By Jake Ricker
The Lightning played in their third preseason game as they took on the Nashville Predators and would be looking to pick up their first win . Here is the lineup the Lightning had on the ice for the third preseason game.
Koepke-Namestnikov-Colton
Hagel-Smith-Maroon
Fortier-Ryfors-Barre-Boulet
MacArthur-Usau-Dureau
Fleury-Myers
Cole-Perbix
Day-Feist
Alnefelt
1st Period
The Lightning did not get the start they wanted as just a few minutes into the game; the Lightning would be called for too many men on the ice. Nashville made sure to take advantage quickly, getting one into the back of the net and taking a 1-0 lead. The Lightning then took yet another penalty as Hayden Flurry was called for a high-stick. Nashville again took advantage and was up 2-0 in the blink of an eye.
The Lightning then finally got a power play chance of their own as Nashville was called for a cross-check. Unfortunately, the Lightning's power play issues continued, and they were unable to take advantage. The Lightning would get another chance on the power play, though, as Nashville would get called for boarding. Unfortunately, this would be short-lived as the Lightning took a penalty of their own.
The Lightning then had a few tremendous shorthanded chances from Hagel and Namestnikov, but they were unable to get anything in the back of the net. Nashville took full advantage of the short power play, though, and made it a 3-0 hockey game. The Predators would take another penalty before the period came to a close, but it was a 3-0 lead heading into the intermission for Nashville.
2nd Period
The Lightning would start things off on the power play, and they had some great chances. But Nashville stood tall, making an excellent save to keep the Lightning off the board. The Lightning began to settle things down In the second and picked up a few chances along the way. Unfortunately, they still trailed by three and needed to get something going quickly.
The Lightning would head right back to the penalty kill, though, as Myers gave a Nashville player a cross-check right in the back. The power play was short-lived, though, as Nashville took a penalty of their own, and we would play 4-on4. Both penalties would then soon expire, and we would be back to 5-on-5.
Nashville continued their dominance, though, and they would eventually make it a 4-0 hockey game late in the second. The Lightning would then head into the final 20 minutes looking to try and at least get one on the board.
3rd Period
The Lightning started things off on the power play but they were again unable to convert. Things then got messy quickly. Nashville was having a field day as they scored a fifth straight goal. Not everything was bad for the Lightning though as Gemel Smith made a nice play to get the puck to Brandon Hagel who buried the shot to get the Lightning on the board.
Unfortunately the celebration was short lived as Nashville went on to score two more goals making it 7-1. Things would then finally come to a close and the Lightning dropped their third straight preseason game.
Final thoughts
There was not really anything positive to take away from this game. But Brandon Hagel did score a goal tonight, and Gemel Smith made a great play to make it happen. Sean Day was also only a -1, which might not sound very good, but in a 7-1 game, he did a good job of shutting down the Nashville offense.
As for the negatives, there is a lot. The important thing to remember is that this is a preseason game, and for the most part, the result does not matter. With that said, the power play again was not good and needed a lot of work. Alnefelt did not have a good night letting in seven goals; it just felt like it was not his night. The penalty kill was ok, killing half of the penalties. It didn't help that they had to kill six total penalties.
Three Stars Via NHL.com
1. Matt Duchene (2G, 3A)
2. Tanner Jeannot (2G, 2A)
3. Juuse Saros (27 SV, 1 GA)
The next preseason game will be on Thursday, October 6th, against the Florida Panthers at 7:00 PM.
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