By Jake Ricker
The Tampa Bay Lightning looked to start the Playoffs off right with a series-opening win in Sunrise but stumbled out of the gate. Here is how they stacked up against the Panthers in last night's matchup.
Duclair-Point-Kucherov
Stamkos-Cirelli-Hagel
Chaffee-Paul-Eyssimont
Jeannot-Glendening-Motte
Hedman-Raddysh
Perbix-Cernak
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Vasilevskiy
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Lightning's 3-2 loss to the Panther.
Slow Start
The Lightning have historically not played well in early games, and that was no different tonight. The Bolts were not able to match the Panthers' energy in the first period despite the score being tied 1-1 after 20 minutes. The Panthers did have the advantage of being at home, and Jon Cooper noted that the crowd was certainly fired up for game one of the postseason.
However, the Lightning have always been able to turn it on once the postseason began, and it took them a while to do that to start this game. You must start on time in the postseason. The Lightning were not getting quality chances, while the Panthers had a majority of the pressure. Just look at the deserve-to-win 0'meter from moneypuck.com
The reason the Lightning where able to stay in this game? Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy was once again fantastic in the postseason. Vasy made 25 saves on 27 shots from the Panthers and was able to keep the lightning within one for the majority of this game. While there was maybe one goal he probably wanted back for the amount of chances the Panthers got compared to the Lightning, he was the reason this game wasn't worse than it was.
If Vasilevskiy can continue to play like he did tonight, then the Lightning should have no issues winning games, with the offense scoring more. Vasilevsiky has been the backbone of the Bolt's deep playoff runs, and this season is no different. He was the biggest positive from last night's game. Pushback
The Lightning did fight back in this game. In fact, they increased their shots on goal total each period. So, while they were mostly outplayed, they showed they have the ability to play at the level necessary. Brandon Hagel was one of the top performers from this game scoring in the first period to make the game tied at 1-1. It can be easy for a team to fall apart when things are not going your way early, but the Lightning did fight back a little.
The Lightning also scored on the power play with seconds left to pull within one. While this goal didn't mean much at the end of the day, it again shows that the team kept fighting and that they could get moving offensively.
Final Thoughts
It's game 1, and while the loss stinks, the goal was always to split in Sunrise. The Lightning can still do that in game 2. One of the biggest issues for the Lightning this season was the defense. They were able to hold the Panthers to just two goals (one empty net). So, if your biggest issue is the offense, that is a good thing.
The Lightning have one of the best offenses in the league, and there is no question they will be able to bounce back. If they Have a better effort out of the gate and pick up the offense, which we know they can do, they should be just fine for the rest of the series.
Next game - Round 1 Game 2 Tuesday, April 23rd Lightning vs Panthers 7:30 PM EST
Three Stars
Media's three-stars
1. Verhaeghe (1G)
2. Tkachuck (1G,1A)
3. Barkov (2A)
Our three-stars
1 Bobrovsky (.895%)
2. Verhaeghe (1G)
3. Vasy (.926 SV%)
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