By Michael Wax
The Lightning lost their fourth game in a row, 8-1, to Dallas, in a game they were never really in. Here's how they stacked up:
Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Eyssimont
Jeannot-Paul-ABB
Watson-Glendening-Motte
Hedman-Perbix
Sergachev-Cernak
de Haan-Raddysh
Vasilevskiy
Here are our three biggest takeaways:
What Is Defense?
To the surprise of no one following this team this season, the Lightning defense is a giant mess. Coming off a game against Pittsburgh, where they allowed three consecutive five-on-five goals due to turnovers, The Lightning put up another subpar performance against the Stars and paid for it in a way we haven't seen in a long time.
The only difference between the game against Pittsburgh and this game against Dallas was where the turnovers occurred. The Pittsburgh game saw a lot of turnovers from the Lightning's offensive zone, which gave the Penguins opportunities on odd-man rushes. In this one, many defensive miscues happened inside the defensive zone, leading to incredibly quick for the Stars that Vasilevskiy wasn't ready for.
Though it was more of a man coverage issue, the third goal of the game by Jamie Benn was another problematic goal. After some forechecking by the Lightning forwards, Ty Dellandrea sent a pop fly pass that defender Nick Perbix was blissfully unaware of, leading to a breakaway that the Stars once again capitalized on.
The Stars' eight goals were tied for the third most goals the Lightning have ever given up in their franchise history.
Too Soon?
Andrei Vasilevskiy's return has only been four games so far, but this game encapsulated many of Bolts nation's worries with a relatively quick return. Vasilevskiy gave up six goals in two periods of play before being pulled in favor of backup Jonas Johansson, and he didn't look like himself. The second goal game was a weak side goal allowed to Jason Robertson, something you could potentially chalk up to as a bad mistake. The third goal of the day was a breakaway from Stars captain Jamie Benn, an opportunity that came off some lackluster defense but one that Vasilevskiy typically has.
Vasilevskiy seemed to be a tick slow on most of his six goals. It might just be rust, as it's been stated earlier that it's just the fourth game of his return. But if he feels any discomfort, Vasilevskiy needs to be transparent about how he's feeling.
Nowhere But Up
The Lightning have lost four consecutive games and are 4-5-1 in their last 10. Despite a great game against the Boston Bruins 10 days ago and an eight-goal performance against the hurricanes last, this team is having a really tough time, scoring 5-on-5 goals and keeping goals out of their own net. However, the Lightning have been in a similar situation before and have come out on the other side as champions.
Entering December of 2019, the Lightning were 12-9-3. Coming off their historic collapse against the Blue Jackets the season before, it looked like the Lightning were on pace to miss the playoffs, and the calls for change grew louder and louder. The Lightning figured it out and won the Stanley Cup. There's still time for them to figure this out.
So what does need to change? For those who say the defensive system, let me remind you they changed their defensive system based on last year's consistent blown leads in the playoffs. That's not to say I disagree, but most of these calls to action are reverting to an old system that didn't work. There's talent on the blue line, and the Lightning have several forwards who are brilliant at checking, but it might be vital for them to transition to a man-on-man defensive system rather than a zone. Being in a man-on-man allows each player to succinctly understand who they're guarding, as opposed to a zone where fluid movement can confuse who is going after who and leave opposing players wide-open to capitalize off turnovers.
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