In spite of 46 shots on goal and an 0/7 night on the power play, the morning skate today seems to indicate that the Game 2 lineup for the Tampa Bay Lightning will be the same as the one that fell 3-2 in Game 1.
With Drouin, Barberio and Vasilevskiy practicing right now, per @BoltsRadio, could be a clue on who is scratched for Game 2 #TBLightning
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) April 18, 2015
With an a matinee today, it’s unlikely that any of that trio — Jonathan Drouin, Mark Barberio, and Andrei Vasilevskiy — would be skating in the morning if they were playing in the game just a few hours later.
Sticking to the process is one thing, but one does have to wonder if the offense couldn’t use a little bit of a shot in the arm in terms of creativity and playmaking; the Lightning fired pucks at Petr Mrazek all night on Thursday but didn’t manage too much in the way of grade-A scoring chances, which is Drouin’s speciality. The first-year forward will likely have to wait to make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.
Meanwhile, as expected, Jon Cooper will go right back to Ben Bishop in net after he allowed 3 goals on just 14 shots in Game 1 (.786 SV%, worst among playoff goaltenders).
