This regulation loss was a frustrating result for the Lightning. At the final TV timeout of the third period, the game was tied at two. The Lightning were in a position to earn at least one point. Instead, they allowed a crucial goal on the shift after that final television break.
Coming out of the break, there was a faceoff in the Tampa Bay defensive zone. The Wild sent out their top line of Marco Rossi, Kirill Kaprizov, and Mats Zuccarello. Those three players teamed up to make the play on what was essentially the game-deciding goal. Rossi won the faceoff, giving Minnesota possession. Declan Chisholm snapped a left-point shot on net, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made the save. The Lightning failed to clear the zone on the rebound. Zuccarello blocked the puck at the center point and fired another shot on net. Kaprizov tipped it. Vasilevskiy stopped the shot, but the deflection caused the puck to squeeze past him just wide of the net. Rossi grabbed it and attempted to stuff it in. The try was unsuccessful, but the puck skipped into the crease. Kaprizov knocked it in with the shaft of his stick at 14:37.
After that tally, the teams combined for a trio of goals down the stretch — the Wild netted two empty-netters while the Lightning recorded a sixth-attacker goal.
The 5-3 final might make it seem as though this game was a wide-open one. It wasn’t. Both teams defended hard, and scoring chances were difficult to come by. But there were some. Kaprizov created two of Minnesota’s best scoring chances in the second period. He set up Joel Eriksson Ek for a goal off the rush in the opening minute of the period. Then in the closing seconds of the frame, his pass to Rossi led to a two-on-one rush. Vasilevskiy stopped Rossi’s shot.
The Lightning did their offensive damage when they had an extra player on the ice. They scored two power-play goals and one sixth-attacker goal. Five-on-five chances were not plentiful, however, as the Wild played high-level team defense (just as they have done throughout the season).
But the Lightning did well to limit scoring chances as well. The Wild managed to post just 13 shots through the first two periods. The Lightning killed off two Minnesota power plays, both of which came in the second period.
It was 1-1 entering the third. An early unforced icing infraction on the Lightning led to an extended d-zone shift. Although the Lightning eventually cleared the zone, they weren’t able to complete a full line change before Brock Faber wired a shot from the high slot past Vasilevskiy’s stick at 2:41.
Shortly thereafter, the Lightning went on their fourth power-play of the game and tied the score. Following a zone entry, Victor Hedman fed Guentzel for an open look at the bottom of the left circle. Guentzel wristed the puck in between the pads of Filip Gustavsson at 6:23 to tie the game.
Unfortunately for the Lightning, they weren’t able to keep the game tied. As a result, they absorbed a regulation loss.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Kirill Kaprizov — Wild. Two goals and assist.
- Brock Faber — Wild. Goal.
- Marco Rossi — Wild. Assist.
