Monday Morning Faceoff: Dave Mishkin joins to discuss the homestand sweep, Kucherov and hitting the road

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
October 16, 2017

Welcome to the 2017-18 Tampa Bay Lightning season.

With the start of a new season comes the launch of new weekly content here at Lightning Insider that will feature Erik Erlendsson and Greg Linnelli, who hosts Lightning Power Play Live weekdays from 6-7 p.m. one hour prier to puck drop on game days on TBLPowerplay.com as well as intermission host during radio broadcasts. We will also bring in special guests on a regular basis to debate topical items surrounding the Tampa Bay Lightning and around the NHL as we exchange our thoughts in a back-and-forth exchange that will appear every Monday morning that we like to call the Monday Morning Faceoff.

This week Lightning radio voice Dave Mishkin joins Erik and Greg to take a look back at the impressive sweep of three-game homestand, the play of Nikita Kucherov and a look at the team’s first extended road trip.

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Erik: .

What a difference a week makes for the Lightning. A week ago there were plenty of questions. This week, we got some strong answers after coming off a sweep of a three-game homestand that included victories against Washington, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. All three teams reached at least the second round of the playoffs last season.

Was a perfect sweep? No, but there were certainly plenty of things to like that perhaps were absent in the first two games of the season. Tampa Bay played with energy, established a forecheck and played a solid game through the neutral zone for the most part. I thought the defensemen had much better gap control and stepped up along the wall in the offensive zone. In all three games, the Lightning still allowed the opposition to penetrate the zone and create – St. Louis had 15 shots in the opening period on Saturday while the Penguins had 40 shots on goal on Thursday.

But here is what impressed me to a certain extent about the victories – there were portions of the game where the Lightning were in control of the game, they were dictating almost everything that went on in the game for long stretches against teams they have had major problems against in recent history.

To me, it was a very impressive display for a team that needed to find itself in a hurry after opening weekend.

Dave, what stood out to you in the sweep of the three-game homestand?

Dave:Certainly, the three games as a whole were a marked improvement over the first two versus the Panthers. First and foremost, they had more urgency to their game. That allowed them to battle for – and win – more 50-50 pucks. Second, their puck management, which was poor in the opening games against Florida, was much cleaner. So they weren’t turning pucks over as often. Those two components allowed them to enjoy more puck possession, which translated to what you referenced, Erik. Dictating play for longer stretches. That also equated to more shots on goal and shot attempts.

FAgainst Florida, the Lightning’s problems extended beyond compete-level and puck management, though. As you alluded to, Erik, they were not solid defensively. Especially off the rush. The defensive play improved against the Caps and Penguins, in large part because the Lightning possessed the puck for a longer period of time. But by their own standards, they still surrendered too many scoring chances. Again, mostly off the rush. Against the Blues, however, it all came together. I understand that St. Louis had 15 first period shots and did generate some Grade-A scoring chances. But the first period chances against weren’t as plentiful or dangerous as some of the looks that the Caps and Penguins generated. Then, from the second period on, the Lightning locked it down. They completely dominated the Blues in the final 40 minutes – and that was reflected not only in the shot attempt disparity (46-23 over the final two periods), but in the limited number of scoring chances the Lightning allowed. So, all three victories were impressive. But the most complete performance came on Saturday against the Blues, in my opinion

Greg:A couple of things have impressed me so far after five games. The play of the second line, specifically Brayden Point, has been a treat to watch. Point is firmly entrenched as the second line center and his line is defending against the other teams top line. Their speed allows them to play aggressively every shift. They are getting plenty of scoring chances while at the same time being responsible defensively. The Lightning legitimately have three lines that can score. That’s going to give teams fits on a nightly basis.

Also, the play of Andrei Vasilevskiy has been tremendous. Like Ben Bishop two years ago, he’s covering up some deficiencies on the backend and allowing his team to get back into games with timely saves. The defense has been pretty good but there have been times where breakdowns occurred and Vasilevskiy has made the key save. That’s very encouraging moving forward.

Erik:One other thing that stands out to me in the opening week-plus has been the play of the top line, specifically the play of Nikita Kucherov. Five games, five goals. First player in four years to open with goals in the opening five games of the season and first in Lightning franchise history. I thought Jon Cooper had a great description of Kucherov’s backhand goal from Saturday’s game saying he had “great deception’’ to his game, which basically means he doesn’t give any signs that he’s about to shoot. On Monday, Kucherov scored a backhand goal by going top shelf on Philipp Grubauer against Washington. On Saturday, Kucherov came in on the same side of the ice with a shot also on his backhand and quickly snapped the puck across the grain to the far post that provided Tampa Bay a key insurance goal.

Kucherov had an MVP caliber year last year and has come in looking like a man on a mission this season.

What’s been just as amazing about how that top line has played, they’ve done it with just one goal so far from Steven Stamkos, who joked on Thursday that he is now a “play maker”. If the two of those players start to be productive from a goal-scoring standpoint, coupled with the play of Brayden Point and his linemates, then the Lightning become that much more of a matchup problem for other teams.

Dave:I agree that Kucherov has been a dynamic force. He is so explosive and creative off the rush. All five of his goals essentially have come off the rush, even though his first two goals were on rebounds (the sequences began with a rush into the offensive zone). Phil Esposito commented after Kucherov’s backhand goal against the Blues that backhand shots are harder for goalies to read. He credited his brother Tony with that insight, by the way! It has to do with the unpredictable way in which the puck comes off the blade. But both of Kucherov’s backhand goals were perfectly placed. Another good sign for the Lightning is that Kucherov posted 12 shots on goal during the three home games last week. Kucherov himself stated that the Lightning needed to have a shot-first mentality and he certainly looked to put pucks on net during the past week.

Regarding Stamkos, Jon Cooper has said that it may take a little time for Stamkos to completely regain his timing. I think it’s coming. Like with Kucherov, we can see it in his shot numbers. In the first two games, he posted only five total shots. He had 16 shots on net in the last three. What that shows me is that he’s putting himself in a position to shoot – and he’s getting his shot off before it can be blocked. We’re starting to see opposing goalies having to make tough saves on Stamkos and that’s a very good sign that he won’t only be a “play maker”. In the three games, Stamkos also had 10 shot attempts miss the net. I think that number will come down (and more will be on net) as he continues to sharpen his timing.

Greg: I’ve been saying this on my show and you guys can weigh in as well. I think Kucherov is the most dynamic player on this team. What separates the Lightning from other teams is they have a couple of guys who can make “splash” plays at any given time. That puts so much pressure on a defense. Kucherov could be relatively quiet for two periods and then all of a sudden he makes a play.

I also was encouraged to see Tyler Johnson score against the Blues. He can really make the Lightning tough to defend if his line produces offensively. I though his lines shift after the Tarasenko goal was big. They essentially bottled up the Blues in their own zone.

Also, you’ve got to think Cooper stays with the 11/7 lineup. It’s been working and we know how coaches hate to tinker with a winning lineup.

Erik: Yes, the 11 forward, seven defensemen lineup has certainly been working, especially for Slater Koekkoek, who we discussed last week getting his chance in the lineup, and now taking advantage of it after scoring his first two career goals against Pittsburgh.

I’d think as long as the rotating forward on the line with Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn continues to be an effective line, it makes sense to keep with it. It gives extra shifts to Kucherov, Stamkos, Point, etc.

With the Lightning on the road now for three games, the matchup situation will be a little different as the other team – Detroit, New Jersey and Columbus this week – get to dictate the favored matchup. But with how deep the Lightning are and how well they are playing, it’ll be interesting to see the team responds this week.

Dave: I am very curious to see how the matchups are going to look, starting Monday. When on the road, Jon Cooper is not a coach who is so committed to matchups that he’ll pull a line off the ice just to get the matchup he wants. Some coaches do that, but Cooper tends to let the lines flow and let the chips fall where they may. Basically, he expects that all of his lines can do the job against the opposition’s top unit. At home, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde have drawn the assignment of the opposition’s top line and they’ve done a terrific job, whether it’s been against Barkov, Kuznetsov, Crosby or Stastny. They may not see the same matchups on this trip. But beyond matchups, the Lightning will need to exhibit the same good habits they displayed at home this past week. If they play on their toes, manage the puck well and display a shooting mentality, they will give themselves an excellent chance to have a successful trip. Add in the suffocating defense they threw at St. Louis in the final two periods on Saturday and the Lightning will be a handful for the opposition.

Greg: Agreed and we should see Peter Budaj make his fist appearance of the season on this road trip. I would think that comes Tuesday night against the Devils. Let Vasilevskiy play against the Red Wings who are in their division.

This will be a tough road trip. The Red Wings are playing better, the Devils are much improved, and Columbus will be a physical game for sure.

Erik: The first road trip is always a good test and for the Lightning, it’s a chance to build off the momentum from the home-stand. Greg, I know we’ll have lot’s more to discuss when we pick up some of this conversation on Monday for some Great Hockey Talk™ on Lightning Power Play Live at 6 p.m with 970-AM picking up the show starting at 6:30 p.m. and leads right in to the pregame show! Then make sure you stay tuned to hear Dave with the call from Detroit and the new Little Caesars Arena.

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