The Minnesota Wild showed why they have been one of the best defensive teams in the NHL so far this year. That was especially true in the third period. After grabbing a 3-2 lead in the frame’s opening minute, they locked things down for the rest of the game.
The Lightning didn’t make many defensive mistakes during the game. But the ones they did make were extremely costly. They allowed two goals off seam passes. The Kirill Kaprizov goal in the first and Matt Boldy tally in the third were virtually unstoppable shots. Then there was Joel Eriksson-Ek’s goal. That came late in the second period after the Lightning failed to clear the defensive and had a coverage breakdown. The goal from Eriksson-Ek changed the complexion of the game. At the time, the Lightning were ahead. So instead of entering the second intermission with a 2-1 lead, they were tied. Then they took a penalty at the beginning of the third and yielded the Boldy power-play goal that put them behind for good. The Lightning managed to post only four shots on goal during the final frame.
While it’s true that Minnesota played very well defensively, the Lightning did manage to create several good scoring chances in the first period. Marc-Andre Fleury denied those looks, many of which came off the rush.
In the middle stanza, the Lightning scored twice and forced the Wild to play from behind for the first time this year. Anthony Cirelli set up Brandon Hagel for a shorthanded goal at 8:55 to tie the game. Nikita Kucherov finished a shot from the slot at 11:31 to give the Lightning the lead. At that point, the Lightning owned the game’s momentum. But it didn’t last.
This was a close game that came down to a few significant differences. The Lightning made those isolated but damaging mistakes. They fell behind in the third period against a team that locked it down. And while the special-teams battle was a draw (the Lightning gave up a PPG but scored shorthanded), there was a big disparity in power-play chances. The Lightning committed four penalties, while the Wild had only one.
The Lightning will look to bounce back on Saturday when they host the 5-1-0 Capitals, who, like the Wild, have gotten off to a great start this season.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Kirill Kaprizov — Wild. Two goals and assist.
- Matt Boldy — Wild. PPG and assist.
- Anthony Cirelli — Lightning. Assist.
