Tampa Bay Lightning fail to tame Wild in shootout loss

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
February 10, 2017

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In a game which Lightning associate coach Rick Bowness pass Scotty Bowman for most games coached (head or assistant) in league history, behind the bench for his 2,165th career game, Tampa Bay put forth a defensive effort the Lightning defensive coach could be proud of.

The Lightning picked up a massive point against the top team in the Western Conference, dropping a 2-1 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, who got the start despite Ben Bishop pitching the shutout in the last game, was the difference in securing the point for Tampa Bay, stopping 37 shots. Only Mikko Koivu was able to beat Vasilevskiy in the shootout and prevent the Lightning from stealing the second point.

The Lightning were denied a three-game winning streak, which hasn’t happed since November, but have points in three consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 28-31. Tampa Bay has a chance to get points in four consecutive games, which would be the longest such streak since Nov. 14-19

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Brayden Point had the only goal for the Lightning while Nino Niederrieter had a power play goal for the Wild.

Jonathan Drouin, Nikita Kucherov and Point all failed to get their shootout attempts on goal to hand the Wild the extra point.

The Lightning put together a solid first period on the road, getting through the neutral zone and putting pressure on the stingy Minnesota defense. In the early stages Tampa Bay had the run of play, testing Devan Dubnyk who was up to the task.

Minnesota would tilt the ice ever so slightly in its favor by the middle part of the period, creating chances around the net with a relentless puck pursuit. But Vasilevskiy was on his game early, robbing Jason Zucker in close with a left pad save.

The teams remained scoreless entering the first intermission, the fourth consecutive shutout period posted by Tampa Bay.

After a relatively open first 20 minutes of play that resulted in a combined 20 shots on goal, tings tightened up in the second as both teams made adjustments after seeing the other for the first time this season. The space that was open early in the game was closed down at both ends and the quality scoring chances turned in to quality defensive plays.

That back and forth continued until late in the period when Minnesota, the second ranked home power play in the league, found the breakthrough at 14:31. With nine seconds remaining on a Brian Boyle tripping call, Niederreiter was in the slot area and just before Ondrej Palat could close him down, backhanded a rebound of Mikael Grandlund’s shot past Vasilevskiy for the 1-0 Minnesota lead.

Less than three minutes later, however, the Lightning would pull even on a harmless looking play as Jason Garrison just threw a wrist shot from the far left point in the direction of the net where Point got his stick on the puck, deflecting it down and through the five-hold on Dubnyk to tie the game at 17:16. The goal for Point was his third in five games since returning from a fractured bone in his hand that kept him out five weeks.

Through most of the third, the tight-checking style continued. Tampa Bay made a push through the middle stages, generating some point shots for tips and deflection chances. Vasilevskiy would come up with is biggest save of the night, cutting down a 2-on-1 chance from Granlund coming with 1:50 left in the third period to keep it tied. Anton Stralman then came up with a block at the top of the crease on a rebound chance in final minute of regulation, which was played at 4-on-4 strength.

Vasilevskiy kept the Lightning in the game in overtime, coming up with five saves including a stop on Zach Parise in which Vasilevskiy was stretched from post-to-post.

Postgame notes: Tampa Bay, which plays at Winnipeg on Saturday 7 p.m. EST, Fox Sports Sun, 970-AM is 1-4-4 in the second half of back-to-back games this season. … C Tyler Johnson, who missed practice on Thursday for “body maintance’’, was scratched due to an undisclosed lower-body injury. … Both LW Alex Killorn and LW Ondrej Palat returned to the lineup after missing the previous game. … The Lightning were dominated in the faceoff circle, winning just 21-of-57 draws (37 percent). … C Brian Boyle registered seven shots on goal in just 10:40 of ice time. …. Tampa Bay is just 1-for-18 on the power play in the past five games. … The Lightning are just 2-2-6 in games that are tied after two periods this season.

My three stars:
1.Lightning G Andrei Vasilevskiy – He may not have got the victory, but his 37 saves are a big reason why the team didn’t suffer a regulation loss

2.Wild C Mikko Koivu – Shootout deciding goal, two takeaways, 14-for-21 on faceoffs.

3.Wild C Mikael Granlund – Assist, seven shots, 11 shot attempts

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