Three key plays had a significant impact on the outcome of this game.
With the Lightning leading 1-0, LA goalie Anton Forsberg robbed Dominic James in the closing seconds of the first period. Forsberg stopped the puck with the top of his glove, deflecting it enough so that it didn’t enter the net. If not for that save, the Lightning would have taken a multi-goal lead. Instead, the Kings stayed within a goal after 20 minutes.
Just over five minutes into the second period, Adrian Kempe wired a perfect shot from the high slot to tie the game. He put the puck between the legs of Charle-Edouard D’Astous and placed it above Andrei Vasilevsky’s left pad. It was a goal-scorer’s goal and evened the score.
Finally, with just over four minutes left in the second period, the Lightning committed an unforced turnover just inside the offensive blue line. Kempe intercepted the puck and scored on the ensuing breakaway to give LA a 2-1 lead.
The Kings were playing the second half of a back-to-back while the Lightning weren’t. Ideally, the Lightning would have forced LA to rally from a deficit throughout the game. Instead, those three key plays allowed the Kings to have the lead over the final 24 minutes, and the Lightning were the ones chasing the game.
The Kings are also one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. They knew how to protect a one-goal lead in the third period.
Compounding matters for the Lightning was the fact that they were without two of their top offensive players for the entire contest: Brandon Hagel missed the game because of an injury, and Nikita Kucherov wasn’t able to play due to illness. Then they lost Anthony Cirelli after an on-ice collision in the third period.
Still, the Lightning did compete hard and dictated play for much of the night. They outshot the Kings, 32-20, and owned a massive 77-33 shot attempt advantage. But 45 of those shot attempts either missed the net or were blocked. When they were able to generate a dangerous chance, Forsberg gave his team key stops. Certainly, the one on James at the end of the first period was his best, but that wasn’t his only difficult save of the night.
After the game, Jon Cooper stated that the Lightning are not executing as well at home (where they’ve lost four straight in regulation and are 8-9-0 on the season) as they have on the road (where they’ve gone 10-4-3). They’ll look to sharpen things and end the home skid when they host Carolina on Saturday.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Adrian Kempe — Kings. Two goals.
- Anton Forsberg — Kings. 31 saves.
- J.J. Moser — Lightning.
