When you have to write 82+ recaps over the course of the season, there are times you hope for the dramatic narrative to develop at some point during the game so that the job is a little easier. Early in the third period, with the score tied at twos between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks, it looked like that easy narrative was unfolding in front of us.
A holding penalty by Darren Raddysh had created a power play for the ‘Hawks. A minute-thirty into the kill, Yanni Gourde’s stick caught Connor Bedard in the lip. The refs saw it and Gourde was sent to the box for four minutes. Chicago, who scored their first goal on a snapshot from Frank Nazer on the power play in the first period, had almost 30 seconds of a 5-on-3. They didn’t score. Nor did they score on the rest of the double-minor. The Lightning not only killed it off, but they limited Chicago’s chances.
This was it. They had momentum. Surely, they would go on to score and win the game. That penalty kill would be the impetus to turning the season around. Well. Unfortunately, things didn’t end up that way. The Bolts would come close, as in putting a shot off the post, but they couldn’t find the back of the net. Instead, Ryan Donato would score his second goal of the game with less than a minute to go in the game and the Lightning would fall, 3-2.
So, what was the story of the night instead? Was it the fact that turnovers turned into goals against? Lazy penalties led to the first goal and sapped any type of momentum? Another close game in which they weren’t able to find a way?
Sure, all of those apply, but for us, it might have been that for the first time in the six games in which they failed to pick up a victory, it felt like they didn’t deserve the outcome. The Lightning controlled the pace of play for the majority of the game. They, get this, shot the puck. They ripped off 73 shot attempts, the second highest amount they’ve had all season. Unlike the game against Detroit where they had 74, they didn’t wait until the third period to start firing the puck on net. They had 22 in the first, 30 in the second, and 21 in the third.
There was a sense of urgency in their game and little delay in getting the puck moving north. The chances were there, and their persistence allowed them to put a couple of pucks past Spencer Knight. Sustained zone time early in the second allowed Jake Guentzel to tip home a shot from Ryan McDonagh to tie the game at a goal a piece.
Jake Guentzel (Ryan McDonagh, Nikita Kucherov) 1-1
Unfortunately, an attempted pass by McDonagh a few minutes later was picked off and it led to a break the other way for Ryan Donato. Andrei Vasilevskiy was slightly off his angle and Donato has room on the short side to put the puck past him.
McDonagh made up for it with a little late period magic of his own. Late in the period he one-timed a nice pass by Kucherov for his third goal of the season to tie things up at two.
Ryan McDonagh (Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point) 2-2
There would be no further scoring until Donato scored the game-winner late in the third period. A turnover in the offensive zone by Kucherov led to a rush by Nazar. Vasilevskiy stopped his initial shot, but Donato was left unmarked and was able to put home the rebound.
At the risk of enhancing our reputation of the sunshine and rainbows Lightning website, there was more positive than negative from this game. For the first time this season we can say, “if the Lightning play like this on a nightly basis, they will start stacking wins together.”
Unfortunately, they’ve burned through their good will faster than a tech company burns through capital. It’s still October and they can’t afford moral victories. They have to start getting results. So while they played better, it still wasn’t good enough.
