The Tampa Bay Lightning lay it all on the line tonight as they find themselves in a do-or-die situation tonight at the Joe Louis Arena in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves in a position that absolutely no team in the National Hockey League wants to find themselves. Down 3-2 in the series, the Lightning head back into the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit to face off with the Detroit Red Wings in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The dynamics of tonight’s game are really simple. The Lightning needs to show up and play consistently for the whole 60 minutes of play. No matter what happens in tonight’s encounter, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be headed home after tonight’s game. Their actions will determine whether they are setting tee times or practice times when they touch down here in the Bolts Nation.
We all know that the Lightning has the tools that they need in order to accomplish the goal that they set out to do at the end of the regular season. If not, they would not have made it to the post season in the first place allowing them to be in the position they are right now.
The problem is in the execution. The simple fact of the matter is that the puck is not finding its way to the back of the net. There are a few things that need to happen if this is going to change in tonight’s encounter.
Be Aggressive
There is simply no other way to put this. The Detroit Red Wings have played a bull style of hockey from the word go in the post season. Their hits have been harder, the rushes have been faster, and they have taken their entire game to a whole new level. This…right here…is what the Lightning need to do.
The Tampa Bay Lightning had a 35-7-4 record in the regular season in games where they were the first to find the back of the net. We don’t know about you, but those look like pretty good odds to us. One of the team’s main objectives tonight should be to hit the ice and find the puck in the back of the net as soon as possible.
This sounds like an easy enough task, but it is one that has proven difficult in the post season.
Defense Must Improve
One of the fatal flaws on the ice thus far has been the Lightning defense’s habit of allowing the Red Wings forwards to come sailing into our zone with little to no resistance. While blocking the shot and stopping the puck in front of the net is all well and good, it is never acceptable for the opposing team to get a free pass to enter the zone. This just should not happen.
Trying to play the puck in front of your own net is like hand writing an invitation to the other team to intercept the puck and barrage your goaltender. Yes, it is the goaltender’s job to keep the puck out of the net, but at the end of the day they are only human and no goaltender, not even Ben Bishop, is perfect.
We have had some nice, solid hits made to the other team, but if we could see just a little bit more aggression in the neutral zone, it would be a vast improvement that may do well to win us the game.
Rebounds, Rebounds, REBOUNDS
We could repeat that word at the top of our lungs until we are blue in the face and it would still not properly describe the importance of getting their sticks on rebounds and firing them back at the net. Petr Mrazek is one hell of a goaltender, but at the end of the day he is just a man…a man who can’t be everywhere at once.
The key to solving the riddle known as Petr Mrazek is to barrage him with shots, shots to all different sides of the net and from multiple different players. The easiest way to sink the puck is to confuse the goaltender, but you will never accomplish this if you don’t fire a barrage at them and break their concentration.
Also, the Lightning need to beware when they cross in front of the crease. We all know how much Mrazek likes to come outside of the crease and engage players, most of the time with the Lightning ending up in the penalty box. A little extra situational awareness can nip this one in the bud rather quickly.
Capitalize on the Power Play
The Tampa Bay Lightning have had plenty of opportunities during the post season on the Power Play. In fact, the Lightning has had 24 attempts with the man advantage and they have only been able to capitalize on two of those occasions. Can you imagine what this series would look like if they had capitalized on just half of those opportunities? This series would look a lot different.
The Red Wings have no reason to stop committing penalties on the Lightning. First of all, the likelihood of them being called is a little slimmer than we would like, but even if the Wings do get called and end up with a man in the box, the Lightning Power Play has been so bad that they are no longer afraid of us.
All it would take is for the Lightning to put the puck in the back of the net 1-2 more times with the man advantage for the Bolts to shut them down and make their way to the next round.
Stop Overthinking/Overplaying the Puck
A single second of hesitation can make the difference between the puck finding the back of the net or finding the stick of the opposing player. The Lightning needs to make every movement, every pass, and every shot count. This means that they will have to make split-second decisions and make sure that they are on top of their game for every minute of play.
Also, when you have a clear shot in front of the net, there is never a good reason to pass the puck. The default action should always be to take the puck to the back of the net. The Lightning knows all-too-well that one extra pass can lead to the puck being intercepted and brought to the other side of the ice.
Given the way that the Red Wings have been playing as of late this is not something the Lightning wants.
The Offense Needs to Wake Up
This seems like the most “captain obvious” out of each of the listed goals for the Lightning in tonight’s encounter. Considering that the Tampa Bay Lightning had one of the most dangerous offenses in the entire National Hockey League during the regular season, their performance as of late has been rather lackluster.
The Tampa Bay Lightning’s top line, which consists of Steven Stamkos, Ryan Callahan, and Alex Killorn only account for a combined total of 6 points in the post season; 1 goal and 5 assists…for all of them put together.
On the flip side, the Triplet Line consisting of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Nikita Kucherov account for 8 points; 5 goals and 3 assists. You simply cannot underestimate the value of this line. If it were not for the Triplets, the Lightning would not have been able to overcome the Red Wings in Game 4 where Johnson was able to score the game winner in overtime.
If every line on the team would perform to the standard of the Triplet Line, the team would be near impossible to beat. This is not to say that the other three lines don’t have talent, but the numbers don’t lie. All they need to do to change this is to make it happen.
No matter how high the odds seem to be stacked against the Tampa Bay Lightning, we still believe in our Boys in Blue. We know that they have what it takes to bring Lord Stanley home to the Bolts Nation this season. As the old saying goes, “there’s nothing to it but to do it.” Tonight, the Lightning must do it, or come home with their playoff journey at an end. Their destiny is in their hands.
What do you think needs to happen in order for the Tampa Bay Lightning to come home with a win tonight at the Joe Louis Arena? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. Here is a look at all the information you need to make sure you don’t miss a moment of the action tonight from Detroit.
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