There were two segments in which the Lightning weren't able to maintain that level though. The first of those took place in the final 10 minutes of the first period. During that time, the Lightning were a bit out of synch in their execution and, as a result, the Devils had the bulk of the puck possession. There were several faceoffs in the Lightning's defensive zone (most of which the Lightning won, so they were able to avoid some dangerous situations). What was interesting about this segment was that, even though the Devils owned most of the puck possession, the Lightning netted the game's first two goals. The first came off an offensive zone faceoff win - Tyler Johnson set up Ondrej Palat for a backhand goal in the slot. The other occurred in the final minute of the period, when Palat delivered a perfect seam pass to Johnson, who buried an open look from in front of the net. The other notable part of this segment was that, despite yielding much of the puck possession to the Devils, the Lightning defended very well without the puck and effectively limited New Jersey's scoring chances.
The second stretch came in the final 10 minutes of the second. This was when the Devils were at their most dangerous. It started with a dynamic New Jersey power play opportunity. While the Lightning got through the kill successfully, the Devils generated a lot of momentum. Shortly after the penalty ended, the Lightning committed a d-zone turnover and Tayler Hall finished an open chance from the slot. When the New Jersey second period power play began, the Lightning were outshooting the Devils, 18-15. By the time the period ended, the Devils owned a 26-20 shot advantage, so they recorded 11 of the period's final 13 shots.
But the Lightning regrouped in the locker room during the second intermission and delivered a phenomenal third period. Yes, the Devils popped in a power play goal at 9:35 to momentarily cut the Lightning lead to 3-2, but that was a blip on the radar. The Devils didn't even have a third period shot on goal until the power play began and they only managed five total shots in the frame. Less than three minutes after the New Jersey power play goal, the Lightning responded with a key tally for Alex Killorn off the rush. That goal propelled them across the finish line.
So for approximately 40 of the 60 minutes, the Lightning executed their game plan to a "T". In 10 of the other 20 minutes, they scored two goals. And during those shaky minutes in the second half of the second period, Andrei Vasilevskiy provided several key saves to help preserve his team's lead.
The Lightning received several outstanding individual performances. The line of Johnson, Palat and Brayden Point accounted for two even strength goals. Yanni Gourde was relentless in his puck pursuit - he netted an early second period power play goal and could have had a couple of other goals as well. His line, with Tony Cirelli and Killorn produced that important third period insurance goal. Victor Hedman was dominant, playing almost 28 minutes and consistently eating up pucks in the Lightning zone and thwarting New Jersey attempted rushes. Vasilevsky, as mentioned earlier, was very solid in net and stepped up when the Devils went on their second period surge. But, beyond any individual efforts, this was a team victory.
Lightning Radio Big Moment of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
Killorn's third period goal.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
