Already this season, the Lightning have dropped four games in regulation that were tied entering the third period. They suffered an additional regulation loss in a contest they led after two periods. In this game, the Lightning avoided a repeat of that same fate. After relinquishing the lead early in the third, they were the team to break the third-period tie. Jake Guentzel’s power-play goal with 3:56 remaining ended up being the game-winner, and the Lightning began their four-game road trip with a victory.
The Lightning welcomed back injured forwards Nikita Kucherov (two games missed) and Mitchell Chaffee (four games missed) to the lineup. With their return, the Lightning used a 12F-6D lineup configuration. But their team health didn’t last long. Anthony Cirelli only played seven shifts and missed the final two periods. Back to 11 forwards, the Lightning leaned heavily on their top forwards: Kucherov, Brayden Point, Guentzel, and Brandon Hagel all played more than 22 minutes.
In the first period, the Canucks went a majority of the period without Quinn Hughes, who sustained a cut in the opening minute from a Hagel high stick. The ensuing four-minute power play for Vancouver was quiet, at least in part because Hughes was unavailable. But also the Lightning did strong work on the PK, holding the Canucks to a single shot during the four-minute span.
Hughes returned before the period ended and made his presence felt. Following a Pius Suter offensive-zone faceoff win, Hughes skated to the left circle before cutting back to the middle. He slipped a shot through a heavy screen and into the net at 16:08.
The Lightning embraced more of a shooting mentality in the second period, firing 18 shots on net. This forced Kevin Lankinen to make saves. It also may have opened up some seam passes that weren’t available in the first period. After a netfront scramble, Ryan McDonagh wired a left-circle cross-ice pass to Kucherov, who buried his right-circle shot into an open side of the net. That goal tied the game at 4:40. Soon after, the Lightning received their first power-play chance. In recent games, Point has been positioned at the left circle (instead of his typical bumper spot). The Lightning worked the puck on that left side of the ice, so Point (not Kucherov) essentially quarterbacked the power play. This created several Grade-A looks for the Lightning. Eventually, the puck moved to Kucherov’s side of the ice, and the Lightning executed a tic-tac-toe passing play. Kucherov fed Victor Hedman at the center point. Hedman one-touched it back to Kucherov, who quickly fed it to Point at the left circle. Point snapped the puck into an open side of the net at 6:29. Hagel, standing on that side of the crease, jumped out of the way, ensuring the puck went into the net.
The Lightning had other opportunities in the period but were unable to extend the lead. The Canucks managed just five shots on net in the second, but one of those was a breakaway for Max Sasson when the score was still 1-0. Vasilevskiy stopped Sasson as well as the other four second-period shots he faced.
In the opening minutes of the third, the Lightning owned most of the possession (they brought 58 seconds worth of power-play time into the frame) but passed up shot opportunities. On one of Vancouver’s first offensive-zone shifts of the period, the Canucks tied the game. Following two Lightning failed clearing attempts, Kiefer Sherwood finished an open chance from the top of the crease at 4:52.
The Canucks carried play for several minutes after Sherwood’s goal. Vasilevskiy made five key saves during that time frame, including a tough stop on another Hughes shot. Then the Lightning grabbed back momentum. They received a strong offensive-zone shift from the Luke Glendening line. Next up was the line of Hagel, Nick Paul, and Chaffee. They kept the Canucks pinned in the defensive zone for almost a minute and recorded four shot attempts. Hagel hit the post with one, and Chaffee forced a close-range save from Lankinen on another. The Canucks eventually cleared the zone and looked to complete a line change. But the Lightning reversed the puck in the neutral zone. As Hagel reentered the offensive zone, the Canucks got mixed up on their change and were called for a Too Many Men penalty.
As they did throughout the night on the power play, the Lightning got pucks to the net and created scramble plays. They got rewarded on this PP chance. Kucherov’s centering feed deflected off Guentzel and caromed into the net at 16:04.
The Canucks pressed hard to tie the game. Vasilevskiy made five quality saves to preserve the lead before Point sealed the win with an empty-netter.
Playing once more with a shortened bench (they played most of the third without defenseman Erik Cernak), the Lightning persevered through the third-period adversity of a blown lead and were rewarded with two points.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Brayden Point — Lightning. Two goals and two assists. 300th career assist.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 22 saves.
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. Goal and two assists.
