The Tampa Bay Lightning’s patience paid off. Through a gate of Ross Colton With 3.8 seconds remaining, they won Game 2 of Round 2 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Thursday. After two away wins in the FLA Live Arena, the Lightning are 2-0 up in the series.
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Nikita Kucherov initiated the decisive action with a no-look backhand pass from behind the goal. Colton didn’t hesitate and put the puck under the bar with a direct acceptance. It was the second-latest playoff opening goal in Lightning franchise history. Just Tyler Johnson had taken a little more time in Game 3 of the second round against the Montreal Canadiens in 2015. His goal came two seconds before the end of the game.
“When you’re on the ice with Kuch, you have to be ready for anything. He’s got eyes behind him. It was an incredible pass,” said Colton of his team-mate’s preliminary work. “When I saw him with the puck behind the goal, I just pulled in front of the goal. Luckily the disc hit the beam,” the attacker described the scoring of the winning goal from his point of view.
Video: TBL@FLA, Gm2: Colton and Kucherov on a late goal
The Lightning presented themselves in the style of a savvy champion. As the spectators in the arena braced themselves for extra time, they launched one last attack and tied the sack before the final signal. It didn’t matter at all that the Panthers had more game shares beforehand. 37:29 shots on goal, 77:52 shot attempts and 52:35 checks from the point of view of the hosts testify to their superiority.
Lightning goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy once again offered an outstanding performance. Among his 36 saves were a number of brilliant saves. Especially in the last third he kept his team in the game. Nevertheless, he should have been annoyed in one situation. Through on the Panthers’ only goal Eetu Luostarinen he looked unhappy for the 1:1 equalization in the second round. The puck slipped between his arm and body and tumbled over the line.
The Lightning had to resort to strikers again Brayden Point dispense. He’s suffering from a lower body injury that knocked him out in Game 1 against the Panthers. Coach Jon Cooper therefore decided again to send only eleven forwards into the race and instead field a seventh defender. This measure had often paid off for Tampa Bay in the past, as it did this time.
On the defensive, the Lightning convinced with their great fighting spirit. They blocked 24 Panthers shots. That was one of the main reasons that Tampa Bay survived all four shorthanded situations unscathed. But the tireless effort took its toll. the strikers Steven Stamkos and Brandon Hagel as well as defenders Erik Cernak had to go to the cabin for a short time after blocks. However, they all returned to the ice.
“That’s the sacrifice you have to make at this point in the year,” said Stamkos. “We expect everyone in the group to give it their all, whether it’s taking penalties, blocking shots, catching a check or making a play. And that’s what’s happening. Everyone’s ready for it. That is an enormous asset for our team,” explained the captain.
The Lightning special teams not only worked to protect their own zone, but also on the other side of the field. The 1:0 of Corey Perry resulted from a power play. It was the defending champion’s fourth overtime goal in the series against the Panthers. Going 4-1 in Game 1, Tampa Bay had turned numerical superiority into a goal three times.
Due to the two away wins in Sunrise, the Lightning hold all the trumps in their hands. But Coach Cooper doesn’t want to cause too much euphoria. “We’re two games closer to our goal, but we’re still a long way from it. I’ve preached this over and over again throughout the past series and I still do it now: tonight was just one game. But we came out to make a series win,” he said.
Game 3 between the Panthers and the Lightning takes place Sunday (1:30 pm ET; NHL.tv; 7:30 pm EDT) at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.
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