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Devils School Bolts On Neutral Zone Defense, Hold On For Shootout Win

By Angelo Resciniti

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23. Final. 3. 85. 2

Friday was the last day of school for students around the Tampa Bay area before what is now called winter break. As the slow-moving school day finally ended, the screams of relief could be heard everywhere. And that was just from the teachers.

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The youthful Tampa Bay Lightning squad discovered that school was still in session for them in a Friday evening lesson at the Prudential Center in Newark at the hands of the New Jersey Devils.

The greybeard Devils taught the Bolts all of the nuances of the neutral zone trap — and all of its variations — in a grinding, slogging, ultimately frustrating 3-2 shootout win that broke a five-game losing streak for New Jersey and sent Tampa Bay on to the Island Saturday night for a back-to-back end to a disappointing five-game road trip.

Despite the loss, the Lightning picked up a point and remained in first place in the Atlantic Division with 44 points and a 20-10-4 record. And the Bolts remained the highest-scoring team in the NHL with 112 goals, two ahead of the surging Toronto Maple Leafs.

So the kids are still all right, but a little chastened by the close-checking Devils, led by their still-productive old-timers. Jaromir Jagr (42), Scott Gomez (34), Martin Havlat (33), Marek Zidlicky (37), and Academy Award nominee Michael Ryder (34) — whose spinning collapse after a trip by Brian Boyle was honored with a penalty for bad acting — all had big games for New Jersey.

But it was veteran center Patrik Elias (38), who stole the show. The alternate captain scored the second of New Jersey’s two first-period goals on a perfectly-placed fluttering backhander over the shoulder of Lightning goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. And Elias went on to ice the victory in the third round of the shootout, mesmerizing Nabokov with deft puck movement before sliding in the game-winner.

The Lightning vowed to get off to a strong start against the Devils, knowing that falling into a hole meant slogging against a neutral zone trapping defense the rest of the game. They fell into the hole anyway.

Adam Henrique scored a power play goal just three minutes into the game to give New Jersey an early 1-0 lead. The grind was on. The Bolts skaters rarely got free for the rest of the first period. And when they did find space they passed up good shots to throw passes to tightly-covered teammates. Elias’s flukey goal made it 2-0 New Jersey. The period ended with each team managing but six shots. The Devils had the Bolts exactly where they wanted them.

The Bolts skated better, passed smarter, and shot on goal more readily in the second period, but the first 15 minutes continued the frustrating back-and-forth. With but five minutes remaining in the period, Tampa Bay finally created a scramble in front of the net. Ryan Callahan and Jonathan “Cool Hand” Drouin pressured goaltender Keith Kinkaid, who was winless in two previous starts, both shootout losses. Then Lightning sniper Steven Stamkos swept in to push the puck into the net, cutting the lead to 2-1.  The goal was Stammer’s 19th of the season, fourth most in the NHL.

Down 2-1 after the second period, the Bolts faced a daunting reality. So far this season they had amassed a 0-10-0 record when behind at the start of the final session.

Tampa Bay skated more aggressively in the third period but still could not penetrate the New Jersey defense. A double-minor at 7:42 against Ryder for high-sticking Victor Hedman seemed like the big break the Lightning had sought. But the Bolts lacked urgency on the power play, the four minutes ticking by in excruciating fashion as the puck was passed and the shots not taken. Tampa Bay took only three shots on goal during the power play, never really threatening.

Coach Jon Cooper called time out with 1:31 remaining and pulled Nabokov. With their net empty and their backs against the wall, the Bolts responded.

Jason Garrison, who had been unleashing wicked slap shots from the point all game long — even hitting a crossbar — let loose with another blast. Ryan Callahan pushed the puck into the middle.  Right wing Nikita Kucherov found the puck, skated to his right, and calmly backhanded in the game-tying goal. Only 41 ticks remained. The Bolts had salvaged a point with a dramatic goal borne out of determination and a “what pressure?” kind of swagger.

The teams skated a wide-open overtime session with opportunities at both ends of the ice. Nabokov and Kinkaid were impenetrable. It took the shootout and Elias’s deft goal to end the night.

School was finally out for the Bolts. But maybe the kids learned something about digging out of a deep hole against a stifling defense, something about digging deep into themselves for that extra bit of will, something about shoveling frustration into a positive outcome.

Those lessons will pay off down the road, late in the season and in the playoffs, when all the games are played this tightly and all the goals — and victories — are righteously earned.

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