Lightning look for offense as they take on the Red Wings

Game Five: Tampa Bay Lightning (1-2-1) at Detroit Red Wings (3-1-0)

Time: 7:00 PM EST

Location: Little Caesers Arena, Detroit

TV/Stream/Radio: Scripps, TVAS, FDSNDET, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App

Odds: Lightning -150

Know the Opponents: Winging it in Motown

After a brief pit stop in Tampa, the Lightning are back on the road for another back-to-back (thank you schedule overlords). Detroit, Motor City, is the first stop, and then the Bolts will jump on a plane down to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. Their first back-to-back this week went…okay. They picked up three out of four points, but couldn’t hold a lead against the Capitals, so they’re still sitting at just one win through the first four games of the season.

Thanks to Gary Bettman’s point for trying tying system, the optimists can say that the Bolts are just one win away from a .500 record. Picking up that win tonight could prove to be a little more difficult than it has in the past. Unlike the Lightning, the Red Wings are off to a solid start. After dropping their opener against Montreal, they’ve run off three straight wins, beating Toronto twice, and then dispatching the Panthers, 4-1, in their last outing.

Cam Talbot has been in net for the last three games and is sporting a tidy 1.78 GAA with a .932 SV%. Their big off-season acquisition, John Gibson, was in net for the first game, and it didn’t go so well as he allowed five goals on thirteen shots. Talbot has been carrying his load as he’s posted a 2.66 GSAx, but the Red Wings have been keeping the front of his net clean for the most part, allowing just 9.36 high-danger chances per 60 minutes.

In their games against the Bruins and Capitals the Lightning started to get back to their defensive structure in their own zone. They aren’t at the level we saw them play at last year, and they haven’t been able to pull it off for an entire game yet, but there were steps in the right direction. Unfortunately, they will go into this set of games without rookie Max Crozier, as Coach Jon Cooper has indicated that the young blueliner will miss some time after he stumbled to the ice awkwardly in the game against the Capitals. Steven Santini was recalled and will serve as the seventh defender this weekend.

The Bolts are still trying to figure out the offense thing. Through four games of 5v5 play they are sitting at 2.9 goals per 60 (10th), 24.18 scoring-chances-per-60 (21st), 9.03 high-danger-chances-per-60 (28th), and 21.6 shots-for-per-60 (29th). They are connecting on 30% of their power plays, so they have that going for them!

After their optional skate this morning, Coach Cooper talked about needing to find the balance between quantity and quality. It’s kind of been a struggle in both departments so far. Not only are they not shooting the puck, but when they do, they’re not getting it on net. Taking a look at shots attempts and actual shots (in all situations) is pretty eye-opening.

Out of the players with the most shots attempts on the season, only Guentzel is getting more than half on net. Perhaps the biggest surprise on that chart (other than Victor Hedman only missing the net twice) is that Kucherov and Hagel, two players that usually shoot from fairly close to the net have combined to miss 20 unblocked shot attempts. (And, yes, shots attempts that hit the post are considered missing the net).

While the inability to lay a ton of rubber on opposing goaltenders is great for a player’s shooting percentage (The Lightning are fourth in the league at 15.48%) it’s not a great way to win games. That doesn’t mean they should come out and fling pucks from all over the ice, but they do need to start picking up the volume. Even their coach has admitted that they seem a bit hesitant at times to let the puck go in the offensive zone. Not all goals are pretty, and more and more in this league teams are letting shots go from weird angles just to generate rebounds and loose pucks in front of the net. The Bolts need to embrace that strategy a little more.

It would also help if they can up their retrieval game. They haven’t been winning as many puck battles in the offensive zone as they need to. When they’ve had flashes of their old offensive self, it’s been because they’ve been able to keep the puck in the zone, grabbing rebounds, and winning pucks along the boards. That allows them to get their high-to-low game working, which then opens up seams for the cross-ice passes that they love, and that lead to prime chances.

The season is still young enough that they have time to work it out. Past history indicates that they will figure it out. It would just be nice if they hopped to it. Why not start tonight?

Potential Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning

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Detroit Red Wings

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