Tampa BAE Lightning: Game 49 Post Mortem
January continues to suck
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedAnother tough loss
Bad power play, poor second
stupid mistakes, sad
The Lightning followed up their road trip by opening with a loss against the Chicago Blackhawks to start a 4 game home stand.
The Lightning had a really strong opening to the game. They controlled the flow, opened the scoring, but then they 0 for 3 on the power play in the first. Not scoring on that 1st period 4 minute power play to end the period was an absolute back breaker. It gave Chicago the spark they needed.
From there, the Blackhawks capitalized on their breaks. They cashed in on 5-on-3, made the Lightning pay when their defense made a mistake on both ends of the ice, and their goaltender gave them a chance to win. A not good 2nd period let the Hawks dictate the final 20 minutes and that’s it.
We talk a lot about complimentary football when discussing USF, but the same thing happened tonight inside Amalie Arena. Everyone was not on the same page and it showed.
Hell, the Bolts couldn’t even help themselves get a penalty. Late in the 3rd, Bedard is whistled for tripping Cernak. Play is dead. Penalty is called. You’re down 3-1 and you’ve got a power play with about 5 minutes to go. This is the chance to get back into this thing.
And Eyssimont goes for a retribution late hit after the whistle on Bedard. A scrum ensues. Bedard is called, Foligno is called, and Eyssimont gets 4 minutes on his own. Power play negated. That’s the kind of thing that should get you healthy scratched.
At any rate, this is who the Lightning are right now. A top heavy team that can’t get out of their own way.
Turn the page and get ready for a really competent Kings team on Thursday.