With one game in the books it’s that time. Yup, it’s time to make a snap judgement about the new players that will last for their entire career with the Tampa Bay Lightning! Okay, maybe that’s being a little dramatic, but since there is no hockey to watch tonight (what’s up with that, NHL?) why not waste a few electrons on a quick breakdown of how the Lightning’s two newest players, Curtis Douglas and Pontus Holmberg fared in the 5-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators. In a nutshell, eh, it was okay.
Curtis Douglas
It’s been a whirlwind week for the big guy. From Salt Lake City to Las Vegas (where his car is apparently still sitting in the airport) to Tampa for his big league debut. Wearing the number 42, Douglas skated on a line with Pontus Holmberg and Conor Geekie. He jumped over the boards for his first NHL shift at the 2:17 mark, and all credit to him for taking roughly 14 seconds to give the crowd exactly what they wanted as he shucked off his barely broken-in gloves to square off against Kurtis MacDermid.
In the age old battle between the “C” Curtis folks against the “K” Kurtis folks it was Douglas winning the battle decisively. For the rookie it was the high point of his game action as we would record just 5:09 of ice time on 11 shifts. In the third period he would appear on the ice just twice for a grand total of 1:34.
That’s not surprising, especially considering the Lightning had surrendered the lead and Coach Jon Cooper had shortened his bench by then as he looked for offense that wasn’t likely to come from Douglas. He was credited with one shot, a snapshot from distance, and threw two hits in his brief debut. All in all, pretty much what could be expected out of a player that had minimal practice time with his new team.
Is it enough to earn a second start on Saturday night? Probably not. If history is any indication, Coach Cooper will start Jack Finley against the New Jersey Devils. The long-time head coach doesn’t like his healthy scratches to sit on the bench for too long, and will want to see how the slightly smaller Finley looks on the fourth line. The Lightning won’t have to make a roster decision on either player until Zemgus Girgensons or Nick Paul return, so expect the two to flip-flop in the line-up for the next few games.
Pontus Holmberg
The Lightning’s new center didn’t have anything as dramatic as a fight, but he also logged a few more minutes than his linemate. Holmberg took 19 shifts and accumulated 11:52 of ice time, including 40 seconds of short-handed time. He was credited with two hits and blocked a shot while winning just two of his eight face-offs. He was also on the ice for the Senator’s first power play goal.
It’s not bad defense on this penalty kill. Holmberg does a good job of fronting Tim Stutzle in the slot which prevents Brady Tkachuk from giving him the puck in a dangerous area. It does look like Holmberg unfortunately screens Andrei Vasilevskiy on the shot from Dylan Cozens, but that’s one of those games of inches. If Cozens’ shot is a half-inch in either direction, Holmberg probably blocks it. Instead, the puck finds its way past him and into the net.
The rest of the game was standard affair for a fourth-line center. Most of his ice time came against the Lars Eller line (who was extremely strong in the face-off dot) and neither side generated much in the way of offense (the Bolts had an 0.11 xG while the Senators had a 0.06 xG while Holmberg was on the ice). While Geekie was paired with him most of the night, Coach Cooper did blend the lines a little as Mitchell Chaffee, Gage Goncaves, and Yanni Gourde rotated in when Curtis Douglas was stapled to the bench later in the game.
Like many of his fellow Lightning forwards, Holmberg wasn’t able to get the forecheck going to any consistent degree. That, along with the face-offs, will have to improve for him to have an effect on the games moving forward.
In all, the new players didn’t really surprise anyone. Unlike last season where the first game saw notable key players in Jake Guentzel, Conor Geekie, and J.J. Moser make their debut, Julien BriseBois’ supplemental additions weren’t expected to have a huge impact on the line-up. And, well, they didn’t. the good news is that It’s a long season and both players will have more opportunities to help the Lightning win.
