The Lightning bounced back from Sunday’s defeat with an impressive road win in the back end of this home-and-home. They grabbed a three-goal lead in the first period, withstood a lengthy penalty-kill segment early in the second period, and effectively locked things down in the third period.
Tampa Bay posted 15 shots on goal in the first period and created numerous scoring chances. Unlike the opening period on Sunday, when Spencer Knight denied several Grade-A looks, the Lightning converted on three of their first-period shots in this game. During a four-on-four, Nikita Kucherov was left unguarded in the slot and roofed a backhander into the top of the net at 6:56. Jake Guentzel zipped a shot from the slot past Sergei Bobrovsky at 9:20. Mitchell Chaffee tallied a power-play goal at 16:24 when he wristed in a rebound from the low slot.
Jonas Johansson wasn’t as busy as Bobrovsky in the first period, but he also faced some high-danger shots. He made eight first-period saves, helping the Lightning enter the first intermission leading by three goals.
The Lightning played the final 1:09 of the first period shorthanded. That’s because Kucherov was assessed a five-minute kneeing major and a game misconduct at 16:51. Matthew Tkachuk was on the receiving end of the hit and had to be helped off the ice. (He later returned to the game.) Aaron Ekblad was also given a minor penalty, so the first two minutes of Kucherov’s major were played four-on-four.
The Lightning killed off the three minutes of major penalty kill time, but Victor Hedman was called for holding in the closing seconds of the major. During the ensuing kill, Erik Cernak was given a roughing minor, leading to a lengthy five-on-three. But the Lightning successfully got through it. In all, the Panthers received almost five-and-a-half minutes of continuous power-play time.
The Panthers produced other scoring chances in the middle stanza, but Johansson kept them off the board. He made 18 saves in the frame.
The third period was mostly played five-on-five, which the Lightning managed well. They won a handful of defensive-zone faceoffs to help alleviate pressure, and they enjoyed several lengthy offensive-zone shifts. Johansson stopped 10 more shots in the final period, including a few Grade-A chances. As a whole, however, the Lightning didn’t allow the Panthers to build momentum during the final 20 minutes. Brandon Hagel sealed the win with a shorthanded empty-net goal at 14:18.
It was a physical game played with high intensity. The Panthers delivered hard hits throughout the night. The Lightning didn’t shy away from that contact or let it affect their game. Instead, players stood up for one another during the numerous post-whistle scrums and gave as good as they got.
The Lightning enter the holiday break having won seven of their last nine games. They’ll enjoy the time off before getting back to work next weekend.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Jonas Johansson — Lightning. 36-save shutout.
- Ryan McDonagh — Lightning. 5:35 shorthanded TOI.
- Anthony Cirelli — Lightning. Two assists. 3:51 shorthanded TOI.
