By Jake Ricker
The Lightning tallied 46 shots on goal, but most of them came in the third. Unable to score until late in the third period, the Lightning fell short in this one and lost by a final score of 4-2 to the Detroit Red Wings. Here are three things we noticed from the game.
Vasy
Vasilevskiy was excellent in this game. The Red wings had multiple grade-A chances, but Vasy made some excellent saves to keep it a close game. Without some of those saves, this game could have gotten out of hand. It's no secret Vasilevskiy is a fantastic goaltender but nights like last night show why he can still be considered for the Vezina even though he has a great team around him. He finished the nite with 22 saves on 24 shots.
Defense
A big reason Vasilevskiy had to be so good was because the defense struggled so much. The Red Wings were able to create a lot of chances in the slot with almost no defenders near them. Even when cycling the puck, the defense was unable to get pressure on players giving the Red Wings time to set up plays.
While the Lightning have a lot of talent when it comes to defense, a lot of these players have not played with echoer. Chemistry can be a very important factor when determining how well players will perform on the ice. Because of injuries and guys just being young, like Nick Perbix, A lot of these pairs have not built good chemistry. It also feels like Hedman is still playing with an injury. Hopefully, this is an issue that will be fixed with time as we get deeper into the season.
Third Period
The first two periods for the Lighting weren't great as they trialed 2-0 after the second and only had 16 shots on goal. The third, however, was another story. Aside from controlling the puck and pace of play, the Lightning racked up 30 shots on goal in one period. Teams usually average 30 shots on goal for an entire game, so to get that many in one period is quite rare.
Husso, Detroit's goaltender, made some excellent saves and was a big reason the Lightning had such a hard time getting on the board. The Lightning clearly showed they could dominate the Red Wings and take control of this game. The issue was it didn't come until the third period. Even though we say it all the time, playing a full 60 minutes can be a difficult task. But the Lightning have to play a more consistent game if they want to win most of their games.
Three Stars
1. Husso (42SV, 2GA)
2. Vasilevskiy (22SV, 2GA)
3. Berggren (1G)
The Lightning's next game will be against the Nashville Predators on Thursday, December 8th, at 7 PM ET.
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