Tampa Bay Lightning Lose Atlantic Division Showdown In Overtime

Despite outshooting the Boston Bruins 42-33 through three periods of play, the Tampa Bay Lightning fall 1-0 to the Bruins just 10 seconds into overtime.

The Tampa Bay Lightning came into tonight’s encounter carrying all the frustration of their 4-2 loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers; the loss that snapped the team’s record-setting win streak at nine games. The Tampa Bay Lightning knew if they wanted to hold onto the first place position in the Atlantic Division, they would have to make a statement tonight against the Boston Bruins.

Unfortunately, the Boston Bruins are not the kind of team to sit back and watch as their opponents play their “statement games.” In the early minutes of the first period, the Boston Bruins really put the pressure on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop. The good news is, unlike Monday night in Philly, the Tampa Bay Lightning were prepared to give the pressure right back to the Bruins.

There would be a lot of back and forth between the Lightning and the Bruins in the first period of play, but neither team would be able to breach the defenses of their opponent and strike first blood. Thankfully, when the buzzer sounded to end the first period of play, the Tampa Bay Lightning would not be outshot by a large margin. Shots on goal through 20 minutes of play were 11-8 in favor of the Bruins.

Unfortunately, while the Bruins may not have been able to leave a mark on the scoreboard, they definitely left an impact on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s offense. Towards the end of the first period, the Bolts were trying to play the puck into the zone. Just as the puck made its way past the blue line, Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, who currently leads the Lightning in overall points, we dealt a hard elbow to the head.

It would be Bruins defenseman John-Michael Liles who would deliver the blatant elbow to Kucherov. As you can imagine, Nikita Kucherov went tumbling down to the ice where he remained for quite some time. Kucherov was eventually able to make his way off the ice under his own volition, but it was pretty clear he was shaken up. Nikita Kucherov immediately made his way down the tunnel to the Tampa Bay Lightning locker room.

Hopefully, Kucherov didn’t receive a concussion from the blatant elbow to the head. The Tampa Bay Lightning is already dealing with a number of injuries to the defensive core. The last thing they need is for offensive injuries to start piling up as well.

Fortunately, there was good news for Tampa Bay Lightning fans when the team returned to the ice for the second period of play. Nikita Kucherov did indeed rejoin his team on the bench for the second period. We’re pretty sure that noise you heard at the beginning of the second period was the resounding sigh of relief from Lightning fans.

The Tampa Bay Lightning would get another shot at the Power Play in the opening minutes of the second period as Bruins center Noel Acciari would be sent off for two minutes for Slashing Lightning center Brian Boyle. Regrettably, the Tampa Bay Lightning were not able to capitalize on their opportunity with the man advantage.

It wouldn’t be until after the halfway point in the second period, but the Tampa Bay Lightning would get another shot at the Power Play. This time it would be Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid who would be sent to the sin bin for two minutes for Hooking Lightning center Valtteri Filppula. This would serve to be the third opportunity the Bolts have had with the man advantage. It’s also the third power play they’ve failed to capitalize on.

On the bright side, the Tampa Bay Lightning brought plenty of 5-on-5 heat on the Boston Bruins over the course of the second period of play. The Tampa Bay Lightning doubled up on their shots on goal from the first period of play, outshooting the Boston Bruins 19-11 in the second period. This made for a two period total of 27-22 in favor of the Lightning.

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This is definitely a better effort than the team put forward on Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, but if the Tampa Bay Lightning wanted to bring home the two points in this Atlantic Division showdown, they are going to have to get the puck in the back of the net in the third period. The Tampa Bay Lightning has been known as a strong third period team, but Bruins netminder Jonas Gustavsson has had the Lightning’s number tonight, even under intense pressure.

When the buzzer would sound to end the third period of play, neither the Tampa Bay Lightning nor the Boston Bruins would have found the back of the net. This is definitely not for a lack of effort on behalf of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts outshot the Bruins 15-10 in the third period for a three period total of 42-33.

Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t stand much of a chance when the puck dropped in the overtime period. After losing the opening faceoff, Bruins left wing Brad Marchand would attack the net and finally put the puck in the back of the net. Despite his best efforts, Ben Bishop didn’t have a chance of stopping the puck.

While the Tampa Bay Lightning were dealt their second loss in a row, this was by no means a bad game for the Lightning. The Lightning put intense pressure on the Bruins throughout all 60 minutes of play and took more than average chances at the back of the net. Regrettably, the bounces were just not in their favor tonight.

As much as it pains us to say this, the Three Stars of the Night make perfect sense. The first star was awarded to Bruins goaltender Jonas Gustavsson. Gustavsson allowed not a single goal on 42 shots. Needless to say, the Tampa Bay Lightning made Gustavsson work hard for each and every save.

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The second star of the night was awarded to Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop. While Bishop may have been dealt the loss, Bishop allowed just one goal in overtime, blocking all 33 shots in regulation. Bishop’s performance is certainly nothing to shake your stick at. He came up huge for the Tampa Bay Lightning in some incredibly tough situations. We’re not sure any other goaltender in the league could have done much better.

As you can imagine, the Third Star of the Night was awarded to Bruins left wing Brad Marchand, the player responsible for the game winning goal in overtime.

The good news for the Tampa Bay Lightning is, despite only coming home with one point in tonight’s Atlantic Division showdown, the Tampa Bay Lightning maintain first place in the Atlantic Division as they have a game in hand over the Boston Bruins.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will have a couple of days to rest up and recuperate. On Friday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning open the doors once again to play host to the Philadelphia Flyers. It will be interesting to see how the Tampa Bay Lightning respond after their 4-2 loss on Monday night. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 p.m. EST right here in the Sunshine State.

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What do you think the Tampa Bay Lightning need to so in order to get back on track? What do you think was the best aspect of tonight’s encounter against the Boston Bruins? What was the biggest downer in tonight’s game? Let us know what you think in the comments below.