By Jake Ricker
The Lightning faced off against the Florida Panthers in their final home game before the Christmas break. It was another classic Sunshine State Showdown. Here are three things we noticed from the Lightning's 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers.
Special Teams
Special teams were a huge factor in this game, and things did not go well for the Lightning. In the first period, the Lightning took two penalties, and while they killed off one, they could not kill off the other, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead. While penalties are going to happen, the Lighting need to be careful, taking so many close together like they did in the first. Good teams like the Panthers are going to capitalize. The bigger issue in this game, however, was the power play going 0/3 and on one-man advantage, giving up two shorthanded goals. The Lightning power play has been fantastic as of late but they got way too cute and turned over the puck at center ice too many times. Giving good teams chances on lots of penalties is bad, but giving them on a power play is really bad. More than likely, this is something they should be able to correct, but definitely something to monitor moving forward.
Nick Paul
Nick Paul played a great game tonight. Paul finished with 1 goal, 3 shots, and was a +/- of 0. His goal comes with just four seconds left in the period off a nice deflection, erasing what would been a frustrating first period in which the Lightning surrendered a power play goal. Paul also created a few great chances throughout the game, including a great pass to Cam Atkinson on a 2-on-1. Unfortunately, Atkinson could not get a shot off, and the chance went by the wayside. Overall it was a solid game for Paul and despite a disipointing game for the team Paul was a bright spot in this game.
Third Period Push
The Lightning played a solid final 20 minutes, including the final two with Vasilevskiy pulled. Point scored a great goal in the final frame, showing off his great speed to get past Knight. This was the type of period that showed the Lightning could easily hang with the Panthers. They got good chances, limited the Panthers' channels, and played fast.
The problem was that the Lightning did not play like this for the full 60 minutes. But it is a positive takeaway from a disappointing game heading into the Bolts' next game.
Next up for the Lightning, they will head down to sunrise to take on the Florida Panthers in the second half of their back-to-back. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM EST on Monday.
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