| 2 | BOXSCORE | 3 (SO) |
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@ |  |
| 1-2-2 (4 points) | 2-1-0 (4 points) |
Reaction
Not the desired result but a much better process overall against a Florida Panthers squad that, as much as it pains me to admit it, that was as every bit as competitive as one would expect a lineup with a full complement of NHL-caliber would be. Now, I’m not trying to spin the Panthers as playoff-bound, despite off-season spending spree. I think the Panthers will still struggle to score and I’m not sold on the goalie tandem, but there truly seems to be something good, and sustainably so, brewing in Sunrise, so I do think the Lightning faced what amounts to a quality opponent.
The Lightning came on strong in the 3rd period and dominated OT, a welcome development for a club which struggled to apply offensive pressure consistently to date this season. The Bolts finally get to return home and play out of their own barn where, hopefully, they will find it easier to channel the same intensity and efficient aggression they showed in the 3rd period and overtime.
Oh, and the official attendance was given as 18,352 but I’d be shocked if there were actually more than 12,000 present in the Bank Atlantic Center. Whatever the case, there were certainly plenty of empty seats visible in the lower bowl. I wonder if that’s got the ownership group down there seeing red?
New netminder Mathieu Garon was superb in turning away 36 of 38 shots faced, 29 of which he saw in the first two periods. If not for several remarkable desperation saves, the Lightning would have entered the 3rd period down 2 or 3 goals. The only 2 shots Garon didn’t stop were scored while the Lightning were down a man (the first PP goals surrendered by the Lightning this season) and he had no chance on them.
I keep looking to find fault with rookie Brett Connolly but, aside from an underwhelming performance against Washington, all I’ve seen is big-league instincts and effort. I’m not sure Connolly will be on the roster after he’s played his 9th game, but the kid certainly didn’t do anything to hurt his chances.
Marc-Andre Bergeron had the hot stick tonight, scoring both of the Lightning’s goals in the 3rd period. Bergeron showed good hockey sense and patience on his 1st of the season when he fired a delayed snap-shot through traffic and over the left shoulder of a heavily-screened Jose Theodore after faking a heavy blast from the point. For his 2nd of the night and season, Bergeron was back to old tricks, one-timing a cross-ice feed from Pavel Kubina from the top of the left circle over Theodore’s right shoulder.
For a player so frequently derided for his shortcomings, the little guy, who is finally completely healthy this season, has had a great start to the season, scoring at a point-per-game clip and logging effectively-played top-4 minutes. Lapses will come but if the Bolts can get this ratio of Good Marc-Andre to Bad Marc-Andre for most of the season, the Lightning should be in good shape come April.
Midway through the 2nd, the Lightning needed a spark and, like so many times before, it would be Steve Downie that provided it. Downie ultimately went berserk and challenged Ed Jovanovski after squaring off with young Erik Gudbranson (who earned an instigator penalty) over something that either happened off-camera. Gudbranson may just be 19 years old but at 6’4″ has a sizable reach advantage over the much-shorter Downie which he fully exploited initially:
I’ve seen Downie willingly serve as a punching bag before (his fight against Dustin Byfuglien in Stamkos’ rookie season comes to mind) but kudos for Downie hanging in, turning the tables and getting in a few solid licks of his own.
The Lightning had yet another sluggish start–they essentially played rope-a-dope for the better part of the first two periods–before showing signs of life and battling back twice. Playing from behind is obviously a lot harder than playing with a lead and this team wasted far too much time on this road trip playing catch-up.
The Lightning have now allowed 30+ shots against in each game they have played, something that only happened twice in the first 5 games last season and is a reflection of a number of early struggles. This should absolutely be a point of emphasis and a matter of professional pride for the club moving forward.
I thought the officiating was, well, I’ll just say it was inconsistent. Still, the Lightning have to find a way to clean up their game because they’ve been short-handed 27 times so far, including another 6 times last night, in just 5 games.
Yeah, it’s a small sample-size and I’m not trying to suggest a permanent trend, but the Lightning are presently on pace for over 440 penalty-kill situations, a nearly 50% increase from last season. Other factors obviously were at work this season-opening road trip, but the self-inflicted adversity didn’t help matters. MUST. FIX. NOW.
