By Jake Ricker
The Lightning faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers, looking to bounce back after a few bad games and get back in the win column. Here are a few things we noticed from the Lightning's____ the Flyers.
Special Teams
Special teams have been mostly a success story this season, but they were without Nikita Kucherov tonight. In Kucherov's absence, the Lightning's power play Gage Goncalves stepped up and scored the team's only power-play goal. Gage has played very well over the last few weeks, with 9 points in the last 16 games. He was rewarded with more power play time, and it's just what the doctor ordered with Kucherov out.
As for the penalty kill, they were great. going 2/2. The Lightning penalty kill has been really solid this year, and that will be even more important when limited power play chances make each kill so much bigger.
The Little Things
The same issues are still hurting the Lightning. Extra passes, missed assignments, turnovers, the list goes on. These "little things" are building into a more major issue that Lightning just can't seem to fix right now. The team just looks a step off right now, and they need to go back to basics to try, and fix it. A great example of one of these issues came in the third period as Guenzell was all alone in front and decided to make an extra pass. It could have worked out, but Guenzel is way too good of a player to pass up that shot.
This team has the talent, no question, and we have seen them play some great hockey, but these little mistakes are killing them and constantly making them play from behind. The Lightning have gone through these stretches late in the season before, but with the Atlantic up for grabs, they need to get that step back before it's too late.
Final 20
The Lightning's final 20 was by far their best period, which isn't saying much, but for the team to come out and get that game tying goal is huge. These games aren't pretty, but every point down the stretch counts, which they get by getting this to OT. Don't get it wrong; this is a game the Lightning should have won, but any little positive you can take is something they can build off of.
Next, the Lightning will take on the Boston Bruins on Saturday, March 15th. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST at TD Garden.
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