Tampa Bay Lightning have late comeback stopped short by Islanders

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s third-period comeback came up just short as the Bolts fell to the New York Islanders by a score of 5-3.

The Tampa Bay Lightning did themselves no favors in the first period. They started the game with no energy at all, and the Islanders made them pay for it quickly.

A lazy clear attempt was easily broken up by John Tavares, and the puck was thrown to Andrew Ladd who was waiting in the left circle. He wasted no time sending the puck by Andrei Vasilevskiy to put the Bolts down by one only 51 seconds into the game.

Slow reactions and a general lack of hustle plagued the Lightning for the entire first period. It took the Lightning seven minutes to get their first shot on goal.

Just when it seemed that the Lightning was going to get their first real offensive possession of the night, the puck was stolen. The New York Islanders moved it swiftly down the ice and moved it to Anders Lee who was waiting in the dreaded left circle. Like Ladd, he wired the puck home to give the Islanders an early 2-0 lead.

While that was the end of scoring in the first period, it could have been worse. Another breakdown in passing led to a breakaway for the Islanders which transitioned to a 2-on-0. Fortunately for the Bolts, Vasilevskiy was ready and made a series of excellent saves to keep his team in the game.

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The second period started much like the first. Bad passes led to turnovers which led to shots. This continued for almost half of the period until the Islanders made them pay once again. Brock Nelson would score to put the Lightning down yet another goal.

Luckily for the Lightning, the rest of the period was pretty quiet. However, things would take off in the third period. The Islanders would finish their Power Play with a goal, and it seemed that the Bolts were done for. However, Yanni Gourde and Ondrej Palat would score just 13 seconds apart to cut the Islanders lead in half.

The Lightning looked like a new team after this. Their passing seemed more coordinated and they had numerous offensive chances. With around four minutes left in the period, Yanni Gourde would net his second of the night to bring the Bolts within striking distance of the Islanders.

Unfortunately, Thomas Griess was on his game and the Lightning would suffer from a case of too little too late. Islanders captain John Tavares would net an empty netter to put the Bolts away for good. While their third-period comeback was impressive, it just wasn’t enough to get the job done.

Both Brayden Point and Victor Hedman had off nights. The Lightning usually relies heavily on the pair, and while their presences might not show up on the scoreboard every night, they were sorely missed tonight. Instead of creating turnovers, they ended up causing quite a few. At least two of these resulted in goals for the Islanders.

In addition to this, Bolts fans saw the return of something that plagued the Bolts all season. For some reason, the Bolts wouldn’t shoot the puck. To quote Dave Mishkin, the Lightning “passed their way out of scoring chances”. The Lightning could take a lesson from Wayne Gretzky (and Michael Scott) and learn that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

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While this all seems bad, there’s no real cause for alarm. Bad games happen, even to the best team in the league. At the end of the day, the Tampa Bay Lightning are now 15-3-2, which is still keeps them at the top of the league. All the Bolts can do now is look forward to Wednesday’s rematch of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals when they face off against the Chicago Blackhawks.