The Lightning did outplay the Oilers when the teams were skating at even strength, but they only did so in the first and third periods. The second period belonged to Edmonton.
During the first and third periods combined, the Lightning outshot the Oilers, 31-17. Attempts were 52-25 in favor of Tampa Bay. But in the middle stanza, the Lightning managed just six shots and 10 attempts. The Oilers posted 12 second period shots and 24 attempts.
In the opening minutes of the first, the Oilers looked like a team that had played and traveled the night before. The Lightning were quicker to pucks and generated several dangerous chances. But goalie Jack Campbell didn't allow the Lightning to grab an early lead - he made eight consecutive saves at the start. Then, during the first of their five power plays, the Lightning yielded a shorthanded goal to Warren Foegele. Following a Lightning turnover, Ryan McLeod passed the puck to Foegele, who skated into Tampa Bay end and snapped a shot from the slot past Andrei Vasilevskiy's stick at 7:45. It was Edmonton's first shot on goal in the game. It was also the third shorthanded goal yielded by the Lightning in the past four games.
While the Lightning did tie the game before the period ended - off the rush, Nikita Kucherov set up Brandon Hagel for a right circle one-timer into the net at 9:53. But the Foegele goal did seem to help the Oilers find their rhythm and the second half of the period was more evenly-contested.
Early in the second, the Lightning committed their first penalty of the game and the Oilers cashed in. Shortly before Connor McDavid's tap-in goal from the side of the net at 2:09, the Lightning had an opportunity to clear the zone, but failed to do so.
Then came the scary injury to Evander Kane. On the ensuing shift, the Lightning took another penalty. Off the face-off to begin the Edmonton power play, the puck slid to the corner boards. Following a puck battle, it caromed to the bottom of the circle, where McDavid nudged it to the slot. Leon Draisaitl snapped a backhand shot past Vasilevskiy to extend the lead at 4:07.
The consecutive goals took the wind out of the Lightning's sails. They struggled to apply pressure for the remainder of the period, even though they received three additional power play opportunities. Those unsuccessful power play chances kept the Lightning out of sync.
But the third period started well. Alex Killorn tipped in a Nick Perbix shot from the point at :49, cutting the deficit to one. The Lightning pressed for much of the frame and forced the Oilers to defend. Tampa Bay created a handful of scoring chances. But Campbell stopped the next 14 shots, preserving his team's lead and helping the Oilers post the road win.
Next up for the Lightning will be the front end of a home-and-home weekend set with the Capitals. The teams meet on Friday in D.C. We'll see if the Lightning can tighten up their special teams play.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Connor McDavid - Oilers. PPG and assist.
2. Jack Campbell - Oilers. 35 saves.
3. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 26 saves.
