Even when the Lightning are inconsistent through three periods, they are nearly unbeatable. This isn’t hyperbole—they are having one of the best regular seasons of any team in recent memory. But maybe because the first Tampa Bay Lightning-Calgary Flames' match was so freewheeling, or perhaps to set the tone for a possible Stanley Cup matchup in four months’ time, the Lightning came out like gangbusters starting at puck drop last night and never let up until the lead had expanded to four. They won the battle for real estate, poleaxing the Flames 6-3.
The Yanni Gourde goal that put the Lightning ahead 5-2 is a great example of how the Flames were completely derailed by Tampa Bay’s speed on the edges and around the net. The sequence started with just under five minutes left in the second period and the Flames’ top scoring line of Johnny Gaudreau-Sean Monahan-Elias Lindholm had an offensive zone faceoff. They would fail to register a shot attempt in the shift, and in the waning seconds before the line change, a pass was made to Gaudreau in the neutral zone for one last rush. He was emphatically denied by an obstinate Ryan McDonagh, who kept such a tight gap on Gaudreau that McDonagh could smell his opponent’s aftershave. It was the first entry attempt that resulted in a neutral zone turnover.
Sam Bennett’s line began to parade onto the ice, and the young, former top- five pick tried to knife through the neutral zone before he was disrupted by Steven Stamkos, who poked the puck away to force another takeaway in center ice. The puck was whisked into the offensive zone by Gourde, who dropped it to J.T. Miller, who swung it cross-ice to Stamkos.
Stamkos ringed the puck around to the Lightning defenseman along the left boards, and when Braydon Coburn whacked it on net, Gourde, who initially was marked by T.J. Brodie, cut beneath the goal line while Brodie remained over the top (above the crease). When Coburn’s shot came hurtling toward the net, Gourde peered out from behind the near post and jumped into the slot to deflect the puck. Brodie failed to block the shot or knock Gourde off his trajectory.
This sequence is important because the notes that were struck during this goal were played the entire game. The Lightning forwards were bursting through the middle in back pressure and hindering the Flames’ rush attack. Tampa Bay’s forwards were consistently getting inside position in front of the crease, as Anthony Cirelli scored from only a few feet out, and Nikita Kucherov’s long-distance lob found pay dirt because of Gourde’s screen. And the Lightning forced turnovers to create mismatches in the offensive zone. See the Cedric Paquette goal that was forced by the handiwork of Danick Martel and Ryan Callahan.
The Lightning forwards and defensemen were outstanding at stacking up bodies in the slot to take away shooting lanes, and were shrewd when eliminating passing lanes. Adam Erne got justifiable plaudits for his backcheck on Mark Giordano, but even subtle plays like Brayden Point’s pressure on Lindholm—which not only prevented a shorthanded goal, but squeezed him into a manageable shot on Andre Vasilevskiy without drawing a penalty—paid dividends. Point would score with the man advantage less than a minute later.
Last night was one of the best efforts the Lightning have put forth since the calendar flipped to 2019. They dominated the game on the perimeter and owned the middle,
and when they demonstrate this degree of speed in transition defense and in their breakouts, it will require a Herculean effort by an opponent to match. The Flames are a Western Conference powerhouse, but they got clobbered. Tampa Bay confirmed what many suspected: When called upon, they do have an extra gear.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
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