Tampa Bay Lightning Vs. Ottawa Senators: Knee Jerk Reactions

By Tasha St. Pierre | Jan 4, 2015

23. Final. 2. 91. 4

Tonight’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre in Canada’s capital definitely did not get off to the start that the Lightning was hoping for. In fact, it took all of 32 seconds for the Senators to strike first blood and get on the board first.

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The good news is, the Lightning found their footing late in the third period and were able to battle back and get themselves back on top before the start of the second intermission.

Ultimately, it would be the captain Steven Stamkos who would sink the game winning goal and put the Bolts back on the right track.

There were some things that worked within the encounter, and some that we would never like to see repeated once again. Over the course of the next few paragraphs, we will take you through some of our knee jerk reactions to tonight’s encounter.

Some of our reactions are positive, some are negative, but the one thing that holds true between each and every one of them are that they needed to be said and could have an immense impact on the remainder of the Lightning’s season.

So, what are we waiting for? Let’s take a look at some of our knee jerk reactions to tonight’s encounter between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators.

What the heck has been going on with Ben Bishop?

We don’t know about you, but we have never been one of those people who jump aboard the “immediately blame the goaltender” bandwagon. We always try to take a step back and evaluate the situation from a clearer vantage point before we jump all over someone’s case, but there is no denying that there is something amiss here.

This leads me to my first question: What the heck is wrong with Ben Bishop?

Bishop has always been considered to be one of the strongest netminders that the Bolts have had between the pipes. Some have even likened him to former Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin who backstopped the Lightning to their Stanley Cup win back in 2004. Unfortunately, things have not looked so bright as of late.

Big Ben seems to have holes all over the place, missing shots that should have been child’s play for a goaltender of his caliber. If you pay attention to the games as closely as we do, you can tell that he is visibly frustrated by his performance.

The good news is, he was able to regain his composure and help put together a win for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bishop was able to hold strong and stop 20 of 22 shots for a Save Percentage of .909. It is definitely not Bishop’s best outing, but even the greatest goaltenders in the world have a bad day every now and then.

We’re just hoping that it’s not another one of those instances like last season where he is actually injured a lot more than the team would like to admit and have a recurrence of what happened last season. If Bishop is injured in some capacity – which we are in no, way, shape, or form insinuating he is – we would hope that he sits until he is truly healthy.

MISSING: The Tampa Bay Lightning’s offensive pressure

When they started out this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning was putting immense offensive pressure on their opponents. While they have outshot their opponents on many of their encounters as of late, they seem to only occur in short bursts.

The remainder of the game, they seem to have issues keeping the puck in their zone, turning over the puck in the most inopportune moments imaginable, and in some fashion handing their opponents a goal on a silver platter.

While we will concede that it is ultimately the goaltender’s job to keep the puck out of the net, there is an old adage that seems to fit this one perfectly; the best defense is a good offense. If you keep the puck in your offensive zone and away from the goaltender, then your opposition will have no window in which to score.

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stale Power Play

Much like the other two points we mentioned before, the Tampa Bay Lightning started out the season with a pretty solid Power Play. In fact, we would go as far as to say that we had one of the best in the National Hockey League for a period of time.

Then, it just seems as if they stopped trying. They have seemingly fallen flat on their face when it comes to the Power Play. The biggest issue here has been their lack of Shots on Goal with the man advantage.

If you watched tonight’s encounter against the Ottawa Senators, then you know exactly what we are talking about. As of the halfway point in the second period, the Lightning had already had three opportunities with the man advantage and found themselves unable to capitalize on a single one of them.

Around the 16:08 mark in the second, Tyler Johnson was able to capitalize on the Power Play with the help of his Triplet Linemate Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Anton Stralman. There have been sparks of life within the Power Play, but it hasn’t been enough to break out into a real flame.

Out of the nine attempts the Bolts had with the man advantage tonight, the Johnson goal was the only attempt they were able to capitalize on.

This is something that the Lightning, and by Lightning we mean Head Coach Jon Cooper, is going to have to work out before we approach the post season. When you get involved in do-or-die situations, every single opportunity can make or break your chances of victory.

We have all the pieces we need to complete the puzzle; we just need to get them in the right order.

The Almighty Power of The Triplets

No matter what happens in a game, there is always one thing that those of us here in the Bolts Nation can count on; the Triplet Line is going to put on one heck of a show.

In Wednesday night’s all out domination of the Buffalo Sabres, the Triplets were responsible for 10 of the 14 available points in the encounter; three goals and seven assists. Even in Friday’s 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Triplets are responsible for three of the Lightning’s nine available points.

Tonight, the Triplet Line accounted for a total of five of the Lightning’s twelve available points; two goal from Tyler Johnson, two assists by Nikita Kucherov, and an assist from Ondrej Palat on Johnson’s second goal.

Out of all the lines that the Bolts have played all season, this is the one that seems to have gelled together the quickest and the best. It is one of the few lines that never seem to be adjusted when they decide to shake things up a little bit. This speaks volumes about their overall volume.

At the end of the day, not everything is gloom and doom. No matter which way you slice it, a win is a win; even if it is an ugly one. Unfortunately, there is no denying that there are things the team will need to work on before they begin the homestretch to the post season.

As we have learned on more than one occasion, the post season is a very unforgiving time that can be snatched away from you with a single drop of the puck. The good news is, we still have an adequate amount of time to get the kinks worked out before we enter do-or-die mode.

On the other hand, we don’t have quite so long before we face our next opponent. After tonight’s encounter, the Lightning will make their way to the Bell Centre to go head-to-head with Max Pacioretty and the Montreal Canadiens. The Bolts may have dominated the Canadiens in their first encounter this season, but we all know what happens when you underestimate your opponent.

What did you think of the Lightning’s performance in tonight’s 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators? What do you think the Lightning can learn from tonight’s encounter? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Next: Triplet Line Helps Lightning Come Back To Defeat Ottawa Senators

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