By Michael Wax
The Lightning improve to 15-8-1 after a chaotic 4-3 OT win against the Maple Leafs. Here are three things we noticed from the game.
The NHL's Officiating Problem
What a terribly officiated game. 15 minor penalty between the two teams, five power plays for the Leafs and six for the Lightning. Referee François St-Laurent even glared at the Lightning bench early in the game because of a missed call, of which there were several on each side.
The NHL has had an officiating issue for years, and games like these only heighten the problem. Maybe with the Leafs being one of the teams that played in this game,
Power Play?
If you don't look too hard, the Lightning's power play has been really good on counting stats. 10 straight games with a power-play goal, and they got two power-play goals in this game against Toronto. However, the biggest negative reared its ugly head once again: short-handed opportunities.
Mitch Marner scored a short-handed goal thanks to a horrendous turnover from Sergachev in his own zone. The Lightning continued face-off loses on power plays led to a deduction in zone time and have led to plays like this over and over again. The Bolts' six short-handed goals against is the most in the league, and we're not even 30 games in.
Vlad Attack
Vlad Namestnikov's return to Bolts blue has not gone as expected. With only five assists and a -8 in 23 games, Namestnikov needed a big game to really keep his spot. Enter the Leafs.
Namestnikov put u phis first goal of the season on a floater towards the net that just found its way through. He also had a huge short-handed opportunity that was stopped by Matt Murray. Namestnikov's speed has always been a strength, but a big question is whether or not he can use it effectively. Hopefully this is a trend that continues.
Three Stars
1. Killorn (TBL): OT Winner
2. Marner (TBL): 2 Goals
3. Perry (TBL): 2 Assists
The Lightning's next game will be against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, December 6, at 7 PM EST.
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