The Tampa Bay Lightning has gotten off on a less than idyllic start to the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, to say the very least.
To say these first two games of the playoffs were lackluster for the Tampa Bay Lightning is an understatement. Now two games into this First Round series, the Bolts has two losses, with the Columbus Blue Jackets snagging Game Two, 5-1.
The game started off with Cam Atkinson scoring in the first five minutes of the game. After that, the Bolts could not seem to keep up the momentum, and the Blue Jackets scored twice more.
The Bolts looked to get the crowd back in the game, after being down 2-0 early in the game. Brayden Point even dropped the gloves, not something that you see every game from a stud forward.
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Early in third, Mikhail Sergachev shoots the puck and it makes it way past Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Now only down two goals, the Tampa Bay Lightning seemed to have sparked some light in the Amalie Arena crowd. However, Sergachev’s goal was not enough and the Blue Jackets score twice more.
Matt Duchene recorded four points on the night, and Bobrovsky made 23 saves. Late in the third, Nikita Kucherov is given a game misconduct for a questionable hit on Markus Nutivarra. Kucherov received both boarding and tripping penalties and did not return to the game. With such an iffy play, there is a chance that Kucherov is suspended for this hit.
We have a sneaking suspicion Kucherov could be looking down the barrel of a suspension here. Not a smart move. https://t.co/jObZIC7dhO
— Bolts By The Bay (@BoltsByTheBay) April 13, 2019
This team is so much better this. I know it, they know it, and Bolts Nation knows it. After a 62 win regular season, no team should be able to walk on the Bolts like the Blue Jackets have the past 100 minutes of play. With so much history made in the regular season, the Bolts can not just stop there and call it quits.
Last postseason, the Washington Capitals lost its first two games in Round One against the Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets scored four goals in the first game and five in the second, just like this series. The Capitals came back and won four in a row to win the series.
Bolts Nation, we can do this. This is the playoffs, ANYTHING can happen. It is time to support our team, no matter what. We must stay positive and be ready for Game Three on Sunday night.
Let’s take back this series.