Tampa Bay Lightning capture a win 25 years in the making
The Tampa Bay Lightning kick off their 25th Anniversary Season with a solid 5-3 win over their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers.
The Tampa Bay Lightning made their way into the Amalie Arena tonight to kick off their 25th Anniversary Season. There is no denying the expectations have been set extra high for the Lightning this season. The question in need of answering is whether or not the Lightning will be able to live up to these expectations.
You could definitely feel the electricity flowing through the stands of the Arena tonight. The Lightning did a good job feeding off this electricity in the opening moments of the game; however, before long the Lightning found themselves leaning a little too hard on the Lightning’s new No. 1 goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy.
While it seemed as if Vasilevskiy was being forced into a career as a gymnast in the opening minutes of the game, Vasy was able to hold it down and keep the puck out of the back of the net. It is quite apparent Vasilevskiy has been tossed out of the pan and directly into the fire. It’ll be interesting to see how he holds up.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning fans erupted at the 6:33 mark in the first period when Lightning forward Ondrej Palat would score the very first goal of the 25th Anniversary Season. Palat came rushing towards the offensive zone with the puck. He attempted to pass the puck across to Brayden Point, but it ended up being deflected back to Palat.
Palat being Palat, he was able to regain control of the puck and fire off a backhanded shot which deftly made its way past Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo and into the back of the net. This would be the beginning of what looked like a very good night.
The Tampa Bay Lightning would find themselves on the Penalty Kill twice during the first 20 minutes of play. The first of these penalties would come at 8:25 in the first period when Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr made his way to the sin bin for Slashing Panthers forward Jared McCann.
As much as we hate being this person, it almost comes as no surprise Sustr was the first to take a penalty this season. If we’re being completely honest, we’re surprised someone like Slater Koekkoek or Jake Dotchin didn’t make their way into the Opening Night lineup.
The good news is the Tampa Bay Lightning would kill their first penalty. Unfortunately, the small victory didn’t come easily for the Bolts. In the opening moments of the penalty, both Vasilevskiy and the goal post would be forced to make a HUGE save and keep the Lightning in the game.
The second penalty would come shortly before the 15-minute mark in the period when Nikita Kucherov would be headed to the box for Slashing Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk. Thankfully, the Lightning was able to hold strong and keep the puck out of the back of the net and preserve their 1-0 lead over the Panthers.
As the buzzer sounded to end the first period of play there would be a little bit of pushing and shoving between Lightning forward Cedric Paquette and Panthers forward Michael Haley. The good news for the Lightning is neither one would be assessed a penalty for the scuffle and the two teams would head down the tunnel in peace.
The Tampa Bay Lightning wasted no time in getting down to business in the second period. Just 25 seconds into the second period, Brayden Point would pick up his first goal of the season to extend the Lightning’s lead over the Panthers to two goals.
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Unfortunately, this would be what would feel like the beginning of the end for the Bolts in the second period. Around the 12 minute mark in the Second Period, the Lightning would look for a call as Nikita Kucherov was dumped by the blueline.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was completely asleep at the wheel on this one, seemed to sit there and watch as Panthers forward Connor Brickley made his way in front of the net and simply tapped the puck past Vasy and into the back of the net.
Just over five minutes later, the Lightning would watch their lead disappear before their eyes as Mark Pysyk would dig deep for a rebound and bring the score to two goals each. This would be where the second period would come to a close.
Just like the First Period, the Second Period would end with a bit of a scuffle between these two in-state rivals. Given the rivalry between these two teams, this comes as no surprise.
As the third period would kick into gear, the Amalie Arena would ignite once again. Just 59 seconds into the third period, Vladdy would capitalize on the Lightning’s Power Play opportunity to retake the lead for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now…all the Lightning needed to do was hold on to their lead for another 19 minutes.
Ironically enough, not only would the Lightning hold on to their lead, but they would actually extend it further. Vladdy would attempt to wrestle control of the puck in front of the net. Unfortunately, the Panthers would essentially have Vladdy on lockdown.
Fortunately, the Lightning’s luck would take a turn for the better in a matter of seconds. When the puck came free, it made its way to the stick of Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov didn’t waste a single second in firing the puck towards the net and right past Roberto Luongo.
The Tampa Bay Lightning weren’t out of the woods just yet. With 5:30 seconds left in the game, the Panthers would cut the Lightning’s lead in half as Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau beat Vasilevskiy. The officials would pause for a moment, but at the end of the day, the goal was ruled a good goal.
Just when Lightning fans thought their frustrations were over, the Bolts had a bit more doom and gloom headed their way. With just over three minutes left in the game, Hedman would be sent to the box for Slashing. Needless to say, this is not the way the Lightning needed to spend the remaining few minutes of the game.
It was touch and go there for a minute, but the Lightning was able to hold on and kill the penalty. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Lightning would race towards the empty net of the Panthers. Point would race for the puck, but he was tied up by the Panthers.
The puck would sail around the back of the net where it would meet the stick of Ondrej Palat. Palat took just a moment to set up his shot, and when the puck left his stick, Lightning fans knew the game was about to come to an end. Palat’s second goal of the night would essentially put the nail in the coffin for the Panthers.
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The Opening Night victory is definitely a step in the right direction for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Was this a perfect game? No, there were definitely ups and downs throughout the game, especially in the second period. At the same time, there were plenty of things to be happy about.
One of those positives is multi-point nights for both Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point. It’s rather fitting Palat would score the first and last goals of the game. Point, on the other hand, would pick up both a goal and an assist for a total of two points.
In the beginning of the game, the Lightning seemed to lean on Andrei Vasilevskiy a little too much, but as the game progressed the Lightning began to play more aggressively.
Speaking of Vasilevskiy, there was a moment when he seemed to be totally asleep at the wheel, but when all was said and done, Vasy was able to not only backstop the Bolts to their first victory of their 25th Anniversary Season, but he was able to pick up a victory in his first official Opening Night start.
Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Lightning don’t have time to relish their victory. Early tomorrow, the team will make their way to Sunrise to do it all over again; this time in the home of the Florida Panthers.
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If the Lightning wants to remain successful and finish off their back-to-back season-opening series, they are going to have to be a little more aggressive with the puck and keep a consistent pace throughout the game. If there’s anything we can guarantee, it’s tomorrow night will be another exciting night of Lightning hockey.