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After six straight Tampa Bay Lightning losses, things are starting to sound pretty redundant in Bolts Nation when it comes to commentary. Last night, the lowly Washington Capitals came into the Tampa Bay Times Forum, took care of business, and sent the Lightning home in shame. While Lightning head coach Guy Boucher continued to praise the work ethic of his group, the fact remains that his team was unable to perform in a game that served as a perfect opportunity to grab two points.
Unfortunately for the Lightning, this game was over right from the second the puck hit the ice. Unlike the unconfident Lightning, the Caps came out with speed, tenacity, and a deadly forecheck. They generated good chances early and, had it not been for Mathieu Garon, could have been up by a few goals after one frame.
That hard work paid off when the Capitals opened the scoring on the man advantage with a great bang-bang play. Troy Brouwer was left all alone in the slot and, once fed the puck, he made no mistake. His seventh of the season highlighted the Capitals’ innate ability to move the puck with precision and confidence when on the man advantage. To be blunt – it was a clinic out there.
Martin St. Louis tied the game later in the first by forcing the puck past Braden Holtby with drive and dedication. St. Louis’ goal won’t show up on any highlight reel or Top 10, but it was a goal that the Lightning desperately needed. If anything, it proved that hard work and effort in the dirty areas of the ice do pay off; the Lightning need to get back to that if they ever want to snap out of this skid. From that point on, it was all Capitals.
The Capitals’ speed seemed to confound the Lightning’s defense for a large portion of the evening and it paid off in the second period when Eric Fehr potted his second of the season. Matt Carle was caught looking slothful and the Caps took advantage to restore their one goal lead. Unfortunately, gaffes like Carle’s have become all too common for the Lightning this season.
Just over two minutes into the third period, Eric Fehr scored his second of the night by wiring a slapshot right past Mathieu Garon to give the Capitals a two goal lead. While it’s easy to say ‘Fehr made a great shot,’ the reality is that said goal is one that any National Hockey League goaltender has to have. A goal against like that can be the difference between zero points, a point, or even two; that was certainly the case last night.
Midway through the frame, Jay Beagle extended the Capitals’ lead to three with some hard work in the Lightning crease; once again, the Capitals exhibited that hard work and gritty play do in fact show up on the scoreboard. That was all the Capitals would need to skate to victory, despite another late Lightning charge which saw Teddy Purcell and Nate Thompson notch tallies.
A 4-3 result doesn’t tell the story; Guy Boucher can praise the team’s work ethic all he wants, but the fact remains that the Capitals outworked the Lightning, outcoached the Lightning, and outplayed the Lightning.
While there was certainly an abundance of negatives to take away from last night’s tilt, one positive to note was the play of Alex Killorn, Tom Pyatt and Richard Panik. All night long, that trio was quick, tenacious, and forceful at both ends of the rink. It’s not much, but it’s definitely something to build on for next game against the Panthers.
Now only two points out of last place in the conference, the Lightning have to be asking themselves what the difference between this year’s team and last year’s team really is. Everybody, yes everybody, needs to be better. There is too much talent on this team for it not to be at least moderately successful. A record of 6-6-1 is simply not good enough for a team that had incredibly high hopes for itself heading into the season.
As always, thanks for reading.
I forget what it’s like to write about a win.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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