Lightning’s Point steps up in Game 2
Second-line centre scores a goal, adds three helpers as Tampa Bay ties series
Jon Cooper is a good coach who knows how to handle his players.
Before he told a TV audience Monday that “poor” Brayden Point might have been a minus-5 in Game 1 but the loss wasn’t his fault, Cooper would have made sure his 22-year-old forward understood that.
Point responded in Game 2 with a one-goal, three-assist performance as the Tampa Bay Lightning scored a 4-2 victory on Monday that evens the playoff series with the Boston Bruins 1-1.
The former third-round pick and linemates Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat — who also struggled mightily in the series opener — were the difference as the Lightning rebounded from a 6-2 loss.
It’s a good thing that unit stepped up, because Tampa’s top line of Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and J.T. Miller still has not registered a point in the series.
Hockey Night in Canada broadcasters Nick Kypreos and Kelly Hrudey provided good insight during the first intermission when they said Cooper told people Point has been his best player all season. That would be better than Kucherov (100 points), Stamkos (86 points) and Victor Hedman (likely Norris Trophy winner). That’s pretty good.
Point, who had 66 points, obviously has a lot of character to bounce back from a minus-5.
But it figures the Lightning are still going to need Stamkos and Kucherov to be the stars if they’re going to have a chance against the Bruins.
STARTS AND STOPS
Once again, desperation led to
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the expected fast start for a home team trying not to fall into a 0-2 hole. When Yanni Gourde gave the Lighting a 1-0 lead at 11:47 of the first period, it was with the team’s 10th shot on goal. The Bruins had exactly zero at that time. Patrice Bergeron gave Andrei Vasilevskiy his first test of the night at the 14:02 mark. It wasn’t really a shot as much as an attempt to jam the puck between the post and the goalie’s skate.
Not many players are hated by
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opponents so much that they can draw consecutive penalties that give their team a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:45, but then there’s nobody quite like Brad Marchand.
With the help of the penalties,
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the Bruins were down only 10-8 on the shots clock at the intermission. Tampa did sit back a bit, too.
Another controversial call in
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these playoffs: the Lightning should have been called for icing just before Palat’s goal that put them ahead 3-1.
Stamkos’ struggles are real. He
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has just one goal in his last 18 games.
BETWEEN PERIODS
Is there a more unpretentious
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person in the NHL than Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant? I say no.
As good as Tuukka Rask was in
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Game 1, what was he doing on Tyler Johnson’s second-period goal? Anticipating a pass? He leaves the net open to do it? Makes no sense. Hrudey pointed out that Rask thought Johnson was about to shoot to the left corner when he went high to the right. And his actions still make no sense.
Johnson’s goal was his 24th in
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the playoffs, tying him with Vincent Lecavalier for third on the Lightning ’s all-time list.
Speaking of whom, it was a dozen
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years and one week ago that Zdeno Chara was sitting on top of Lecavalier with fist cocked, deciding whether to clobber him in a playoff game that saw the Senators clobber the Lightning 8-4. Chara had one goal, one assist and seven penalty minutes in 26:15 of ice time. A dozen years and one week later, Chara played only 25:33.
RyanCallahanislongpasthisdays
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as a 50-point guy (remember when he scored 29 goals in 2011-12?), but as a fourth liner he still brings a lot to the table. His penalty killing, grit and leadership are valued by Tampa Bay. He also delivered a huge, tonesetting hit on big Bruins defenceman Adam McQuaid early in the first period. Yeah, the Lightning like him — but they’d like him a lot more if he didn’t still have one year left on a deal that carries a $5.8-million cap hit.
BACK TO THE POINT
Years from now you’ll tell people ■ you remember the playoff series between two teams with good rookie defencemen. By that point, Charlie McAvoy and Mikhail Sergachev should have a few Norris trophies between them. McAvoy, who had two assists in Game 1, displayed his offensive instincts when he jumped up into the play and finished off a pretty passing play with Marchand and Bergeron.
The camera caught Riley Nash reacting with the same “ohhhh” a fan would when he deflected a David Backes shot just over the net with the Bruins still trying to give Vasilevskiy his first test.
At some point, the fact that the Bruins’ power play was ranked fourth during the regular season and the Lightning penalty kill was 28th would figure to sting Tampa.