By Jake Ricker
The Tampa Bay Lightning looked to force a game 6 with their season on the line against the Panthers. Here is how the Lightning stacked up in last night's matchup.
Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Duclair
Eyssimont-Paul-Chaffee
Jeannot-Glendening-Motte
Hedman-Dumba
Sergachev-Cernak
Lilleberg-Crozier
Vasilevskiy
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Lightning's 6-1 loss vs the Panther.
Overturned Goals
It's so hard to blame officials in a playoff game because, at the end of the day, you have to overcome bad calls, and there are still lots of other things that factor into a game. However, it has to be mentioned that not one but two goals for the Lightning are being taken away. Both calls were close, and you can make an argument they were the right call, but there was very little to go off of.
The NHL often "spins the wheel" when it comes to goaltender interference, making it so hard to figure out. The First goal was scored by the Lightning; interference was called on Ducalir, but his stick was being held, and Bobrovskiy warped his glove around Duclairs leg. The Second goal is taken away because of contact by Cirelli. But again it was minimum at best and he is tied up with a Panthers defender.
This was not the only reason the Lightning lost; let's be clear, but there is no question it had a major effect on the game and really hurt the Lightning's chances of winning.
Power Play
The power play has been a huge part of the Lightning's success this season. They did seem to get it going in game 4, going 2/5, but they were again shut down tonight. Credit where credit is due, the Panthers did a great job of shutting things down, and the Lightning could barely get things set up on their power plays. Special teams are so important in the postseason, and it just wasn't there for the Lightning in this series run.
Offense
The one game where the Lightning had the most success was game 4 and they had 32 shots on goal. While the Lightning did have 32 shots on goal again tonight, it just wasn't enough. Bobrovskiy made some big saves, but the more the Lightning pressured him, the harder it was for him to stop the shots. The Lightning did not have enough flurries of shots on net in this game.
Final Thoughts
The Lightning have had so much success over the last few years and once again made another playoff appearance. While it was hard to watch them go down so quickly, the Panthers were just the better team overall this time. They fought through a lot of adversity, and it's hard to overcome a 3-0 series deficit.
Now you move on and look to the offseason, where the top priority is resigning Steven Stamkos. Thank you to everyone who followed along with us this season, both new and old! Lots of offseason coverage to come, so be sure to give us a follow!
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