By Jake Ricker
The Lightning took on the Toronto Maple Leafs last night as they Cellibrated Stamkos' 1,00th NHL game. Jeannot would miss tonight's game with a lower-body injury, while Bogosian and Flurry as the healthy scratches. Here are a few things we noticed from the loss.
Intensity and Physicality
There was a lot of fighting and extra circular activities in this game. While it wasn't quite what a playoff atmosphere would be, these two teams did not like each other. The officials decided they would try to send a message early by taking one player from Scrums. That player typically being the one that started it. However, this didn't really do much, as we ended up with multiple scrums and 14 penalties.
Kucherov had an extra step in his game tonight, and while some of that was due to the physical side of things, the Leafs had Kucherov frustrated. Maroon is another example of a player who had some extra pep in his step. Maroon was able to capitalize on this, scoring a goal after getting banged up in moment earlier. Unfortunately, that goal would be taken back due to a questionable goalie interference call. The Bottom line is the Lightning did play with good intensity, and it's something fans should certainly be looking forward to in the postseason.
Power Play
The Power play was not good tonight. They finished 0/8 on the night. Even though some of the power plays were cut short due to penalties, the Lightning still failed to generate a ton of chances. There will not be this many chances on the power play in the playoffs, so the Lightning will need to make sure they are capitalizing on at least one of these two-minute advantages.
Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy has been the greatest goaltender in the NHL for some time now, and he still is. However, there is no getting around the fact that he has not been his old self this year. There were two goals tonight that Vasilevskiy would probably want back, and is hard to imagine him making the same mistake in the playoffs.
Vasilevskiy holds a .916% save percentage which is the same as what he had last year. His GAA is, however, up this year. Despite some fluky goals and an increased GAA, the stats actually show this is still the same Vasilevskiy we all know. Just look at his games against Carolina, Boston, and New York earlier this year. Vasy should be able to get his game under control before the past season, and if he can, the Lightning still remain one of the most dangerous teams.
Final Thoughts
It has been a long season, and everyone is ready for the playoffs. While it is absolutely fair to be concerned about the team heading into the first round, it is still not time to panic. The Lightning have been here before and have shown what they are capable of. It's really not a matter of can they do it, but will they be able to execute out on the ice. Despite the loss, the Lightning did have some positive things come out of this game, like the intensity of some of their play.
Three Stars
Media’s three stars
1. Nylander (1G,2A)
2. Woll (46SV)
3. Sergachev (1G,1A)
Our three stars
1. Nylander (1G,2A)
2. Sergachev (1G,1A)
3. Woll (46SV)
The Lightning's last regular season game will be against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, April 13th, at 7:00 PM ET.
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.
Comentários