TAMPA, FL - A team has two goaltenders for a reason. And on this night, the second of a back-to-back, that meant 28-year-old Ales Stezka got the call to play in his first career NHL game. Playing against a team that is second in the league in shot quality and second in goals scored per game, Stezka fought valiantly, and you could feel his teammates fighting for him on the ice, but the Lightning also have good goaltending to rely on and that was the barrier Seattle struggled to break.
Tampa Bay weaponized Seattle’s power play to get on the scoreboard first, and score twice more. While Shane Wright would get the Kraken on the board late in the game, it wasn’t enough to gain an advantage where it counts.
“I don't think 4-1 is an example of (how we played),” Dan Bylsma said. “It was a game we had every right to be in. We had 30 shots through two periods of hockey. Obviously, the power play gets an opportunity, and they score a shorthanded goal, and that's a big turning point in the match. That put us behind, and I still thought we had enough to think we were going to come back and get a chance and get goals. Vasilevskiy played really well and turned away a lot of the good chances we had, but we think we had to be a little bit more determined on getting on the inside and getting a dirty one if we were going to get one by him.”
How did it all go down? Let’s dig in.
Stezka on Stage
43 seconds in Stezka faced his first shot from none other than Nikita Kucherov – a player with the third most points in the league (25-57-82). The Tampa forward came down the right side but Stezka was lined up to the shot, had a clear look, and denied the attempt. Then there was the stop Jake Guentzel with just under four minutes in the first that came off a cross-slot pass. Through the first period, Stezka faced eighteen shot attempts, seven on target,t and turned them all away.
“I think Stezka was exactly what we needed him to be tonight,” Vince Dunn said. “We're all happy for him to have his first game, but obviously not the result he deserves when he plays that well. It's tough to come out of that one not on top, and it just sucks not getting the win for him.”
Showing Support
Stezka’s effort was solid, and it was aided by excellent defense in front of him. In the first period, Seattle allowed just one high-danger chance and only two shots from the slot. You saw Jamie Oleksiak blocking passes, Adam Larsson holding a close gap on Brayden Point as he tried to create a rush chance and Chander Stephenson diving to block passes.
The strong play from the Kraken continued into the second period. Brandon Montour’s drive into the offensive zone drew the first penalty of the game as he was tripped up by Erik Cernak. But the resulting power play didn’t go Seattle’s way.
On the ensuing faceoff, the Kraken gained possession but after the puck was sent low in the zone, Tampa defender Ryan McDonagh was there to corral possession. He flipped the puck up to Brandon Hagel in the neutral zone who was off to the races with only Oliver Bjorkstrand back to defend. The two skated down the ice neck and neck, but Hagel spun, to hide the puck from Stezka on top of Bjorkstrand showing a light screen and shot off his backhand to get the first goal of the game.
It was Hagel’s third short-handed score of the season and Tampa Bay’s tenth overall –second most in the league.
No Quit
The Kraken didn’t wilt after going down a goal. They had been attacking north all game and they finished out the power play looking like the same team that scored with the extra skater 24 hours prior. Passes connected and skaters pressured net front including three shots rapid-fire style from Kaapo Kakko and Oliver Bjorkstrand but, just like at even strength, they couldn’t solve Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Sassy Vasiy
Vasilevskiy has been a top goaltender in the league for quite some time. He has two Stanley Cups to his name as well as a Vezina Trophy (2019, awarded to the season’s best goaltender), and this season ranks ninth overall in terms of stopping more than he should (plus-13.7 expected goals per MoneyPuck.com) and he was up to the task again tonight. He stopped pucks from distance. He stopped pucks in close. He denied chances off the rush from the likes of Jaden Schwartz, Vince Dunn, and Kakko. On the game as a whole, Seattle fired 37 pucks on net including ten from the high danger areas. But, as assistant coach Dave Lowry told Kraken Hockey Network’s Piper Shaw at intermission, the Kraken needed to “get traffic make him fight to find pucks,” and there wasn’t enough sustained pressure offensively to crack Vasilevskiy.
“Vasilevskiy played really well and turned away a lot of the good chances we had,” Bylsma said. “But we think we had to be a little bit more determined on getting on the inside and getting a dirty one if we were going to get one by him.”
Kuch-ioning the Score
With Seattle still pushing play, shots were fairly even between the two teams. But with just under nine minutes to play, Tampa Bay lined up in their offensive zone for a faceoff and after winning possession, the puck went to Kucherov who immediately fired the puck past a screened Stezka.
Luke Glendening added a third goal 1:43 later to set the score at 3-0.
Play the Wright Way
And still, there was no quit in the Kraken. Just as the clock ticked past five minutes left, Seattle set up in the offensive zone. Bjorkstrand skated across the top of the zone and flipped the puck to Josh Mahura on the left boards who quickly tapped possession to the center lane where Brandon Montour stood waiting to quick-fire the puck at the net. And while his shot was on target, Shane Wright was also net front and he deflected the puck past Vasilevskiy to make it 3-1.
