In a tight-checking, well-played game, the Tampa Bay Lightning came up just a little short as Adrian Kempe scored with under six minutes to go in the third period to break a 1-1 tie. The 2-1 victory was the Los Angeles Kings ninth home win in a row, while the Lightning drop their third game in a row. Victor Hedman had the lone Lightning goal while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 of 21 shots in the loss.
Darcy Kuemper was the difference for the Kings as he stopped 34 shots. After a couple of sluggish games, the Lightning played with pace and 30 scoring chances at 5v5 play. Their power play continued their recent struggles as it went 0-for-2 with zero shots on net.
First Period:
18:50 – Well, that’s how you want to start a game. Victor Hedman blasts it from the point and it hits a stick in front of the net to deflect past the Darcy Kuemper. Bolts up 1-0 early. Victor Hedman (Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel) 1-0 Lightning
17:10 – The Bolts went with one line-up change tonight as Gage Goncalves sits with Cameron Atkinson back in the line-up. Mikey Eyssimont moves up to the third line in Goncalves spot. It’s something we’ve seen Coach Cooper do on back-to-backs with younger players – sit them one night and start them the next.
14:54 – The first power play of the night goes to the Lightning as the Kings are called for delaying the game. Lightning with a chance to double the lead early, but have to watch for short-handed breaks against.
12:56 – Pretty clean kill for the Kings as the Lightning struggle to get set up in the zone. L.A. is aggressive on the entries and attacking the puck carrier. That will leave some seams for the Bolts if they can handle the pressure. Vladislav Gavrikov makes a really nice play to block a pass from Kucherov that would have led to an open shot.
12:02 – Lightning lose the face-off and Mikey Anderson sneaks one inside the far post. Mikey Anderson (Philip Danault) 1-1
10:23 – After getting pinned in for the first part of their shift by old friend Tanner Jeannot and his linemates, the Brayden Point line generates a couple of chances as Nikita Kucherov snaps a shot on Kuemper. Nice pinch by Hedman to keep the play going.
8:02 – Lightning are taking hits to keep plays going. Erik Cernak was plastered along the boards, but it led to a chance for Zemgus Girgensons. Then it was Conor Geekie setting up Anthony Cirelli for another chance as he gets hit. Kuemper makes one more save on Jake Guentzel off of the rush. The Lightning have been much, much better moving the puck tonight.
4:25 – The Lightning’s transition game is producing chances tonight despite L.A.’s ability to defend at every level. The latest was a two-on-one with Brandon Hagel and Cirelli. The pass gets blocked, but the Bolts are generating these opportunities without reckless play in their own zone.
2:32 – Mikey Eyssimont’s forecheck generates a chance for Hagel. L.A. takes umbrage to his play and it creates the first scrum of the night.
0:00 – The first period comes to a close tied at one. That was a pretty good road period for the Lightning. They pushed most of the play and were able to get shots on the net. They also held the Kings to just four shots. That’s how they have to play this game. Take care of the defensive zone first, and then build the offense. It’s a good first 20 minutes, now they need to do it for another 40.
Second Period:
19:12 – Erik Cernak is going to need a trip to the cryogenic chamber as he takes another big hit before dumping the puck into the L.A. zone. It’s another sluggish start to the period as there are three face-offs in the first 48 seconds.
17:01 – A really nice passing play between Cirelli, Hagel and Geekie, leads to a quality chance for the rookie in front of the net, but he can’t quite get his stick on the return feed. He’s a good fit for that line, but is fighting things a bit right now offensively. He’s doing all of the other things the right way, just isn’t putting points up.
14:30 – Brayden Point has the top corner wide open on a nice feed from Kucherov, but his shot whistles over the net.That’s one you’d love to see in the back of the net.
12:42 – Another chance for the Cirelli line ends with Kuemper making a save off of a Connor Geekie shot. The transition game continues to generate solid chances as the Bolts are skating really well. Ryan McDonagh starts the play in his own zone (and takes a hit).
12:14 – Kucherov heads to the penalty box as he gives Warren Foegele an up-close look at his stick blade. That’s high-sticking, folks.
7:32 – As you can guess, the Lightning kill off the penalty. Props to Nick Paul at the end of the short-handed span as he made a couple of nice plays in the neutral zone to disrupt the Kings flow. He had a potential breakaway at the end of it, but was out of gas and Gavrikov is able to catch him on the back-check and disrupt his shot.
5:04 – Mitchell Chaffee calls his own number on a two-on-one with Eyssimont, but Kuemper makes the save. He also stops Cernak on a rebound attempt from the slot. This Kuemper guy is keeping the Kings in the game right now.
0:55 – The Kings have a look in the slot, but Chaffee slides down and blocks the shot. That had trouble written all over it.
0:02.1 – Vasilevskiy heads to the bench as the Lightning have an offensive zone face-off. They win it, but the shot hits bodies in front as the horn sounds. Another solid period for the Lightning, but they can’t find the go-ahead goal. They have to stay patient in the third and keep executing their game plan. Now is not the time to start getting loose with the puck.
Third Period:
18:40 – Point jumps on a loose puck in the neutral zone and spins into the Kings’ zone, but Kuemper knocks away his shot attempt.
17:27 – Eyssimont was trying a back-handed wrap-around, but a Kings player wipes out everyone in front of the net like a bowling ball picking up a 3-6-9 spare.
16:25 – Joel Edmundson leaps to keep a puck into the zone, but comes down on Girgensons and flips over, landing on the back of his head. The L.A. defenseman heads to the locker room and is a little shaken up.
14:28 – Tempers flare up a little more as Eyssimont drives to the net. Kuemper makes the save as Mikey goes flying by, but the puck almost trickles in. Paul pokes at the loose puck before the whistle blows, but the Kings aren’t happy about the play. Love that every four games or so, Mikey Eyssimont looks like a top-six forward, and then kind of disappears for the next couple.
12:21 – Point almost pokes one past Kuemper, who comes out to play a loose puck. On the ensuing play, Trevor Lewis goes to the box for interference as he slams Eyssimont to the ice. Power play number two for the Lightning.
9:56 – No shots on the power play as L.A. just doesn’t let them set up in the zone. They have definitely scouted what the Lightning like to do on the power play and are super aggressive in challenging the puck carrier. Tampa Bay can’t let their struggles on the power play carry over to 5v5 play.
5:48 – Whelp. That looked ugly from the get go. Nick Perbix leaves his feet to try and keep an errant pass in the offensive zone, but can’t. Alex Turcotte collects the puck and breaks the other way. Emil Lilleberg does a good job of cutting off the initial rush, but both Lilleberg and Perbix stick with Turcotte who is able to tap the pass to Adrian Kempe who is wide open and buries his shot past Vasilevskiy. Adrian Kempe (Alex Turcotte) 2-1 Kings
4:23 – The Lightning are going to have to take chances now, and that’s where the Kings thrive. Nick Paul fires a bouncing puck at Kuemper, but the goaltender makes the save and holds on. Very few second chances for the Lightning tonight.
3:28 – Just as we post that, Guentzel has a chance on a rebound, but isn’t able to sneak a backhand through the five-hole.
1:44 – A nice keep by Hedman leads to a shot on net by Kucherov. Vasilevskiy went to the bench at the 2:29 mark. Los Angeles just doesn’t get out of position in their own zone. They stick to their system and make sure sticks are in the lane to disrupt passes.
0:00 – The game ends with a delayed penalty as Hedman blatantly hooks a King player in the neutral zone to prevent a breakaway and an empty-net goal. The Kings then hit the post, so it ends 2-1. Point had a golden chance to tie, but his shot was well above the crossbar. Tough loss for the Lightning, but it was their best played game in a while. If they can carry this over to Anaheim tomorrow, the losing streak should be over.
The Charts
Morning Skate
Good news as Victor Hedman was at the morning skate. The Lightning’s all-time games-played leader missed the end of their loss to the San Jose Sharks after taking a puck to the ear. It doesn’t appear that there are any lingering side effects from the incident.
Speaking of the morning skate, reporter Gabby Shirley questioned Mitchell Chaffee about the practice, noticing it seemed to be a bit more intense than a typical pre-game workout.
“Mentally, you need to be more prepared. Mentally, you need to do what you need to do to be ready and executing. I think that was a big part, especially when you come off a game where you’re not executing as well as you normally do. You’re taking that into the next practice and the next game. This is something we need to focus on.”
Coach Jon Cooper spoke about what his team needs to do in order to beat the Kings tonight.
“They’re a team that doesn’t beat themselves, and they’ll just wait you out. It’s a pretty disciplined way to play. They just don’t give you much. They don’t give up odd-man rushes, so you have to match them. You have to play a disciplined game as well. That’s what we look to do tonight.”
