So what gives?
How could a unit that was so effective last season struggle so mightily to start this season, particularly when most of the same players are still there?
Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde said there are a number of factors that have led to less-than-stellar numbers for the penalty kill this season, but probably the biggest is confidence.
Last season, the Lightning didn't surrender an opponent power-play goal until the seventh game of the season and only gave up three total through the month of October. The Bolts didn't allow multiple power-play goals in a contest until the 14th game of the season.
That ideal start gave the penalty kill confidence that would buoy them through the remainder of the season.
In 2019-20, the Lightning penalty kill gave up multiple power-play goals in the second and third game of the season and has been struggling to right the ship since.
"On the penalty kill, when it's struggling, you lose your confidence on it. You panic. Now you panic on a clear," Lalonde said. "I think Hedman's clear is a perfect example. Hedman is as poised, as skilled of a player you have in the world, and if that's a 5-on-5 play or if that's a practice, there's no doubt in my mind he controls it, he has time with it. This is a situation the penalty kill is struggling, we're anxious on it and he rushes a clear, he panics on it and doesn't get it out. Maybe when you're not as confident, we're missing some pressure situations or some surround situations and we're losing some aggressiveness on our PK. I just think it's not confident right now, and we're not executing on it. I don't think it's a panic situation, but it's something the group, and it starts with the staff, we need to address and improve on."
The kill Lalonde refers to is the final kill in regulation in the Nashville game, where the Lightning were protecting a 2-1 lead. Nashville had done next to nothing at 5-on-5 the entire game.
"We gave up four 5-on-5 chances against, and I don't know if we've done that since I've been here," Lalonde said.
The only way the Predators were going to have a chance to tie the game was on a power play, which they were granted with 5:29 remaining when Ryan McDonagh was whistled for interference in the defensive zone. Lightning goalie Curtis McElhinney blocked a shot on the ensuing power play. Erik Cernak collected the rebound in the slot and passed in front to Victor Hedman, who had time and space to skate with the puck and find a lane for a clear.
Instead, Hedman hurriedly tried to send the puck up the ice, but Roman Josi was able to knock it out of the air and keep it in the zone. Five seconds later, Josi took a pass from just inside the blue line and ripped a shot through traffic and past McElhinney into the net to tie the game 2-2.
"I think there's some missed plays out there, some missed opportunities," Lalonde said. "Again, we have had what looks like bad luck because it's been a skate, a puck off a skate in the net or a puck going wide that we deflect in or it's been a clear opportunity the guy picks it out of the air and then leads right to a goal. But prior to that, there's been missed opportunities. We got beat on a face-off. We won a face-off on the penalty kill late and they jumped us. Their face-off intensity was better than ours. We had a surround pressure situation that we missed on earlier that may go unseen to the average fans but then it looks like a bad luck play. But we're not executing prior to that. I think it's the same thing on the power play a little bit. When we're set up and we're comfortable, it looks very good. But we had some trouble with our entries. And again, those are skilled guys and we lose some momentum from it."
