The Tampa Bay Lightning improved to 2-2-1 and 2-0-0 at home with a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Nikita Kucherov scored twice, with Nick Paul having a good night with a goal and an assist, and Michael Eyssimont scoring his first of the season as well. Jonas Johansson stopped 26 of 29 shots he faced in the win, while the Lightning scored four on 36 shots against Thatcher Demko in net for Vancouver. Demko was very good in this game but he was let down by his defense on all four of his goals against (genuinely).
The Lightning were unfortunate this game ended as close as it did as they played well through most of it. There were a few minutes at the start of the second when their brains weren’t on and the forwards were blowing the zone before they were supposed to, that resulted in two goals against that kept the Canucks within shouting distance, but once they tightened it up the Bolts were solid.
First Period
The game started with a bang when Lafferty knocked de Haan out into the boards, taking a boarding penalty in the process. Luckily de Haan stayed in the game and ended up playing more than 18 minutes, which is a good sign for his health.
The Bolts were dangerous out of the gate, getting eight shots on that first power play, led by two from Stamkos. It’s also a good sign he was able to play after that brief scare earlier in the week.
1-0
The Lightning got a second power play shortly after when Hronek was sent to the box for slashing Point. On that power play, the Lightning were in the process of changing back to their first unit (the second unit started the shift) when Nick Paul snatched a clearing shot with his stick like a spider and teed up Stamkos who was all alone at the side of the net. That’s when Thatcher Demko did his magic, stopping both Stamkos shots with sprawling, desperation saves, but with no defenders anywhere to be found to help him, Paul swooped in next and buried the third rebound for the opening goal.
After One
Not much happened in the remainder of the period, but the Lightning left the first leading in goals 1-0, but trailing in shots 19-21. To be honest about “not much happening in the remainder of the period” I should say the Canucks had the vast majority of the shots after they started to trail, but they weren’t able to reliably get to the front of the net, meaning most of their shots were from medium and low danger. Hence not much of substance happened.
Second Period
1-1
Brock Boeser tied the game immediately into the second period. Hughes took the puck off the opening faceoff and sent it deep into the Lightning zone, Miller grabbed the puck and centered it to Boeser who got a shot off just in time to beat the defenders sticks coming at him and Johansson. Tie game early in the second.
1-2
And in a bit of a whirlwind, the lead disappeared with Tyler Myers scored less than a minute later. Analyzing the play, it seems obvious to say the wingers blew the zone way too early and left the defenders and center out to dry low in their zone with the Canucks coming down from high. I’m not sure whether to blame Sergachev for just winging the puck around the boards, but I’m not really sure what else he could’ve done with about five Canucks between him and two forwards deep in the neutral zone.
The Canucks then got a power play after this when Cernak went to the box for tripping. In a poor paraphrase of Coop, killing a penalty with hard work and togetherness brought the Lightning back on program and got their game going again. The rest of the period was leaning the Lightning’s way and it culminated in this goal from Eyssimont.
2-2
Eyssimont got the game tied again with a rip off the rush. He, Sheary, and Perbix completed a zone exit and entry that got the Canucks drifting towards the benches in the neutral zone, leaving the opposite wing wide open for two Bolts forwards to jump into. Eyssimont didn’t need Jeannot as he ripped the shot past Demko. The goal and assists were the first for the three players involved. It’s goals like this and the Paul one before it that really shows how floaty the Canucks are on defense. They just drift in the wrong directions and chase tails way too often. They also cheated up a lot in this game, as the following highlights will show.
3-2
Kucherov restored the lead before the end of the period, making up for a disastrous start with this goal. It wasn’t the most dangerous shot in the world, but it got through the right chink in the armor of Demko. The goal was well-earned after the volume of shots and chances the Lightning developed over the course of the period.
After Two
A much better period for the Lightning, who out-shot the Canucks 26-12 in the second period. It would’ve been a better lead if it weren’t for the mistakes in the first two minutes, but they did well to make up for it and keep the same advantage they had going into the period.
Third Period
4-2
Kucherov extended the lead on the power play — Cole was in the box for hooking Hagel hard into the boards — thanks to a big effort play from Paul. The center took a Kucherov pass and made a hard move to the net to wrap it around on the far side. That chance didn’t stick, but he and Point battled aggressively to win the puck back, creating an odd-man advantage down low once Paul was able to come away with it. He returned the puck to Kucherov, who calmly found the open net.
4-3
The Lightning held onto the lead the rest of the way while being on the receiving end of a lot of shots. They mostly held their ground with a two-goal lead, but the Canucks made it close when Miller got his second point of the night at the side of the net when the Canucks had the goalie pulled for the extra attacker. That goal came with less than two minutes left, which the Lightning were able to shut down.
Lightning win at home!
Let us know what you thought about the game. The full recap video can be found below.
