Lightning again rally before falling to B’s in OT

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
November 3, 2016

TAMPA, Fla. – The problem with having to climb out of so many holes, eventually you can’t come out clean.

That’s the story for the Lightning in the early stages of the season, fall behind early before rallying for victory. That happened in each of Tampa Bay’s opening three games of the season in a developing pattern.

But against the Boston Bruins, the Lightning were unable to completely crawl out of the hole they dug for themselves, falling 4-3 in a shootout.

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Tyler Johnson scored a pair of goals as Tampa Bay twice rallied from down two goals to force overtime and gain a point in the standings. Boston’s Jimmy Hayes converted in the 10th round of the shootout to give the Bruins the extra point.

“Clearly it’s troublesome,’’ Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said of continually falling behind in games. “We fell down, but I didn’t think we should’ve been down 2-0. I thought the guys, when they got their legs and everything under them, I thought they played well enough to win the game.’’

But as has been the case in the early stages of the season, slow starts and early goals have plagued the Lightning. In 11 games this season Tampa Bay has allowed the opening goal seven times. The Lightning have scored a first period goal in just three, and despite only being outscored 9-7 in the first period this season, six of those seven first-period goals scored by Tampa Bay have come in two games – at Toronto and at the New York Islanders.

“You always say good teams find a way to win and we have found some ways this year,’’ said Johnson, who recorded his 11th career multi-goal game. “But you don’t want to have to rely on that, as the season goes on teams get tougher and tougher to beat and they get even more defensive and it gets harder to score goals. So being down two goals, especially late in the season, it’s pretty insurmountable. We definitely have to do a better job of having a better start and get that first one for us because it’s way easier to play with the lead.’’

The Lightning fell behind by two goals, however, against the Bruins on goals from defenseman Brandon Carlo at 4:01 and a power play goal by Ryan Spooner at 10:47. The Spooner goal was challenged by the Lightning for an offside on the zone entry as the Lightning believed Brad Marchand lifted his back skate, putting the play offside.

But after it was reviewed, it was ruled there was not enough conclusive evidence to overturn the play, giving Boston a 2-0 lead. It’s the third time Tampa Bay has challenged an offside this season, losing two of those challenges.

“To me I would challenge then a hundred out of a hundred times,’’ Cooper said. “They are no doubt to me, but I’m only at 33.3 percent so I got to go look and see what offside is again.’’

A Hedman power play goal at 15:09 pulled Tampa Bay to within a goal by the end of the first period.

But David Pastrnak regained the two-goal lead for the Bruins 4:38 in to the second period while Johnson answered that with his first of the game on the power play at 8:30, snapping a wrist shot from the right circle past Tuukka Rask, who entered the game having allowed more than one goal in a game just one time in his first six starts of the season.

Johnson pulled Tampa Bay even 10:04 in to the third period, getting a deflection on Braydon Coburn’s shot to eventually send the game to overtime.

The Lightning received a 4-on-3 power play in the opening minute of overtime when David Krejci was called for hooking, but for the second time this season Tampa Bay failed to convert on a full overtime power play chance.

“That probably wasn’t our smoothest there,’’ Johnson said. “It’s early in the season, we haven’t had a lot of work on four-on-threes so that’s something we will obviously look in to and fix, make it better and crisp. As power play guys on the ice, we have to take more advantage of it.’’

After the failed power play, the game went to an extended shootout after Riley Nash matched Brayden Point’s successful attempt in the fourth round before Hayes won the game for Boston in the 10th round.

“Our goalie gave us a chance to win and you know how it is when you get to the shootout . . . flip a coin,’’ Cooper said. “When you start getting 10 guys deep, goalies did their job. Somebody’s got to put it in and unfortunately for us their guy did.’’

Postgame notes: LW Jonathan Drouin missed the game with an undisclosed upper-body injury suffered in the first period against the New York Islanders. Drouin is listed as day-to-day. … Lightning RW Nikita Kucherov extended his scoring streak to three games. … Tampa Bay registered two-or-more power play goals in a game for the fifth time in the first 11 games of the season. … C Brayden Point has converted his first two career shootout attempts. … The Lightning announced a 71st consecutive sellout at Amalie Arena, including the playoffs.

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