The Tampa Bay Times Forum was dim, with only light cast by the lasers and projections on the ice. Music thumped through the building as the seconds ticked down to puck drop. 19,204 boisterous hockey fans armed with rally drums frequently drowned out the pipe organ and arena announcements with their cheers. The atmosphere reached a fever pitch as the Tampa Bay Lightning took to the ice for their first playoff game in three years. For a roster populated with rookies, the experience must have been exhilarating and completely terrifying. Their greenness showed in a big way in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens. If the Lightning hope to make this a competitive series, they must adjust quickly to the elevated level of hockey and crowd insanity.
When previewing Tampa’s upcoming series with the Habs, many pundits highlighted their lack of experience as a big challenge for them. Players like Radko Gudas and Tyler Johnson were part of teams that won the AHL’s Calder Cup in 2012 and reached the finals in 2013. Jon Cooper was behind the bench for the 2012 championship. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a completely different beast. The lack of penalties, hard physicality or just the noise all ratchets these games to another level. Whatever the reason, the Bolts weren’t ready for this. Playoff series are seven games for a reason, but the Lightning need to acclimatize quickly to avoid digging a hole too deep to climb out of.
Defensive improvement has to be the biggest focus heading into tonight’s game. Tampa’s defensemen had difficulty with Montreal’s forecheck which resulted in a lot of turnovers. It wasn’t just the defensive squad that had a hard time maintaining puck possession. The forwards often tried and failed to make stretch passes through the neutral zone that frequently saw a Hab roar back with the puck on his stick. When Jon Cooper’s system is functioning well, every player on the team takes defensive responsibility. That went out the window on Wednesday as the Lightning were outshot 44-25. Goalie Anders Lindback has had a love-hate relationship with many Lightning fans, but he was the reason the score wasn’t more lopsided. His teammates hung him out to dry.
The good news is Cooper and his team have been extremely resilient. They may be young and inexperienced, but this is an advantage in this situation. They’re able to make adjustments as needed and go on from there. At practice today Cooper had the boys working extensively on break outs from their offensive zone. This was a huge issue for them Wednesday and it was addressed for Game 2. Mistakes were made, but they’re all things that can be corrected.
Tampa’s back up goalie is in net after an injury that has sidelined Ben Bishop indefinitely. Ondrej Palat is questionable for tonight’s game which leaves a huge hole in their lineup. The future is uncertain, but there is hope. The Lightning were terrible in Game 1. Montreal’s play was certainly elevated. Whether it was through luck or Lindback, they pushed the game into overtime. We may have seen Montreal’s best, but the Habs have yet to see the best from the Bolts. If Tampa Bay can play as we know they can, they should be able to tie this series before heading up to Canada.
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