The Bolts controlled much of the puck possession in the first period, but weren't able to translate that possession advantage into many scoring chances. Perhaps their best first period look came from Anthony Cirelli (and it yielded a rare rebound from goalie Keith Kinkaid). But many of their 14 first period shots were not especially dangerous. Credit the Devils for keeping their defensive structure and preventing open looks for the Lightning. Also, Kinkaid did well to swallow up many of those initial shots and not allow rebounds.
At the other end, the Lightning were very efficient at getting pucks out of their own zone cleanly and not allowing odd-man rushes to the Devils (that was a problem in the earlier games against New Jersey). But they did endure a couple of tough d-zone shifts late in the frame and the second of those yielded a rebound goal for Nico Hischier.
The second period featured more puck possession for the Devils. The Lightning weren't quite as crisp in their execution and the Devils, like the Lightning in the first, did well to hold onto pucks in the offensive zone. Just past the halfway point of the period, the Lightning's five-man unit got stuck on the ice in the d-zone (after initially applying offensive zone pressure). They lost coverage on Kyle Palmieri, who finished a shot from the slot.
The third period was the Lightning's strongest of the game. With a big puck possession advantage, the Lightning posted 29 shot attempts (as opposed to only 12 attempts for the Devils). During an early third period power play, Ondrej Palat put in a rebound (one of the few Kinkaid allowed) and pulled the Lightning to within a goal. But despite the big possession advantage, the Lightning didn't generate many more Grade-A looks. The Devils were playing the second half of a back-to-back and this game was their first contest back home after a long road trip. They hung in there in the third, though, and kept their d-zone structure. So even though they turned some pucks over and committed several icings, they didn't let the Lightning get many dangerous pucks to the net. The Devils blocked 10 third period shots.
From the Lightning's perspective, it's always disappointing to lose, but in terms of their team defense, they had a pretty solid game. Unfortunately for them, so did the Devils.
Lightning Radio Big Moment of the Game:
Hischier's first period goal.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
