In their first 27 games of the season, the Lightning did not suffer one shutout defeat. They’ve now been shut out in back-to-back games, and as a result, their regulation losing streak had reached four games.
In some ways, this contest resembled Saturday’s game against the Islanders. The Lightning allowed only one goal until the closing seconds, when they surrendered an empty-netter.
But the Lightning were much more dangerous in the first period of this game against Toronto than they were at the start of Saturday’s game.
The Lightning dominated play over the first 15 minutes, creating numerous Grade-A looks. But goalie Dennis Hildeby stopped them all. Then, late in the frame, the Maple Leafs caught not one but two breaks on the same play and grabbed the lead. Off a zone entry, Easton Cowan attempted a cross-ice pass from the left circle. Yanni Gourde blocked the pass with his skate, but the puck ricocheted directly to Morgan Rielly in the slot. Jake Guentzel, backchecking on the play, disrupted Rielly’s shot attempt. But somehow, the puck stayed within Rielly’s reach. Since Jonas Johansson was square to the initial shot attempt, he was not set for this new shot location. Rielly tucked a backhander into an open net from the bottom of the right circle.
The improbable goal changed the complexion of the rest of the game. Once again, the Lightning found themselves trailing—they’ve not had one lead during the losing streak. After the goal, they sagged, and the Leafs surged. Toronto controlled action in the second period and outchanced the Lightning. Johansson denied those chances (and also benefitted from a John Tavares shot that hit the post). The game remained 1-0 after 40 minutes.
The Lightning generated more chances in the third than they had in the second but not nearly as many as they’d produced in the first. Overall, Toronto defended well over the final 40 minutes, and the Leafs cleared pucks from dangerous areas to deny the Lightning second-chance shots.
The teams traded major penalties early in the third (Bobby McMann was assessed a match, while Gage Goncavles got a major and a game misconduct), shortening both benches. The Lightning successfully killed off a late third-period Toronto power play to keep the deficit at one. During the six-on-five, Darren Raddysh’s right-point shot hit the post to Hildeby’s right and slid back to the crease. It hit Hildeby’s left skate and didn’t go in the net. Instead, Hildeby reached back with his glove and fell on the puck. The Lightning didn’t get the bounce they needed. Auston Matthews finished the scoring with a last-second empty netter.
Certainly, it would help the Lightning to get rewarded when they outplay the other team for lengthy stretches in games. It would also help if they got the lead. We’ll see if they break through when they finish the back-to-back on Tuesday in Montreal.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Dennis Hildeby — Maple Leafs. First NHL shutout. 29 saves.
- Jonas Johansson — Lightning. 22 saves.
- Matthew Knies — Maple Leafs.
