Before Wednesday’s game, it was known that the Steven Stamkos-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov line had been dismantled. Saturday’s drubbing by the Colorado Avalanche was surely a catalyst, along with the fact that this line only had one really productive game in their short stint together. But more interestingly, Jon Cooper spread the stars across three lines. The early return was a 3-2 win over the Penguins, during which the Lightning were the faster team and controlled the neutral zone. I’ve selected two topics that encapsulate the game.
The chemistry of the Nikita Kucherov-Anthony Cirelli-Alex Killorn line
The first goal by this Kucherov line contained a lot of interesting tidbits. First, it was a paean to gap control and its salience in influencing a rush chance. Erik Cernak’s tight gap forced consecutive turnovers from Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, with the latter’s giveaway leading to Kucherov’s rush down the wing where he pulled up and found Killorn cutting down the weak side.
What was crucial about the Kucherov rush was that Marcus Pettersson kept a tight enough gap to halt Kucherov’s forward momentum, but he failed to press him, and Pettersson’s sag allowed Kucherov to make a pass through the middle. Nevertheless, the play wouldn’t have worked if Killorn were not all alone on the weak side, where he received the pass from Kucherov, after which Cirelli nearly buried the follow-up attempt. But what happened after Kucherov collected the rebound off of the Cirelli chance was where things really splintered for Pittsburgh.
Kucherov works a give-and-go with Mikhail Sergachev, and No. 86 sails a puck from the point toward the right glove of goaltender Tristan Jarry. The puck doesn’t go in if Killorn does not come back toward the puck. And that in itself is an achievement, because when Kucherov scoops up the puck after Cirelli’s attempt, Killorn is all the way in the corner by the Dunkin’ Donuts sign. But Killorn slides above the traffic (Justin Schultz is slow to get there because of the bodies in the slot), and when the puck reaches the hashmark, he has separation to deflect the shot.
Why did Kucherov have so much time other than the fact that Pittsburgh’s defense was scrambled in transition? If you watch the replay, you will see Pettersson direct Crosby toward the point, as Pettersson is going to be jousting with Cirelli in the low slot. But Crosby is slow to close out Kucherov, who, with that much time, easily finds the shooting lane.
In the six minutes they played together at 5v5, this Kucherov line generated 6 Scoring Chances. They forced turnovers along the boards and through the middle and generated several nice shot attempts from below the circles. The line makes sense. Kucherov gets to dominate the puck on the rush, and Cirelli and Killorn are two of the most adept Lightning forwards at working below the dots. They deflect pucks well and are Tampa Bay’s best players at retrieving the puck. It is also worth saying that, once Cirelli went to the box, this line was essentially split up, and Killorn and Cirelli played with Yanni Gourde while Kucherov was paired again with Point, who struggled all night. Still, the game provided reassurance that Cooper can split up the three stars and see production with line combinations he has not tried.
The Tampa Bay defensemen
The Lightning forwards were engaged last night. They were consistently winning races to the corners and providing vital back pressure in transition. Tampa Bay’s defensive corps responded to the energy from the forwards, ratcheting up their aggression with their pinching and keeping far tighter gaps (see above).
The Cedric Paquette goal was emblematic of the defense’s role over 200 feet. The puck was chipped deep by Pittsburgh, but despite pressure from Penguins forward Joseph Blandisi, Erik Cernak controlled the dump-in and steered the puck to his partner Ryan McDonagh. Cernak did not stop there. He scurried up the weak side offering support to his teammate Patrick Maroon, who McDonagh had passed to as his outlet. When Maroon passed it to Cernak, he provided an important function: he carried the puck from blue line-to-blue line and dumped the puck in right as he was confronted on the entry.
When the forecheck forced a turnover off Erik Gudbranson, it was McDonagh who jumped up to the middle slot and fired a quick shot.
Last night may have been the best game from the Lightning defensemen all season. They were stellar with their gap control. The breakout was crisper, and they were making good reads on their first pass off the retrieval and when to jump in on a pinch. The Penguins’ defense in the neutral zone was porous, and the Lightning defensemen took advantage.
The Bolts forwards needs the defensemen joining the transition as the second wave and to be bulwarks along the wall on the forecheck. Perhaps most importantly, the Lightning defensemen were finding the shooting lanes last night, and partly that was because they were getting the puck off their stick faster, instead of hesitating. In Pittsburgh’s defense, this game was the second of a back-to-back. But then again, Colorado was also playing the second of a back-to-back. Against Pittsburgh, the Lightning controlled play, and the defensemen fueled possession dominance.
In the Kubler-Ross model of the five stages of grief, the last stage is acceptance. Last year’s loss to Columbus was traumatic, but the Lightning seem to recognize the need for systemic changes. They are forechecking. They are shooting the puck more. And last night they even provided transition defense. Veering out of one’s comfort zone is going to provoke hiccups, but the regular season is the time to acclimate and try to find a comfort level. Last night’s victory was an encouraging step forward.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
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