The Lightning have stated how they want to improve defensively from last season. Fewer goals allowed. Fewer scoring chances against. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen in this game against Detroit.
Specifically, the Lightning struggled with turnovers. Some of their issues were borne from an aggressive Detroit forecheck, but the Lightning also committed plenty of unforced turnovers. The Red Wings turned several of those errors into goals.
An unforced d-zone turnover led to an Alex DeBrincat steal and Daniel Spring goal at 5:11 of the first. Later in the period, the Lightning failed to clear their defensive zone, despite having had the puck on their players’ sticks, and DeBrincat’s center-point shot nicked off Luke Glendening’s stick and bounced over the glove of Jonas Johansson.
When the Lightning managed to execute plays cleanly out of the defensive zone, however, they created a number of rush chances for themselves. Nikita Kucherov, Victor Herman, and Steven Stamkos teamed up on a passing sequence that resulted in a Stamkos goal from the left circle. That tally, at 9:46 of the first, tied the game at one. Shortly thereafter, Herman blocked a shot in the defensive zone and fed Brandon Hagel for a breakaway goal. Hagel alertly left the d-zone once he saw Hedman block the shot and control the puck. Hedman delivered a perfect pass, which allowed Hagel to accelerate past Olli Maatta and Ben Chiarot. Hagel finished the breakaway at 12:52, giving the Lightning a brief lead. But less than two minutes later, the DeBrincat bouncer evened the score. It was tied, 2-2, after one period.
While both teams had their strong moments in the opening frame, the Red Wings dominated play in the second. They repeatedly intercepted Lightning clearing attempts and, as a result, owned nearly all of the possession in the period. A Lightning turnover resulted in Lucas Raymond’s slapshot goal at 2:01. Although Stamkos tied the game with an odd-man rush tally at 10:53, the Red Wings regained the lead when J.T. Compher deflected Mo Seider’s point shot past Johansson at 15:23.
In addition to Stamkos’ second goal, the Lightning had a few other odd-man rush chances in the period. But that was the extent of the pressure they applied (until they received their first power-play chance with about a minute left in the second). Otherwise, the period belonged to Detroit. Johansson faced 21 second-period shots, stopping 19 of them. Many of those were Grade-A looks.
An offensive-zone turnover by the Lightning early in the third yielded Detroit’s second two-on-zero rush chance in the game. Dylan Larkin and DeBrincat successfully finished at 4:44 to extend the Detroit lead. Hedman’s power-play goal at 9:39 pulled the Lightning back to within one, but the Wings did well to limit Tampa Bay’s chances the rest of the way. Seider finished the scoring at 19:59 with an empty-netter.
The Lightning wrap up the back-to-back on Sunday in Ottawa. Certainly, they’ll need to limit turnovers more successfully than they did in this game.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Alex DeBrincat - Red Wings. Two goals and assist.
- Dylan Larkin - Red Wings. Two assists.
- Steven Stamkos - Lightning. Two goals and assist.
