By Michael Wax
In the middle of their homestand, the Lightning got their first shutout of the season and climbed back above .500 for the first time since opening night. With their 3-0 win, the Lightning are now 3-2-2. Here are how the lines looked.
ABB-Point-Kucherov
Stamkos-Paul-Hagel
Jeannot-Cirelli-Merela
Sheary-Glendening-Eyssimont
Hedman-Cernak
Sergachev-Perbix
de Haan-Raddysh
Johansson
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Lightning's 3-0 win:
On the Board
The biggest question offensively for the Lightning early in the season was when Brayden Point was going to get off the schneid and get his first goal. Point hadn't been struggling offensively, with his seven assists being the most for a player without a goal, but it was so out of character for a player who scored 51 goals last season.
After he was robbed of an excellent chance in the first period, it seemed like that goal would never come. But with less than a minute to go and the Lightning on the power play, Point parked himself in his usual bumper slot and directed a Victor Hedman shot into the back of the net to break his goalless streak and potentially open the floodgates.
The Lightning don't need Point to score 50 goals again, but they certainly want one of the key cogs in their offense to return to normalcy.
Top Line Fever
With Brayden Point getting off his goal-scoring slump, linemate Alex Barré-Boulet decided to one-up him. As a low-event second period wound down, the first line again entered the zone with numbers. Point found Barré-Boulet with a circle-to-circle pass, and ABB held the puck as long as possible before ultimately running out of room and trying to bank it off the goaltender Kochetkov. Lucky for him, his attempted bank shot found its way onto the stick of Darren Raddysh, who executed a perfect shot pass onto the Stick of Barré-Boulet and doubled the lightning lead heading into the second period.
ABB has not looked out of place during his brief time on the top line with Point and Nikita Kucherov. The defensive game for ABB isn't there, and it might never be there. But as long as he continues to produce, Coach Cooper will have no choice but to play the very talented forward.
Strong Man
One aspect of the game that has been overlooked for the Lightning over the past half-decade is the ability to put together a strong penalty kill. Whether it was Yanni Gourde, Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli, Pierre Edourd-Bellemare, Blake Coleman, or Barclay Goodrow, the Lightning have always had a plethora of four words that I have made pencil, the killing an essential aspect of why the Lightning are so successful. This year, they have some old faces and new names that have combined to make the penalty kill one of the best in the league (13/14) in the early part of the season.
Anthony Cirelli, Nick Paul, and Brandon Hagel have done an exceptional job As the penalty-killing forwards who know the system and that Jon Cooper can trust. The most significant new addition to the penalty kill is Luke Glendening, who has done a brilliant job of winning his face-off to make the clears out of the zone easier. The veteran has been a good penalty killer for most of his career, and his presence for the Lightning cannot be overstated.
Hug Your Goalie
Although the primary numbers aren't there, Jonas Johansson has been very good for the Lightning so far in his audition as the starter. Dig deeper, and you'll see that Johansson ranks in the 99th percentile among all goalies this year in high-danger saves per NHL Edge. Even with these excellent analytical numbers, Johansson still allowed a decent amount of goals. The solution? Don't allow any more goals.
First, hats off to the defense, who made Johansson's job much easier than in previous games and limited Carolina's dangerous chances. That being said, Johansson stopped every shot he faced and collected his first shutout as a member of the Lightning and second shutout in his NHL career.
Final Thoughts
This game was a perfect game by the Lightning. Early season results have been a little iffy, but these are the types of games that the Lightning will take every time, and they hope to build some substantial momentum as they enter the latter stages of October and the early part of November.
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