By Michael Wax
In their most incomprehensible loss of the season, the Lightning lost their fourth game in a row, 2-1, in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Here are three things we saw from the loss:
Mr. 300(?)
It's a waiting game to see when the greatest goaltender in franchise history will etch his name into the record books.
Andrei Vasilevskiy will become the 40th goaltender in NHL history to record 300 regular season wins. In his best showing since hitting win No. 299, Vasilevskiy stopped 30 of 31 Philadelphia Flyers shots.
Vasilevskiy will also become the fastest goaltender in NHL history to 300 career wins, passing Montréal Canadiens legend Jacque Plante, who did so in 528 games.
Overall, the game was a tale of two halves for Vasilevskiy. There were plenty of long stretches where Philadelphia could not muster up any shots on net, and there were tiny spurts where Vasilevskiy was peppered with shots from Philly. Ultimately, he stopped in the majority of the shots he faced, including a shorthanded breakaway save in the last minute of the second period to keep it a 1-0 lead. Even in allowing two goals in the shootout, he was by far the MVP for the Lightning.
Killed It
Credit where it's due; a special teams unit that has struggled throughout most of the season had a perfect night tonight. No, not the power play.
The penalty kill went a very respectable two-for-two on the evening, killing off a penalty in both the second and third periods. The first-unit forwards of Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel not only managed to stifle Philadelphia shot opportunities but kept the play in the neutral and offensive zone much of the time and got a few chances of their own.
The most underrated aspect of these perfect penalty kills was the switch on defense. With Erik Cernak hurt most of the game after blocking a shot, J.J. Moser became the primary man on the right side with Ryan McDonough. Even with two left-handed shooting defensemen, the Lightning were able to stifle Philadelphia’s chances on the power play.
Bad Losses
There are good losses and bad losses. A good loss occurs when a team outplays, outchances, and mostly dominates the game but can't win. Then there are games like this.
To be outshot by a team that had a bottom-five shot differential league and to only get one goal on a goaltender who came into this game with a .821 save percentage is just not good hockey.
Right now, this team looks lost and confused. Passes aren't thought out, don't connect, and assignments are often missed.
The Lightning have one of their biggest breaks of the season now, not playing for another six games. They should also get reinforcements back with Brayden Point, who is scheduled to return to the lineup. They’re going to need him to get their house back in order.
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