This may have turned into a blowout win for the Lightning, but it was a game in which they dealt with plenty of adversity.
Victor Hedman participated in the pregame warmups. However, he was unable to play. Then the Lightning lost J.J. Moser to injury in the second period and had to go the rest of the game with only five defensemen. But they persevered.
Through the opening 40 minutes, neither team distinguished itself defensively. There were odd-man rush chances, sloppy puck play, and Grade-A chances allowed. The Lightning grabbed a 4-1 lead with three unanswered goals over the opening 11:05 of the second period, but the Flames pushed back before the frame ended. They controlled the final eight minutes of the period and cut the deficit to 4-3.
The Lightning would not let the Flames get any closer, however. In the third period, they delivered a strong, solid, structured performance. They limited chances, didn’t allow any rush chances, cleared pucks effectively from the defensive zone, and dominated possession. Brandon Hagel’s goal in the opening minute of the third period, which came after Anthony Cirelli intercepted two attempted Calgary clears, reestablished a two-goal lead and set the tone for the rest of the period. The Flames managed just 14 total shot attempts in the third and mustered only six SOG. Unlike the Lightning, they weren’t able to tighten things up defensively. They yielded multiple third-period odd-man rush chances to the Lightning, who cashed in on three of them.
For this game, Conor Geekie moved onto the line with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel. Geekie had an impactful game, as did the other five forwards in the top six. All eight goals came from forwards in the top six. Nikita Kucherov set a career-high with five assists in the game and tied a career-best with six points. Jake Guentzel recorded a hat trick. Brayden Point netted his 100th career power-play goal and finished with four points. Cirelli, Hagel, and Guentzel accounted for the other three goals.
The work of the defensemen was a big part of the win too. After Moser left the game, the Lightning leaned heavily on Ryan McDonagh, Darren Raddysh, Nick Perbix, and Emil Lilleberg. High marks to Steven Santini as well. He made his Lightning debut, appearing in his first NHL game in nearly two years.
The Lightning will hope to get healthy before they wrap up the trip on Saturday in Seattle. In winning two of the first three games on the trip, they’ve given themselves an opportunity to make this Western swing a very successful one.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. Goal and five assists.
- Jake Guentzel — Lightning. Hat trick.
- Conor Geekie — Lightning. Goal. Six shots.
