The Lightning used a strong first period to build a 1-0 lead. In the final 40 minutes, they endured a possession disadvantage. They were able to overcome it by defending effectively without the puck and outscoring the Blues by a goal in those final two periods. That was the formula they used to extend their winning streak to a season-long four games.
Shots in the first period finished 10-7 in favor of St. Louis, but the Lightning generated more dangerous chances in the frame. The line of Anthony Cirelli, Conor Geekie, and Brandon Hagel accounted for three of those, and one went in. Off the rush, Hagel passed to Geekie at the left circle as Cirelli skated to the front of the net. Geekie got the puck to Cirelli, who finished a backhand deke at 5:14.
There were other Lightning looks in the frame. Brayden Point also had two dangerous chances off the rush, and Nikita Kucherov nearly scored on a deflection.
Andrei Vasilevskiy faced fewer high-danger chances in the first, but he dealt with a few. He poke-checked the puck away from Nathan Walker on a breakaway and made a couple of tough saves during a St. Louis power-play.
Beginning with the second period, the possession metric tilted heavily in St. Louis’ favor. The Lightning weren’t able to quickly close off plays, either in the neutral zone or in the Tampa Bay end. They also struggled at times clearing the defensive zone. But over the final 40 minutes, the Lightning didn’t let the Blues translate their possession advantage into a scoring chance edge. It’s true that one of those extended St. Louis shifts in the offensive zone led to Pavel Buchevich’s goal at 12:15 of the second. But for the most part, the Blues were kept away from the middle of the ice. High-danger looks were hard to come by for St. Louis.
Despite their limited possession time after the first period, the Lightning extended their lead. They offset the Buchnevich goal were two second-period tallies of their own. Early in the frame, Kucherov set up Nick Perbix for an open look from the low slot. Perbix wristed the puck past the stick of Jordan Binnington at 3:42. Then, just over a minute after the Blues got on the board, Gage Goncalves netted his first NHL goal. He accepted a pass from Kucherov at the left circle and whistled a shot over Binnington’s glove into the upper far corner of the net at 13:33.
Although the Blues continued to own most of the possession in the third period, the final frame was a scoreless one. St. Louis posted 10 shots on goal in the third, but Vasilevskiy turned them all aside.
In some other recent games, the Lightning defended their way to a win by controlling the puck effectively. In this contest, they defended their way to a win by playing sound, structured hockey without the puck.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 31 saves.
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. Two assists.
- Ryan McDonagh — Lightning.
