Despite being off for five days, the Lightning returned home for the third game of their five game homes stand and got doubled up by the Flames 6-3 on Thursday night. Once again going with 11 forwards and seven defenseman, here's how they stacked up:
Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Chaffee
Eyssimont-Paul-Sheary
Glendening-Motte
Hedman-Raddysh
de Haan-Cernak
Lilleberg-Perbix
Crozier
Vasilevskiy in net.
Here are three things we noticed during the game:
Sheary, Sheary Baby
The one positive from this game was that Conor Sheary had easily the best game of his Lightning tenure. Sheary has been struggling since the beginning of the season to find any consistent often production, but in this one, he got the monkey off his back and then some. Back when the game was still in reach with the Flames up 1-0 in the middle of the first, Victor Hedman kept the puck in along the boards before Nick Paul did some skating the park on his backhand while Sheary found his way to the front the net. Paul’s pass went between the legs of the Calgary defender and found Sheary for a deflection, his first goal in 35 games and his second goal of the season.
Later in the game, this time with the game out of reach, Sheary picked up an assist as him and Mikey Eyssimont created a 2-on-1 rush opportunity, which Eyssimont was able to finish to get the Lightning back within three goals.
It’s been worth a ride for Sheary ever since he left the Capitals and signed with the Lightning in free agency, especially in the goal scoring department. For a team that’s desperately looking for secondary scoring, a hot streak from the 31-year-old would go a long way in solving a lot of their problems.
Un-Vasy Like
One of the problems with the Lightning during this very up-and-down play since the All-Star break has been Andrei Vasilevskiy's tendency to have a good game and then have a stinker. Specifically, Vasilevskiy has a .880 save % since the All-Star break, and has the worst save percentage among any goaltender with eight or more games played since the break. Specifically, Vasilevskiy is getting beat high more often than normal.
It's been no secret that one of Vasilevskiy's weaknesses is high blocker, but the problem in the game against the Flames was actually his glove. There were a multitude of shots that Vasilevskiy was beat to the glove side where it felt like a slow reaction time more than anything else. Look at the goal from Yegor Sharangovich to make it 3-1 Flames. Turnover the defensive zone? Absolutely. But Vasilevskiy seems surprised at the quick one-timer and the puck was in the back of the net before he even got his glove into position.
The defense has to be much better. That is an indisputable fact, whether or not the Lightning go out and make a deal at the deadline for a defender. However, when you have a struggling starting goaltender, that very obviously needs rest in a time that he's not going to get it, he needs to be performing better to give the Lightning opportunities to be competitive in games.
The Duke
During the second intermission, the Lightning got involved in trade deadline action and acquired forward Anthony Duclair from the San Jose Sharks for a third round pick and defensive prospect Jack Thompson. Regardless of what the general consensus of the trade is, it’s no secret that scoring aside from the top line, this season could use a major boost, and that is exactly what Duclair provides. Duclair's 16 goals were tied for the team lead in San Jose, and his 27 points were fifth among all Sharks skaters. Duclair had been averaging 16:30 in ice time, a number that’s most likely going to see a decline once he enters a Lightning sweater. Still, while his defensive metrics aren’t great, he did put together 34 takeaways against 11 giveaways during his 56 games in a Sharks uniform.
This is the second time in two years that the Lightning have made an in-game trade, really taking away from the action on the ice and getting the fan base talking during what was ultimately a tough game to watch. The Lighting might need defensive, help, but they certainly also need scoring help, and Duclair provides that in spades.
Want to start your journalism career by writing about the Tampa Bay Lightning? Send us a message via our contact form located in the upper right hand corner under the more tab or send us a message via Twitter to get started.
Comments