Lightning learn costly lesson in Game 1 loss
TAMPA — The message was clear and simple coming out of the Tampa Bay Lightning dressing room after their 2-1 Game 1 loss in the Stanley Cup Final: you can’t sit back against the Chicago Blackhawks with a lead.
Via War on Ice, here’s how the possession game drastically changed after the third period began:
The gameplan Tampa brought for the final two periods against Chicago was similar to the one they imposed against the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. Sticks clogged passing and shooting lanes; bodies created a wall in front of Ben Bishop not allowing many shots through — the Blackhawks had 13 shots through two periods — and the likes of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were held in check. But as the Lightning learned, you can only do that for so long against them.
In the third period, Tampa were less aggressive on the forecheck and worried too much about protecting their 1-0 lead, and it cost them.
“For whatever reason, whether it was we were a little nervous or a little anxious, we played a good game,” said Steven Stamkos. “You just can’t sit back and just give them the puck, especially a team like that. Maybe you can get away with it with a team that’s not as skilled or a team that’s not as confident in these situations, but I think we’ll watch the tape and look at the things we did really well.”
Desperate to even the score, Chicago pressed and finally broke through with 6:32 left in the third period. Bishop was screened and a Teuvo Teravainen shot made its way through to tie the game. The Blackhawks didn’t wait long after that to take the lead as Antoine Vermette fired home a shot 118 seconds later, thanks to some defensive zone pressure from Teravainen to force a turnover.
“We kind of [played the same way] against New York and it worked out,” said Bishop, “so we were kind of doing the same thing and they get one and then it’s kind of hard to turn it back on again.”
Prior to Game 1, the Lightning were 41-0-2 in the regular season and playoffs when leading after two periods. Their gameplan was working wonderfully, but it was still only a 1-0 lead and Tampa had numerous chances to increase that, but failed to do so.
“I thought we hung in there,” said head coach Jon Cooper. “Sometimes you got to get more than one. If you’re going to give up two in a game, you should have a chance at least to win that game. We didn’t tonight.”
As both Stamkos and Cooper said afterward, Tampa did a lot of good things in Game 1. They shutdown the Blackhawks’ top guns, limited Grade-A scoring by Chicago and kept the pressure on until they went into a shell in the third period. If Game 2 presents a similar situation, that will likely change.
“You want to protect the lead and we’ve been quite successful in doing so in past games,” said Anton Stralman. “This time, we’re playing a highly skilled team and they’re a little bit too good to give that much room and that much puck possession. So, lesson learned.”
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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