarrassing loss in Game One, the Tampa Bay Lightning knew they needed to be a lot better in Game Two to avoid going down 0-2 in their first-round series against the Florida Panthers.
They were in most facets of the game, but a weak goal allowed by goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and a suddenly inept offense left the team questioning why they worked so hard to get home ice advantage. The result was a 2-0 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champions.
After a subdued first game, where the Lightning looked timid, the team came out and set the tone early by establishing their forecheck and throwing big hits. That led to a couple of Grade A chances by Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point, but the puck sailed high and wide of the net.
Not long after, the Panthers got into the zone. A great pass by Sam Reinhart set up Nate Schmidt, who beat Vasilevskiy cleanly. The goal was Schmidt’s third in two games, one more than the entire Lightning team.
From then on, the two teams were barking at one another and trying to get under each other’s skin. In other words, the Battle of Florida was on full display. Unsurprisingly, Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand were front and center in chirping the Lightning’s top players.
An intense competitor himself, Brandon Hagel was emotionally charged as well. That got him into trouble late in the game, when he completely laid out Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov along the wall, leaving him dazed.
Barkov left the game and didn’t return. Hagel, meanwhile, was hit with a five-minute major for interference. While one can argue that five minutes was excessive in this situation, it was clear that it was going to be a penalty since Barkov never touched the puck prior to being hit.
The Lightning penalty kill stood tall, not allowing the Panthers to extend the lead and giving themselves one last chance to tie the game.
With Vasilevskiy pulled for the extra attacker, the Lightning pressed hard for the tying goal. It didn’t come though, as the puck got behind Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky but didn’t cross the line. Sam Bennett scored into the empty net as time expired.
Through two games, special teams haven’t both been on the same page for the Lightning. Game One saw the Panthers score three power play goals while Tampa Bay scored once on their own man advantage. Game Two saw neither team score on the power play, so it’s probably not a stretch to say both teams focused on improving their penalty kill after the first game.
Secondary scoring has proven to be key in this series. The Lightning lack depth scoring and have for a few years, while the Panthers get scoring out of their third and fourth liners when it matters the most. The late-season injury to Oliver Bjorkstrand likely hurts, but there’s no guarantee he would have been the difference in this series.
Going forward, the Lightning must come together as a team and play their best hockey. If that occurs, the goals should come,, and they will probably live to fight another day.
ITR 44: We Have A Champion…Again – Inside The Rink
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