GAME ONe was certainly entertaining and exciting. It featured lead changes, dramatic moments, a penalty-shot goal, and a nail-biting finish. The Lightning enjoyed a terrific first period before enduring a rough second. Then they delivered a gutsy performance in the third, rallying from a 2-1 deficit en route to a 5-3 triumph.
The opening frame was a dominant showing for the Lightning, who held Nashville to just two shots on net and only seven total shot attempts. They consistently cleared pucks cleanly and efficiently from the defensive zone. They broke up Nashville’s rush attempts, often taking the puck away in the neutral zone. And they spent most of the period in possession of the puck in the offensive zone. They grabbed the lead when Nikita Kucherov ripped a one-timer from just inside the right point past a screened Juuse Saros at 9:48.
But despite generating several additional scoring chances in the frame, the Lightning were unable to add to their lead. They received back-to-back power-play chances near the end of the first, but did very little with either of them. The second of those carried into the start of the middle period. It was after the second opportunity ended that the Predators, buoyed by their strong kills, began pushing back. Just as the Lightning controlled possession in the first, the Preds did so in the second. Unlike the first period, the Lightning struggled with executing successful breakouts and were unable to slow up the Nashville rush through the neutral zone. The Preds gained additional momentum from two power-play chances they received in the stanza, even though they didn’t score on either one of them. Eventually, they tied the game. A long, clean breakout pass from Ryan McDonagh sprung Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly on a two-on-one rush. Forsberg set up O’Reilly for a redirection goal at 16:15. The score was 1-1 after two periods.
At the start of the third period, it took only eleven seconds for the Predators to grab the lead. After a center ice faceoff win for the Lightning, they fumbled the puck and Nashville stole it. O’Reilly passed to Forsberg, who fed Juuso Parssinen for an in-alone chance. Parssinen slipped the puck between the pads of Jonas Johansson.
But the Lightning immediately responded after the Parssinen goal. Just over a minute later, Waltteri Merela drew a penalty on Roman Josi and the Lightning went on their third power play of the game. This time, they cashed in. They worked hard to win several puck battles in the offensive zone, which helped them maintain possession of the puck. Soon after, Steven Stamkos’ centering feed from the corner led to Nick Paul’s rebound goal from the front of the net at 2:25.
The power-play goal sparked the Lightning, who controlled play on the ensuing shift. It was on that same shift that Brandon Hagel was awarded a penalty shot. Hagel converted on the attempt at 3:07, putting the puck off of the top of Saros’ right pad and into the net.
The Lightning controlled play over the next several minutes, but were whistled for a penalty at 7:05. Tommy Novak tied the game with a left-circle wrist shot at 8:48 that found its way past a screened Johansson.
For the second time in the period, the Lightning responded well after a goal against. Jeremy Lauzon high-sticked Conor Sheary at 9:44 and, for the second time in the period, the Lightning scored a power-play goal. Once again, it was Paul, who stuffed home a loose puck from the top of the crease after Saros made an initial save on a shot from Mikhail Sergachev. Paul’s second tally, which came with 9:08 remaining in the third, proved to be the game-winner. Still, there were plenty of anxious moments for the Lightning in the closing minutes. The Preds applied heavy pressure with Saros on the bench, but the Lightning, with the help of Johansson, navigated their way to the finish line. With just seconds remaining, Paul passed the puck to Kucherov, who skated out of the defensive zone, carried the puck up the ice, and finished a shot into the empty net at 19:58.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get out of the game free of injury. Tyler Motte blocked a shot during one of those second-period penalty kills and wasn’t able to finish the game. Jon Cooper indicated they’d know more about the extent of the injury on Wednesday.
But otherwise, there was much to like about this opening-night triumph. From a game-execution standpoint, the first period was the Lightning’s best frame of the night. But in terms of how well they dealt with adversity, the third period was their most impressive stanza.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Nick Paul - Lightning. Two goals and assist.
- Brayden Point - Lightning. Three assists.
- Ryan O’Reilly - Predators. Goal and assist.
