By Are Lightning Ready to Face Ovechkin and the Capitals?!
The Tampa Bay Lightning return home Saturday after opening the season with a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Almost nothing worked for the Bolts. Igor Shesterkin’s empty-net goal, the first goalie goal in Rangers history, put a statement point on the night.
Brandon Hagel said after the game that the Lightning lacked emotion. That’s a surprising problem for a team coming off a long offseason and finally playing meaningful hockey again.
The numbers showed problems in several areas. Tampa and New York finished even in shots, 25-25, but the Lightning won only 39% of their faceoffs.
The teams split the draws 50-50 in the first period. Tampa then won just five of 23 in the second – only 22% – while New York took control. The Lightning recovered to 50% in the third.
Then there was the power play. Seven opportunities. Zero goals.
Carlson’s Role Sparks Questions
The power play looks very different without Darren Raddysh and his point shot. Victor Hedman no longer gets the same opportunities with the top unit, while John Carlson has stepped into a major role.
So far, it hasn’t worked.
Carlson played 22:47 against the Rangers, including 9:43 on the power play.
That’s a significant workload for a 35-year-old defenseman who struggled throughout the opener.
He recorded four shots, but Tampa failed to score on any of its seven power plays.
His lack of speed also showed at even strength.
Late in the first period, Carlson missed the net at one end before New York quickly transitioned the other way. Former Lightning forward Oliver Bjorkstrand found Pavel Dorofeyev on the rush for a 2-0 lead, and Carlson couldn’t recover in time.
That play highlighted a bigger concern. Tampa’s defense already lacked speed, and Carlson hasn’t made it faster.
The concern isn’t his workload. It’s what the Lightning are getting from those minutes.
Almost 10 minutes of Carlson on the power play produced no goals. More than 22 minutes overall didn’t prevent Tampa from looking slow and vulnerable in transition.
Kucherov Scores, Point Stays Quiet
Nikita Kucherov scored Tampa’s only goal, cutting the deficit to 3-1 in the second period. Ilya Mikheyev and Brayden Point picked up the assists.
Point, however, remained relatively quiet offensively.
Tampa needs more than Kucherov creating chances, particularly if the power play continues to struggle.
The same applies defensively. New York repeatedly turned mistakes into rush opportunities. At times, the Lightning looked a step behind.
That could become a problem again Saturday.
Ovechkin Comes to Tampa on a Back-to-Back
The schedule gives the Lightning an advantage.
Washington opens its season Friday against Carolina before traveling to Florida. The Capitals will play their second road game in two nights, while Tampa hasn’t played since Thursday.
Carolina’s aggressive, pressure-heavy style shouldn’t make Washington’s first game particularly comfortable, either.
But the Lightning still have to take advantage of the situation.
Alexander Ovechkin enters his 22nd NHL season as the league’s all-time goals leader with 929. He scored 32 goals and led Washington with 64 points last season.
The Capitals also added Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch during the offseason, giving Tampa’s defense more than one scoring threat to worry about.
The Lightning can’t afford the same mistakes they made against New York. Slow reactions through the neutral zone and easy offensive entries could become costly against Washington.
Tampa doesn’t appear to have much chemistry yet, but the individual talent remains.
Kucherov can create something out of almost nothing. Point, Hagel, and Jake Guentzel can score. Andrei Vasilevskiy can keep the Lightning in games.
The question is how heavily Tampa will have to rely on them.
Blue Carpet Welcomes the Lightning Home
Before the hockey begins, Tampa gets its traditional home-opener celebration.
Festivities begin at 3 p.m. on Ford Thunder Alley. The Player Blue Carpet Walk runs from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m., giving fans a chance to welcome the players as they arrive at Benchmark International Arena.
Fans can also take photos with three major NHL awards won by Lightning members last season: Kucherov’s Hart Memorial Trophy, Jon Cooper’s Jack Adams Award and Vasilevskiy’s Vezina Trophy.
Pregame introductions begin around 6:45 p.m. before the 7 p.m. puck drop.
The home crowd should provide plenty of energy.
After Thursday, Tampa needs to bring its own.
Problems Go Beyond One Loss
One game doesn’t define a season, but the opener quickly brought familiar concerns back.
And this isn’t simply about rebuilding.
The Lightning continue to reshape a roster that has lost important pieces. Steven Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev left earlier. This offseason brought more changes, including the departures of Raddysh and Nick Paul.
Management added Carlson and Mikheyev, but the opener didn’t show that Tampa solved its biggest problems.
The defense still lacks speed. The power play has to adjust. The Lightning remain heavily dependent on Kucherov and Vasilevskiy. If they aren’t performing to their best, everything on the team falls apart.
That could make this a demanding season for both.
Saturday won’t answer every question, but it will show how Tampa responds after an ugly opening night.
Washington will arrive after playing the previous evening. The Lightning will be rested and back in front of their fans. The Blue Carpet will welcome them home.
Then Ovechkin and the Capitals will test whether anything has changed.
