Jake Guentzel’s second period hat trick, and a game-winning goal by Oliver Bjorkstrand in his Tampa Bay Lightning debut bailed out a less-than-optimal defensive performance as the Bolts defeat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-5.
Look, we could write 2,000 words describing all of the goals. We could probably add another 3,500 on the defensive breakdowns. We could do that. We’re not going to. Instead, how about three bad things and three good things?
Bad Things:
- The overall defensive effort. It just wasn’t good enough, especially against a team that is struggling through a rough season. Too many turnovers, and too many breakdowns. After a string of strong defensive performances, the Bolts were probably due for one of these games, and the Sabres have some quick, talented forwards. The key will be to make this an anomaly and not a habit.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy in the first two periods. Five goals allowed on twenty shots. Not all of them were his fault, but there were a few that left you shaking your head. Much like the players in front of him, Vasy has been really, really good of late, so he was due for a sub-par game. Expect him to build on the third period performance and come out strong against Boston on Saturday.
- The injury to Victor Hedman. The Big Swede only played 2:57 and left the game in the first period favoring his left leg. If he was to miss any extended length of time it would be a huge blow to the defense for the Bolts.
Good Things:
- Jake Guentzel. The big summer acquisition is earning his contract. Three more goals tonight puts him at 32 on the season. He has a goal-scorer’s knack for being in the right place at the right time, and the ability to finish the play off by putting the puck in the back of the net.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy’s third-period. He made 12 saves in the final frame as Buffalo posted 0.85 expected goals and were credited with 10 scoring chances. His ability to make the saves when his team needed him to is a big reason why they won tonight.
- Erik Cernak’s sprawling block at the end of the game. Drago was credited with 3 hits on the night as well as 3 blocked shots, none bigger than the one at the end of the game as he got in the way of Tage Thompson’s blast with the Sabres sporting a 6-on-3 advantage.
Now, let’s roll the highlights….
Nick Paul (Ryan McDonagh, Brandon Hagel) 1-0 Lightning
Rasmus Dahlin (Ryan McLeod, Zach Benson) 1-1
Darren Raddysh (Zemgus Girgensons) 2-1 Lightning
Alex Tuch (unassisted) 2-2
Peyton Krebs (Ryan McLeod, Zach Benson) 3-2 Sabres
Jake Guentzel (Erik Cernak, Nikita Kucherov) 3-3
Tage Thompson (Rasmus Dahlin, J.J. Peterka) Power Play, 4-3 Sabres
J.J. Peterka (unassisted) 5-3 Buffalo
Jake Guentzel (Brayden Point, Nick Paul) 5-4 Sabres
Jake Guentzel (Brandon Hagel, Darren Raddysh) Power Play, 5-5
Oliver Bjorkstrand (Yanni Gourde, Nikita Kucherov) 6-5 Lightning
The Charts
