Tampa Bay Lightning Strikes Down The Arizona Coyotes
The Tampa Bay Lightning put the pressure on early in the game and continued throughout the game to strike down the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 at the Amalie Arena.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been taking their loyal fans on quite the rollercoaster ride over the course of the last week. After a pretty intense back-to-back weekend series on the road, the Tampa Bay Lightning made their way back to the Sunshine State for an East vs. West showdown with the Arizona Coyotes. This is the first time these two teams would meet in the 2015-16 season.
The Lightning has struggled on special teams over the course of the last few games, allowing a shorthanded goal in each of their last three games. Also, a lack of aggressiveness with the puck has led to more than their fair share of miscues. Fortunately, the Tampa Bay Lightning has continued to find a way to overcome.
As the season presses on and the postseason looms in the distance, the Lightning will need to make quite a few changes if they want to remain a viable option for the postseason. Tonight’s battle with the Coyotes could very well serve as the statement the Tampa Bay Lightning need to make. Not only do they have some of the best talents in the National Hockey League, but they actually want to win.
At the halfway point in the first period, the Tampa Bay Lightning would outshoot the Coyotes 7-6. While these may not be the best statistics the Lightning has put up this season, it is decidedly an improvement from the last couple of games. Fortunately, it wouldn’t take very much longer for the Tampa Bay Lightning to really heat things up in the first period.
It was 12:38 into the first period of play when Lightning captain Steven Stamkos would battle with the puck and finally get one past Coyotes netminder Louis Domingue and into the back of the net. The captain’s goal in the first period would be his 26th of the season. Since Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov has been sitting on the sidelines with a lower-body injury, Steven Stamkos has been quietly skating his way past Kucherov for first place on the team in terms of goals scored.
So…remember what we said a little earlier about the Tampa Bay Lightning having moderately good numbers in the early part of the period. Well…it turns out in the second half of the period the Lightning were going to make Domingue work for every single save he’d make. When the buzzer would sound to end the first period of play, the Tampa Bay Lightning would outshoot the Coyotes 18-8.
During the intermission, Steven Stamkos would speak with Paul Kennedy. When asked what the team needed to do in the second period to maintain the level of play from the first period, the captain said what Tampa Bay Lightning fans have been clamoring for most of the season. Stamkos said the team needs to not back down and continue pressing on the Coyotes; especially since they are playing on a back-to-back.
When the Tampa Bay Lightning hit the ice for the second period of play, they would do exactly as the captain mentioned during the intermission; they would keep the pressure on the Coyotes. Unlike the first period of play, the second period brought a little more offensive pressure from the Coyotes. Another big difference from the first period is the series of penalties that played out in the second.
At 15:07 on the second period, the Tampa Bay Lightning would find themselves on the Power Play for the second time of the night. Given the way the Lightning has been playing on special teams as of late, this caused many people in the Bolts Nation to cringe and brace for impact. While the Tampa Bay Lightning were not able to capitalize on their opportunity, at least they were able to keep Arizona out of the net as well.
Just as the penalty to Shane Doan was about to end, the Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves facing down a rather precarious situation. Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat would earn a one-way ticket to the sin bin for smacking Michael Stone in the face with his stick. Given the fact that blood was drawn, Palat would have to sit for four minutes. The only bright side to this is that with just about two minutes left in the period, the penalty would be spread out over two periods.
Related Story: Steven Stamkos Opens Up Scoring Against Coyotes (Video)
Unfortunately for the Coyotes, the Tampa Bay Lightning decided they weren’t quite done putting the pressure on the Coyotes. Lightning center Cedric Paquette would get control of the puck in the neutral zone. In what seemed like a beautifully orchestrated symphony, Paquette would soar towards the net.
Unfortunately, before he could get off a reasonable shot, Paquette found himself being hit from behind. Just like that, Cedric Paquette would find himself the proud owner of a penalty shot. Paquette would bide his time as he approached the Coyotes net, but there was nothing Domingue could do to slow the progress of Cedric Paquette.
Paquette’s shorthanded penalty shot goal would give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-0 lead over the Arizona Coyotes as the buzzer would sound to end the second period of play. The Lightning and Coyotes would end the period tied at 10 shots on goal apiece for a two period total of 28-18; advantage Lightning.
Unfortunately for the Tampa Bay Lightning, when the teams would return to the ice for the third period of play the Arizona Coyotes were ready and raring to go. Just 4:06 into the third period the Arizona Coyotes would finally make their way to the scoreboard. Originally thought to be a goal from Coyotes defenseman Michael Stone, it was ultimately Coyotes left wing Jordan Martinook who would deflect the puck into the net.
The bad news for Martinook is he wouldn’t have very long to celebrate his goal. After seemingly losing his balance in the middle of a play, Martinook got tangled up with Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman and went tumbling to the ground in quite a bit of distress. While he was able to make it to his feet under his own power, Martinook needed the assistance of his teammates to make it off the ice and down the tunnel.
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While Jordan Martinook may not be a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, we never want to see a player get injured. One can only hope that Martinook’s injuries are not quite as serious as they seemed on the ice.
The Arizona Coyotes would seemingly go on the offensive after the injury to Martinook. Just past the halfway point in the third period, the Coyotes would outshoot the Lightning for the first time tonight with 10-7 in favor of the Coyotes.
Thankfully for the Coyotes, a few moments later Jordan Martinook would make his way back up the tunnel and onto the Coyotes bench. It certainly looked nasty when Martinook hit the ice, but thankfully his injury didn’t prove to be anything serious as he was able to return to the bench.
As time would continue to tick off the clock, the Coyotes would turn up the intensity on the Lightning. There was only one goal separating these two teams and plenty of time left on the clock for them to make a move. The Arizona Coyotes had about two minutes left in the third period when they would elect to pull their goaltender for an extra attacker.
The Tampa Bay Lightning would do everything they could to hit the empty net, but the Arizona Coyotes were willing to do everything, including sacrificing their own bodies, in order to keep the Lightning out of the empty net. On the bright side, Andrei Vasilevskiy would hold strong and the Tampa Bay Lightning would win their fourth game in a row with a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes.
As much as it pains us to say this, we have to give credit to the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes didn’t exactly play like a team finishing off a back-to-back series. Furthermore, Louis Domingue was in net both nights for the Coyotes and managed to block all but two of the Lightning’s 36 shots on goal.
In the third period, the Arizona Coyotes would make up some ground in terms of shots on goal. The Coyotes would outshoot the Lightning 12-8 in the third period for a three period total of 36-30 in favor of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
This may not be the all-around best game the Tampa Bay Lightning has played all season long, but it was definitely the best game they’ve played over the course of the last seven to eight games. The Lightning most certainly made the statement they set out to make tonight. The Lightning has strung together a four-game win streak as the NHL Trade Deadline looms in the distance.
Surprisingly enough, the special teams that have nearly crippled the Tampa Bay Lightning in the last few games are the sole reason the Tampa Bay Lightning are bringing home the two points in this encounter. Thanks to the shorthanded penalty shot goal from Cedric Paquette, the Tampa Bay Lightning can head home tonight with their heads held high. Meanwhile, the Arizona Coyotes make their way south to Sunrise with their tails between their legs.
Unfortunately for the Tampa Bay Lightning, they don’t have much time to celebrate tonight’s win. On Friday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning will head out on a four-game road trip that kicks off with a trip to the Prudential Center to do battle with the New Jersey Devils. This is going to be an important game for the Bolts. Both the Lightning and the Devils are fighting for position in the conference and the two points from this encounter could be a tipping point for either team.
Next: Lightning Head Home To Face Coyotes
The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night at the Prudential Center. What do you think will be vital to the Tampa Bay Lightning securing win number five in a row? Which player do you think will stand out above the rest? Let us know what you think in the comments below.