Game Twenty: Colorado Avalanche (12-9-0) at Tampa Bay Lightning (10-7-2)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Amalie Arena
TV/Stream/Radio: FDSNSUN, ALT2, ESPN+, 102.5 FM
Odds: Lightning -108
“One team tried to make six passes and put a puck into the net, turned it over, and the other team made two passes and threw it into the net.”
That’s how coach Jon Cooper summed up the third period of the Lightning’s loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. He then added,
“It’s almost like the goals don’t count unless it makes the highlight reel.”
Coach Cooper’s frustration was readily apparent in the post-game press conference following a loss where the Lightning battled well, but forgot the simple fact that all goals count, no matter how ugly they might look on the replay. The overcomplication of the game led to mistakes, and Dallas took advantage of those mistakes to win the game and leave the Lightning bemoaning another two points left by the wayside.
When the Lightning simplify their game, they are a hard team to beat. They proved that during their five-game point streak, during which they, in their coach’s words, “did everything right.” Simple clears, quick passes through the neutral zone, and shots on net instead of extra passes constituted the formula for that success, unfortunately, they strayed from it over their last two outings.
The goals they scored against Dallas exemplified the point. The first was brutally simple. Brandon Hagel, from a bad angle, put the puck on the net. Anthony Cirelli was where he needed to be (in front of the net) and put the rebound home. Simple, but effective hockey. Even the lead-up to Hagel’s shot was boring. First, Victor Hedman backhanded a pass to an empty spot on the ice, and then Mitchell Chaffee cycled the puck down low to Hagel. There were no forced passes through the middle of the ice, or dangerous, blind, backhanded passes just inside the blueline.
“It’s okay if we play boring hockey and go to overtime,” is how Coach Cooper put it. It’s a far cry from the “Safe if death” mantra Lightning fans remember from the 2004 Stanley Cup run, but there is a time for responsible hockey. The Lighting are blessed with tremendous offensive talent, especially in their top line, but sometimes that offensive talent is too creative for their own good. Sometimes making sure the puck gets in deep is better than risking a pass high in the offensive zone that can be picked off and sent the other way.
We’ve seen this in the past with this generation of players. They get a little highlight happy and try to slip the extra pass in even if they’re in a prime shooting location. The good news is that they tend to work out of these funks and return to a “shoot first” mentality. Tonight would be a great night for them to figure that out as they are hosting a Colorado team that remembered who they were, a darn good hockey club.
To be fair, they’re also getting healthy. Jonathan Drouin, Valeri Nichuskin, and Artturi Lehkonen weren’t in the line-up the last time these two teams matched up (a 5-2 win for the Lightning in Colorado). This isn’t the same Avalanche team that the Lightning faced at the end of last month. With the reinforcements back, Colorado has ripped off six wins in their last seven games, with quality wins over Carolina and Florida.
If the Lightning dither around with the puck again, it will end up in the back of their net.
Potential Lines:
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Cameron Atkinson
Gage Goncalves – Conor Geekie – Mitchell Chaffee
Zemgus Girgensons – Luke Glendening – Mikey Eyssimont
Defense
Victor Hedman – J.J. Moser
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg – Darren Raddysh
Goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Colorado Avalanche
Forwards
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Jonathan Drouin
Valeri Nichushkin – Casey Mittelstadt – Mikko Rantanen
Joel Kiviranta – Ivan Ivan – Logan O’Connor
Miles Wood – Parker Kelly – Nikolai Kovalenko
Defense
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Samuel Girard – Josh Manson
Oliver Kylington – Sam Malinski
Goaltending
Alexandar Georgiev
Justus Annunen
