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Game 11: Tampa Bay Lightning at Anaheim Ducks

In their second game of the Western tour, the Tampa Bay Lightning fell 2-3 in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks. Though the point secured in overtime will keep their heads above water in the East, the game was a pleasant one.

The Lightning took a slow start in the first. Even with a four minute Lightning power play early on, they did nothing with the opportunity. Teemu Selanne opened the scoring on the Ducks power play, leading 1-0. The first ended with shots 2-9 in favor of Anaheim, and was not the opening period we were expecting.

But the Bolts woke up in the second for an edgier, physical period. Blair Jones scored two minutes in to tie the score 1-1, and snapped the Lightning out of whatever funk they were suffering from in the first. We saw excellent play from Blair Jones, there were bright moments from defenseman Brett Clark, and a nice shot on goal from Sean Bergenheim. Momentum and shots improved, but Anaheim still kept the Lightning out of their rhythm and on their toes.

Read the rest of the recap after the jump.

The third opened on a Lightning power play, resulting in an immediate goal from Steven Stamkos, his tenth this season. The Lightning played the rest of the period safe, but didn’t accomplish anything else. With four minutes left, Kyle Palmieri put one in for the Ducks and threw the game into overtime, with the score at 2-2.

Ryan Getzlaf scored in overtime for the Ducks win, 2-3.

Overall, I’ve got to give it to the Ducks. They dominated the game. The Bolts decided to fight for it too late.

An overreaction to tonight’s game is throwing it into comparison with last season’s…the slow starts, the overtime losses, the inconsistent play. I can’t help but think I’ve seen it somewhere before…

The moral of the story: we can’t win every game.

The bright side:

  • Blair Jones had 4 shots on goal, following Steven Stamkos’ 5 and Martin St. Louis‘ 7. Wasn’t expecting to see that much action from him, especially with his being “new” to the system.
  • Dan Ellis had a decent performance in goal, despite the loss, blocking 27 shots overall.
  • After only 2 shots on goal in the first, the Lightning finished the game with 34 overall, which is an immense recovery, considering Boucher’s 40-SOG benchmark.

Up Next: If you enjoyed the late game tonight (if you’re in the East, that is), you can do it all again tomorrow, November 4, as the Bolts continue their road trip against the L.A. Kings.

Lightning vs Ducks coverage [SB Nation]

Anaheim Calling [SB Nation Anaheim Ducks]

Lightning vs Ducks recap [TSN]

Lightning vs Ducks boxscore [TSN]

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