Fresh off a physical six-game series win over the Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning were at least bruised to start the second round. Approximately an hour before puck drop, it was announced that trade deadline acquisition David Savard wouldn’t dress due to an upper-body injury. Then, an injury to Erik Cernak late in the middle frame left the Bolts seriously undermanned. Not a stranger to tough luck, they gutted out a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday evening.
Game Flow
Period 1
The Lightning started out slow. Andrei Vasilevskiy was forced to be sharp, as his teammates allowed the Hurricanes multiple good looks at the net. That caught up to them nearly midway through the first period, with the team called for too many men. Served by Pat Maroon, the penalty kill came up big to hold the game scoreless.
Nearly five and a half minutes later, Nikita Kucherov was sent to the box for tripping Sebastian Aho. That sent the Bolts back to the kill again. Thankfully, they survived and entered the locker room scoreless after 20 minutes.
Period 2
Coming out to start the second, Tampa Bay looked rejuvenated. They were battling and creating opportunities to score. That caused the Hurricanes some problems, as they found themselves chasing the puck. Brock McGinn found himself penalized for high sticking as a result and the Bolts cashed in on the man advantage. Brayden Point deflected the puck past Alex Nedeljkovic, giving the Lightning a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, former Bolt Cedric Paquette was called for interfering with rookie Ross Colton. That power play lasted a little over a minute before Kucherov was sent to the box for cross-checking McGinn. The two teams then played 4-on-4 for 45 seconds before Carolina got their third power play. Neither team scored, so the score remained 1-0.
A few minutes passed and Dougie Hamilton was penalized for tripping Point, sending the Lightning back on the power play. The Hurricanes weathered that storm, killing the penalty.
Not long afterward, the Bolts got dealt with another blow. Cernak was sandwiched between two Carolina players and stayed down on the ice in pain. Team trainers came out to take a look, but Cernak skated off under his own power and went down the tunnel.
With 12 seconds remaining and the Hurricanes buzzing around Vasilevskiy, Blake Coleman tripped Jordan Martinook in the slot. That gave Carolina their fourth power play, an opportunity that would carry over into the third period.
Period 3
Entering the final frame, the Lightning needed to kill off Coleman’s penalty and play structured defense. The first one wasn’t accomplished, as Jake Bean’s shot from the point snuck past Vasilevskiy for a 1-1 tie. However, the second was, with the Bolts clamping down from there.
Barclay Goodrow took it from there, scoring the game-winner with about seven and a half minutes left in regulation. That made it 2-1.
The Hurricanes mounted a flurry of chances late, but couldn’t break through Vasilevskiy and the undermanned team in front of him.
Game Notes
- Head Coach Jon Cooper coached his 100th career playoff game with the Lightning in Game 1.
- Jake Bean’s game-tying power play goal in the third period was his first NHL playoff goal.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy made 37 saves on 38 shots.
- Brayden Point leads the team with five goals so far in the 2021 playoffs.
- After missing the entire regular season because of hip surgery, Nikita Kucherov leads the playoffs with 12 points in seven games.
Next Up
Game 2 of this Second Round is scheduled to take place Tuesday, June 1, at 7:30 PM EST.