5
0
Lightning stumble, fall in middle frame of measuring stick game.
BOS-5
TB-3
Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed five goals on 29 shots for the loss. He wasn’t good tonight. The softie he allowed in the First Period single-handedly undid arguably the best period of hockey the team played all season and went downhill from there.
First Period
8:57 TB Paul (7), (Stamkos, Killorn)
15:36 BOS Krejci (6), (McAvoy, Grzelcyk)
Second Period
5:07 BOS Foligno (4), (Zacha, Krejci)(PP)
5:38 BOS Coyle (6), (Frederic, Hall)
15:08 BOS Marchand (6), (Debrusk, Bergeron)
Third Period
3:41 BOS Pastrnak (12), (Debrusk, McAvoy)(PP)
4:02 TB Balcers (3), (Maroon)
10:38 TB Paul (8), (Hedman, Maroon)
Nick Paul was the game’s second star.
The First Period of tonight’s game proved to me that Boston is mortal. Vasilevskiy’s soft goal in the First Period and the overall play in the Second Period proved to me that Boston will kill you if you give up soft goals and go to box and generally let down your intensity and focus against them.
By no means am I panicked by tonight given the number of injuries the team is weathering right now and the fact this would’ve been a much more evenly played game without the self inflicted wounds. That said, there’s a little pressure going into the final game of this 10 game segment of the season and needing a point to feel like the team is right on pace for the playoffs. It’s important to have a little bounce back and I’m heartened the team did claw a couple of goals back in garbage time.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.
