Lightning dig themselves hole against Bruins
The Tampa bay Lightning opened up their series against the Boston Bruins by dropping a 6-2 decision at home.
The biggest challenge for the Lightning coming into the series was controlling the line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. This scoring line combined for 12 points today 3G and 9A as they dominated this game against the Lightning.
Tampa had no answer for this trio and they have less than 48 hours to come up with a plan to slow them down. In the series with Toronto, in the games the Leafs won they did not allow this line to score. In the games that Boston won, this line went crazy and was the difference maker in the 4-3 series win for Boston.
The Bruins came into this game with little rest after a tough seven game series against Toronto. The Lightning had not played in six days and came into the game today well-rested. It looked as if the Bruins were the team that was well rested and the Lightning just came off an extended series by the way that game was played.
The defensive performance of the Lightning left a lot to be desired, but the overall play of Andrei Vasilevskiy has to be better for the Lightning to have a chance in this series. Tukka Rask was the better goalie today as he made 34 saves in the win.
The Bruins were 3-1 against the Lightning this year with the Lightning winning the finale of the four game set 4-0 in Tampa in what was one of the best performances of the Lightning this season.
The Lightning did some things things well in this game. Things that don’t show up on the score sheet. The Lightning outshot the Bruins 36-24. with twice as many scoring chances as the Bruins, but a lot of those shots were blocked by the Bruins. One key difference was a lot of the Bruins shots were right on net, while a lot of the Lightning shots were not directly on net. Boston also appeared to be a bit quicker and played with more urgency than the Lightning.
If the Lightning are to even up this series Monday night here is what must happen. The top line of Stamkos, Kucherov, and Miller must get going. This line was shut down by the Bruins today and for the Lightning to win the series this line has to Be a key factor.
The defensive effort has to improve. Todd Richards and Jon Cooper have to figure out and come up with a plan to shut down the Boston line of Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak.
Vasilevskiy must be equal to or play better than Rask. Vasilevskiy was as good as they come in the New Jersey series and he needs to get his game back before this series gets out of hand and starts slipping away.
Right now the biggest game of the season is coming up Monday night for the Lightning. You cannot go to Boston down 2-0. The Lightning have to find a way to win on Monday night. I still think the Lightning can win this series against the Bruins. Get the Stamkos line scoring, tighten up defensively, and get Vasilevskiy back on track will be huge for the Lightning going forward.
