This was the biggest win of the season for the Lightning so far. Down 3-0 after the first period against one of the top teams in the NHL, they were staring at the prospect of a fifth consecutive home regulation loss. Instead, they rallied to tie the game twice before eventually grabbing the lead for good in the third period.
After Thursday’s 2-1 loss to LA, Jon Cooper stated that one of the issues the Lightning have faced during the home losing streak is that they’ve been forced to chase games. Except for a brief 1-0 lead against the Kings, the Lightning had either been tied or trailing for every other minute of the skid.
Given that backdrop, this game certainly did not start ideally. After Pyotr Kochetkov stopped a Darren Raddysh breakaway on one of the opening shifts, the Hurricanes grabbed the lead. Jordan Staal intercepted a Raddysh attempted outlet from the d-zone, creating a two-on-one advantage. Staal fed Eric Robinson for a one-timer that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy at 2:43. On the next shift, Robinson drew a penalty on Declan Carlile, and the Hurricanes scored on the ensuing power play. Jackson Blake was left open at the bottom of the left circle and deflected a shot past Vasilevskiy at 4:00.
Things got worse for the Lightning when Jack Finley high-sticked Mike Reilly at 10:35, drawing blood in the process. That gave the Hurricanes a four-minute power-play. As the first infraction wound down, the Lightning committed another costly turnover. A Raddysh to Ryan McDonagh D-to-D pass behind the Lightning net was not executed cleanly, and Logan Stankoven set up Bradly Nadeau for a goal from the slot at 12:27.
The only bright spot for the Lightning in the remaining seven and a half minutes of the period was that they navigated through the back end of the double-minor and another penalty kill later in the frame. Still, they faced a three-goal deficit with 40 minutes remaining.
It took Tampa Bay only 80 seconds in the second period to make it a one-goal game. Dominic James set up Gage Goncalves at the top of the crease for their first tally. Fifty seconds later, Charle-Edouard D’Astous wired a shot/pass from the slot to the side of the net, where Brayden Point deflected it in at 1:20.
The Lightning dominated the next several minutes, creating several Grade-A scoring chances. But they couldn’t find the tying goal. Kochetkov made several key saves, and the Lightning missed the net on other attempts. As the period progressed, the Hurricanes began tilting the ice back in their favor. The Lightning struggled to clear pucks, and the ‘Canes applied relentless pressure. At one point, defensemen Max Crozier and Declan Carlile endured a one-minute and forty-five second shift. Their next shift was even longer: 2:28 for Crozier and 2:55 for Carlile. But the Lightning got through that tough segment, and moments after Carlile finally was able to get off the ice, the Lightning tied the game. A poor line change for Carolina allowed James and Jack Finley to counter on a two-on-zero rush. James led Finley on a breakaway, and Finley finished his own rebound at 16:36.
The Lightning killed one final penalty at the end of the second to keep the game tied at three, but they surrendered a go-ahead goal early in the third. Another turnover—this one in the neutral zone—opened up a two-on-one rush for Carolina. Mark Jankowski fed Andrei Svechnikov for an in-alone chance, and Svechnikov finished a backhander at 2:49.
But on what might have been the most important goal the Lightning scored in the game, McDonagh tied the score on the very next shift. At the Carolina blue line, he broke past two Carolina players and had a clear path to the net. He attempted to stickhandle to his backhand, but his stickblade went over the puck (the Kucherov breakaway move from several years ago). The puck slid between Kochetkov’s pads. The 4-3 deficit lasted only 24 seconds.
Just over three minutes later, the Lightning got their first lead. Jake Guentzel deflected J.J. Moser’s left-point shot on net. Kochetkov made the initial save, but Guentzel slid in the rebound at 6:38.
The Lightning defended well for the remainder of the game, limiting shots and scoring chances. Carolina’s best look came during the six-on-five after pulling the goalie, but Vasilevskiy denied Svechnikov’s left-circle shot. Soon after, Guentzel sealed the win with an empty-netter.
It’s improbable to rally from a three-goal deficit. It’s especially rare to do it to a top team that had surrendered a three-goal lead the night before. But the Lightning scored their way out of the hole they dug in the first period to end the skid and send the fans home happy.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Jake Guentzel — Lightning. Two goals.
- Ryan McDonagh — Lightning. Goal and assist.
- Dominic James — Lightning. Two assists.
