Mishkin's Extra Shift: Game 4 - Lightning vs. Hurricanes

Hmm, think there's a bit to unpack in this one? On the Lightning's side, they had both terrific defensive play and subpar defensive play. Three dazzling power plays that helped them rally to win the game. But also one poor man advantage that gave the Hurricanes momentum. The game featured lots of scoring chances and multiple lead changes. But also, a lock-it-down third period performance from the Lightning. To break it down, let's go chronologically and relive all of the ups and downs of Game Four.

The first period was a strong one for the Lightning. They outshot the Hurricanes, 12-7, owned a majority of the possession time, and generated most of the scoring chances. Petr Mrazek was sharp in holding the Lightning to just one goal. He made several close-range saves, including a breakaway stop on Pat Maroon. The Lightning goal came after the Hurricanes got caught with four of their five players too high in the defensive zone. Dougie Hamilton blocked a pass from Ondrej Palat and the puck ricocheted towards Andrei Svechnikov. But it skipped over Svechnikov's stick and Erik Cernak held the puck in at the right point. After Cernak fed Palat at the left circle, Hamilton didn't recover in time to prevent a pass from Palat to Point at the side of the net. Point redirected the puck into an open side of the net at 14:24.
Down 1-0 after one, the Hurricanes began the second period applying heavy pressure. Their top line of Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and Svechnikov enjoyed a long, offensive zone shift for nearly a minute. The shift ended when Svechnikov tripped Point behind the Lightning net and the 'Canes went on what was already their third penalty kill of the game. It was a fantastic kill for Carolina - and a terrible power play for the Lightning. The only shot on goal during the two-minute span was a shorthanded chance for Aho. The strong kill provided momentum for Carolina and, on the shift after the penalty ended, the Hurricanes tied the game. Jordan Staal set up Teravainen in the slot and he buried a one-timer into the Lightning net. The shift after a goal is always an important one - for both teams. Carolina would tally two goals during the second period on shifts after another goal had been recorded. The first of those came from Jesper Fast, just 39 seconds after Teravainen had tied it. The second occurred on the shift after Steven Stamkos' power play goal at 9:54 had made it 2-2. Hamilton's point shot beat a screened Andrei Vasilevskiy 41 seconds later. When Jaccob Slavin scored from a bad angle at 12:41, it was 4-2.
The 14-minute stretch at the start of the second period was Carolina's best performance in the series to date. And the Lightning's worst. The Hurricanes got to their forechecking game and repeatedly won puck battles in the Tampa Bay defensive zone. At the same time, the Lightning struggled to make plays that could have alleviated the forechecking pressure. That led to many long, dangerous offensive zone shifts for the Hurricanes. And they translated that possession time into scoring chances and goals. After netting a total of five goals over the first three games of the series, the Hurricanes erupted for four goals over a span of 8:11 during the second period.
Of course, that opening 14-minute segment also included the Stamkos power play goal. On that goal, Nikita Kucherov gained entry in the offensive zone and, as he chased the puck into the left corner, drew two Carolina penalty killers with him. He won the race to the puck and made a play to Stamkos at the left circle. Stamkos hurried the puck to the front of the net, where a scramble ensued. Mrazek stopped a Point shot from the slot, but couldn't contain the rebound. Killorn put another shot off the crossbar before Stamkos grabbed the rebound and put it in.
After three unsuccessful power play chances to start the game - including the one at the start of the second that fueled Carolina's momentum - the Lightning had converted on their fourth. And the power play's impact would continue as the second period wound down.
Just a minute and a half after Slavin's goal had made it 4-2, Barclay Goodrow pivoted around Jake Bean in the neutral zone and drew a hooking minor. Twenty-seven seconds later, Kucherov zipped a shot from the right circle into the top of the net. Anthony Cirelli won the face-off from Staal to begin the man-advantage and the 'Canes never got the puck out of the defensive zone.
Unlike on the two earlier plays on which they had scored on the shift after a goal, Carolina didn't push back on the shift following Kucherov's goal. Instead, the Lightning built their own momentum. Tyler Johnson tied the game at 17:10 with a goal off the rush. That play stared with Victor Hedman delivering a quick pass up ice to Maroon, who gave it to Ross Colton. From the left point, Colton moved it to Johnson at the right circle. Johnson's shot nicked off Hamilton and deflected off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.
Before the period was done, the Lightning had the lead back. Svechnikov took his third minor penalty of the game, committing a roughing minor at 19:07. Similar to the Kucherov power play goal, the Lightning stuck quickly. Cirelli won another offensive zone face-off to begin the man advantage so the Lightning started with possession. Carolina almost got the puck out. But a gamble from Staal backfired. As a loose puck slid towards the right point, Staal pursued it and tried to clear it past Hedman. But Hedman reached the puck first and slapped it back to Cirelli in the right corner. When the puck didn't get out, both Staal and Brock McGinn were caught out of position. Cirelli fed Kucherov at the right circle and he slid it across to Stamkos at the left circle. Stamkos wristed it in at 19:37.
The period ended with each team scoring four times. So the Lightning (again) took a one-goal lead into the intermission. And in the third period, they locked things down defensively, Unlike the second, the Hurricanes generated very little forechecking pressure. The Lightning delivered a solid penalty kill early in the frame when the game was still 5-4, holding Carolina without a shot. Throughout the frame, the Lightning avoided turnovers, took away Carolina's time and space, and worked pucks deep into the offensive zone. They added to their lead when Palat stole the puck from Bean at the Lightning blue line and countered on an odd-man rush. He set up Kucherov, who ripped a one-timer from the high slot through the pads of Mrazek at 6:01
The Hurricanes finished the third period with just six shots on net. Up until they pulled the goalie with 2:46 remaining, they had posted only two shots on goal. They added four more in the closing minutes after pulling Mrazek for an extra attacker, but Vasilevskiy stopped them all.
The Lightning's top players helped them pull out a victory. Stamkos and Kucherov both had two goals and an assist. Point posted a goal and an assist. But the third period defensive effort was team-wide.
For the Hurricanes, they weren't able to translate their dominant second period stretch into a victory - one that would have tied the series. Certainly, they hurt themselves with penalties. Three of their six kills came after their players took penalties in the offensive zone. There were two penalties that resulted from Lightning players being hit in the head. (And the Lightning's power play total doesn't include a high-sticking infraction that the officials missed on Brady Skjei at the beginning of the game.) Then, of course, the Carolina penalty kill couldn't navigate through the volume of penalties. The Hurricanes did well to kill the first three, but they allowed goals on the next three.
This series has followed the exact trajectory of the Lightning's first round matchup with Florida. Two road wins for the Lightning put them up early. Then came an overtime loss in Game Three at home. A wild Game Four victory gave them a 3-1 series lead. At this point, however, the Lightning will look to change the script from Round One, in which they lost Game Five on the road to the Panthers.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Nikita Kucherov - Lightning. Two goals and assist.
2. Steven Stamkos - Lightning. Two goals and assist.
3. Brayden Point - Lightning. Goal and assist.