The life of a back-up goaltender is never fun. You’re expected to be competitive whenever you play despite not seeing live game action for weeks at a time. Being Andrei Vasilevskiy’s back-up can be even more of a struggle considering Vasy’s desire to play every game possible. So, credit to Jonas Johansson for putting in a strong start after not seeing the ice since New Year’s Eve. The Swedish goaltender stopped 27 of 28 shots to back the Lightning to a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
It was a tale of quality versus quantity for the Lightning fifth-straight victory. While they found themselves on the wrong side of the shot clock (28-16), shot attempts (55-42), they had more scoring chances (21-17) and won the expected goal battle with an impressive 63.49% xGF%.
The bulk of the Lightning offense came in a 52-second flurry as Nick Paul opened the scoring with his first goal since December 21st. Anthony Cirelli started the play as he forced a turnover along the boards and fed he puck to the middle of the ice where it handcuffed Brandon Hagel a bit. Hagel did a good job of digging the puck out of his skates and feeding Nick Paul who wristed it past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (who finished with 13 saves on 15 shots).
Nick Paul (Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli) 1-0 Lightning
Sure it took the Lightning six-plus minutes to get their first shot on net, but at least the Bolts scored on it. They would also score on their second shot of the game. Shorthanded, Tyler Motte pressured Alex Tuch at the blueline and forced the turnover. Motte was off to the races and slid a puck past Luukkonen for the goal.
Tyler Motte (unassisted) Shorthanded, 2-0 Lightning
Second periods have been an issue for the Lightning this year and once again they found themselves on the wrong end of the goal-scoring totals in the middle frame. Which was kind of unfortunate because the Bolts controlled a lot of the play, posting 12 scoring chances and allowing only 3. They were aided by two power plays, but weren’t able to cash in on either.
The Sabres cut the lead in half at the 13:52 mark when Dylan Cozens was left unguarded (it looked like Nikita Kucherov was a little late to cover him) and slipped a shot inside the far post on Johansson.
Dylan Cozens (JJ Peterka, Rasmus Dahlin) 2-1 Lightning
Looking at the stats in the third period would lead one to assume that the Lightning were under siege for the entire 20 minutes. Buffalo had 26 shot attempts and outshot the Bolts 15-2. Yet, it was the Lightning that found the back of the net when Calvin de Haan found an empty net from center ice.
Calvin de Haan (Brandon Hagel, Nick Paul) Empty Net, 3-1 Lightning
Was most of the play in the third period in the Lightning zone? Well, yes, but it wasn’t a shooting gallery. The Bolts were very composed in their own end and forced much of the action from the perimeter. Despite the copious amount of shot attempts, the Sabres had zero high-danger chances and posted just a 0.88 xGF mark. By contrast the Lightning had a 1.21 XGF in the period despite having just 11 shot attempts and 2 shots on goal.
Johansson didn’t have to make any 10-bell saves, but he made the ones he needed to, especially on an early breakaway by Tuch. With under 10 minutes to play (and the lead still only one goal) he also made a couple of really nice stops on deflections in front of the net.
With his job done, it will likely be awhile before Jonas Johansson sees the ice again. However, Lightning fans can rest easy knowing that he’ll be ready to go once he’s called on.
