By Jake Ricker
The Lightning faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes, looking to bounce back after a bad loss to the Boston Bruins. Here are a few things we noticed from the Lightning's____ the Hurricanes.
Urgency
The Lightning showed a lot of urgency early in this game, which was great to see, even turning into an early Lightning power play. A power play that looked rejuvenated, taking shot after shot, moving the puck with ease, and had multiple grade-A chances. Unfortunately, the Lightning would end up surrendering a short-handed goal, killing almost all of their momentum.
The urgency, while less, was still there for the Lightning, creating more chances throughout the period. There is no question that the team looked better. However, looks don't mean results, and the Lightning failed to capitalize on their chances.
Defense
Defense has been a hot topic for the Lightning after they chose not to adress it at the deadline. And now, over the last few games, it has been a major issue. Multiple times in this game, the Lightning gave up odd-man rushes that either ended in goals or in Vasilevskiy having to make big-time saves.
With the defense constantly forcing Vasielvskiy to make save after save, it was only a matter of time before the Hurricanes would get one in the back of the net. The Lightning have to do a better job of limiting odd-man rushes and keeping as many shots as possible to the outside. Too many times, defensemen find themselves out of position or flat-footed, letting the offense have their way.
Credit Where Credit is Due
One thing that needs to be said is that the Lightning played a very good Hurricanes team. Carolina is playing some of their best hockey and made some excellent shots that left Vasilevskiy guessing.
The Lightning did not play well, and there is no defending that, but both can be true in the fact that Carolina also played some very good hockey.
Next, the Lightning will take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, March 13th. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST at Wells Fargo Center.
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.
Comments