(Photo Via The Athletic)
By Jake Ricker
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost in their first preseason game to the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 3-1. The important thing to remember is that this is a preseason game, and individual player performances and more important than the final score. With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the things the Bolts did well or struggled with.
The Good
Despite giving up three goals goaltender, Maxime Lagace made some outstanding saves and shut the door after the first period. While he won't be making the NHL roster, he showed tonight he can be a fantastic backup goalie with the Crunch and has a bright future if he keeps up this type of play.
Alex-Barre-Boulet had the only goal in this game, and it was a beauty of a play as he smartly moved to the front of the crease and put one in the back of the net. ABB is one guy who a lot of Bolts fans expect to make that next step and be a big part of the Lightning's main roster this year. From what we saw last night, I think he showed he could be a solid bottom-six forward.
The Bad
Special teams were defiantly an issue for the Lightning as they were unsuccessful on each of their power plays, and they were also only 1/3 on the penalty kill. However, this is slightly expected as it's a lot of these guys' first time playing together.
Penalties, as mentioned before, the Canes converted on two of their three power plays. While three penalties in a game isn't awful, the majority of them came in the first period, which is ultimately what cost the Bolts the game and are little mistakes that can be avoided.
Overview
At the end of the day, this is only the first preseason game, and there was a lot to like from some of the young players; for more on the game, check out our latest recap video on our YouTube page:
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