Mishkin's Extra Shift: Avalanche 4, Lightning 3 - OT - Game 1

As Jon Cooper said afterwards, "the right team won tonight." After the Lightning endured a rough opening 10 minutes and fell behind by two goals, they eventually rallied to tie things up in the second period. In the end, however, their overall performance wasn't crisp enough against a club as strong as Colorado.

The Avalanche came out of the gates with energy and pushed the pace during the first half of the first period. They netted their first goal off the rush, a play in which the Lightning allowed Mikko Rantanen to fire an open shot from the left circle that squeezed past Andrei Vasilevskiy. Gabe Landeskog helped the puck across the goal line, but it very well may have gotten there without his assistance. Less than two minutes later, the Lightning committed a pair of turnovers in the defensive zone and Val Nichushkin wired a shot from the right circle through Vasilevskiy's pads.
The Lightning didn't show their best in those early minutes. Their puck play was sloppy and they weren't tight with their coverage. Also, the Rantanen and Nichushkin shots were ones that Vasilevskiy typically stops.
From a defensive standpoint, the Lightning improved after the loose start. The only other goal they allowed during regulation time came late in the first period, when the Avs converted on a long five-on-three. Vasilevskiy had no chance on either the PPG or the eventual game-winner - he was very sharp after the two early goals against. Even though the Lightning's five-on-five defensive game improved during the final two and a half periods of regulation time, they still allowed some isolated scoring chances. Vasilevskiy turned them aside. He used his goalie stick to break up a couple of Colorado second period rush chances and in the third, he stopped a dangerous Nathan MacKinnon shot from the slot.
The Lightning scratched their way back into the game with a couple of goals off the rush and a one other at the end of a strong offensive zone shift. Nick Paul got the Lightning on the board when he skated past Erik Johnson to reel in a loose puck. He finished his in-alone chance at 12:26 of the first.
In the second period, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat teamed up on a slick passing play in which Kucherov stickhandled past Devon Toews. At the same time, Palat skated around Cale Makar and redirected Kucherov's centering feed into the net. On the next shift, Anthony Cirelli, Alex Killorn, and Brandon Hagel worked to maintain possession in the offensive zone. Hagel set up Mikhail Sergachev at the right point. Just as he did (twice) against the Rangers in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Final, Sergachev quickly snapped the puck. It sailed past a screened Darcy Kuemper to tie the game.
Thanks to their rally, the Lightning gave themselves a chance to grab Game One. But throughout the night, they didn't do enough with the puck in the offensive zone to create chances. Credit the Avs, who defended hard in front of their goalie. Colorado blocked 26 shots in Game One. The Lightning recorded only 23 shots on goal. Moving forward in the series, they'll look to get more pucks to the net.
The Lightning successfully killed a late third period delay-of-game penalty to Pat Maroon. The Colorado power play carried over into overtime. Once he came out of the box, Maroon just missed on a backhander from the front of the net.
The winning goal occurred seconds later. For the Lightning, it was a combination of bad puck luck, a neutral zone turnover, and a coverage miscue. First, Victor Hedman's outlet to center ice hit off Steven Stamkos. Although the puck could have ricocheted in any direction, it bounced back into the Lightning end. Sergachev cleared the puck to center ice, but J.T. Compher grabbed it and countered quickly. Hedman blocked Compher's shot from the slot, but once again, the carom wasn't a friendly one for the Lightning. It went directly to Nichushkin, who was trailing the play with Andre Burakovsky. The Lightning got caught with their two defensemen deep and the forwards not back in position to defend either Nichushkin or Burakovsky. The puck came cross-ice to Burakovsky, who buried his shot into an open side of the net.
Despite the loss, there were positives from Game One. Brayden Point returned to the lineup and now has a game under his belt. Vasilevskiy was dialed in after the first 10 minutes. And the Lightning showed their usual resiliency, rallying from a two-goal deficit to give themselves a chance to win. Still, they will look to produce a better overall outing in Game Two on Saturday as they attempt to even the series.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Val Nichushkin - Avalanche. Goal and assist.
2. Gabe Landeskog - Avalanche. Goal and assist.
3. Nick Paul - Lightning. Goal.