Lightning blow lead in home opener, lose a ‘stinger’ to Flyers
TAMPA — When Lightning coach Jon Cooper glanced over at the opposing bench in the third period of Tuesday’s home opener, he saw a Flyers team full of energy and excitement, one much different from the one in front of him that seemingly was going through the motions.
“You look over at their bench and there was a whole lot of life on that bench in the third period, and you look on our bench and there wasn’t any,” Cooper said after the Lightning lost 3-2 at Amalie Arena. “So there probably lies a little bit of the issue.
“Maybe there’s some expectations and (the Lightning) think they can just throw your stick (on the ice) and we’re going to be OK. And that’s just not the case.”
The Lightning (1-3-0) have dropped three of their first four games to open the season and have their fewest points through four games (two) since starting 0-2-2 in 2008-09, Stamkos’ rookie year. They also had their 10-game winning streak against the Flyers halted.
This Lightning team is full of Stanley Cup champions and has some future Hall of Famers. But for the first time this season, Cooper questioned his players’ desire. He suggested they might be resting on their laurels, trying to earn wins with their resume rather than with sweat.
With the Lightning playing in Tampa for the first time after dropping two of three on their season-opening road trip, founder Phil Esposito and owner Jeff Vinik did the ceremonial puck drop to begin the season-long celebration of the franchise’s 30th year.
The Lightning controlled the game for most of the first two periods before blowing a two-goal lead in an unseemly way that resulted in them leaving the ice to a smattering of boos.
“I just think we lacked some urgency in some of the plays that we made,” captain Steven Stamkos said. “We can’t take for granted that just because what we’ve done in the past, especially with leads on home ice in important games, that we’re just going to fall back and everything’s going to be OK.
“It’s got to be urgent hockey. It’s got to be the plays that are not necessarily the risky ones but just the safe, sound plays that you’ve got to realize where we are in the game and the magnitude of the shift.”
After going up by two on a pair of power-play goals by Stamkos 2:47 apart in the second period — Stamkos’ fifth and sixth goals of the season — the Lightning allowed three straight goals, including two in the third period. The Flyers’ winning goal came after Tampa Bay defenseman Erik Cernak turned the puck over in his zone, gift-wrapping a point-blank attempt for Philadelphia center Noah Cates, who had an easy goal from the slot with 7:16 left in regulation.
There was a lot to like early in the game from the Lightning, and they had no shortage of offensive opportunities as they put up 38 shots on goal and 72 shot attempts. They had their best game in the faceoff circle, and their power play finally came to life. They mostly dominated zone play and sustained offensive pressure. But after the two power-play goals, they let the Flyers hang around, and that gave hope to a nothing-to-lose team, which got a third straight comeback win to open the season under new coach John Tortorella.
“Some of the things that we talked about coming into this game, it felt like we were putting it together for most parts of the game,” said Stamkos, who extended his season-opening goal streak to four games. “So we can’t look at this like it’s a complete mess. But we’ve got to start somewhere.
“We improved in some areas. Now, let’s improve on some others when we’re playing with the lead, especially in the third.”
Flyers forward Scott Laughton put in a long rebound from the left circle with 9:17 left in the second period to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to one. Moments later, Flyers forward Kevin Hayes had a wide-open look in front that goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy jumped out of the crease to stop.
Philadelphia evened the score early in the third when forward James van Riemsdyk redirected a puck into the back of the net on a power play.
Despite maintaining an edge in shot attempts, shots on goal and scoring chances in the third, the Lightning lost momentum, something that has been common early this season. They have been outscored 8-2 in the final period.
“This is a stinger,” Cooper said. “We should never leave this game with zero points. We probably should have left with two.
“It happens in this game. It happens when you play 82 games. Unfortunately for us, it’s happening a lot early in the season, but this group should close that game out, and we didn’t. That’s probably a little bit of concern.”
Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieintheYard.
• • •
Sign up for Lightning Strikes, a weekly newsletter from Bolts beat writer Eduardo A. Encina that brings you closer to the ice.
Never miss out on the latest with the Bucs, Rays, Lightning, Florida college sports and more. Follow our Tampa Bay Times sports team on Twitter and Facebook.
