In other towns, optimism is permissible. I hear it’s even encouraged among some hockey fans.
Yeah, the world is full of chumps.
We know better around here. The Lightning win a game and we’re suspicious. They lose a game and we claim to have seen it coming back in January. They take a lead and you white-knuckle your way through the rest of the night.
I suppose this is what years of near misses and endless teases can do to a believer. It can take a first-round series against a pedestrian group like the Columbus Blue Jackets and make it feel more like an inquisition than a celebration.
So Tampa Bay took a one-game series lead with a 3-2 victory in Game 3 on Saturday night. For the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed, that’s to be expected, right? The Lightning now look like the team to beat, right?
Yet, in some ways, this has felt more exhausting than thrilling. For the second game in a row, the Lightning blew an early lead. They took too many penalties. They allowed two goals in the Blue Jackets’ first 15 shots on net.
Tell me, is perfection asking too much?
Okay, so I’m being facetious. Perhaps survival is the best we can hope for against a team such as Columbus. The Blue Jackets know the only way they can compete against Tampa Bay is by slowing the pace and hoping to sneak in the back door. And maybe the Lightning deserve more credit for adapting to a more blue-collar style of play.
“They play a system, they play it well, and you just have to stick to your structure, because if you don’t, they can get you,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “I thought for the most part (Saturday night) we stayed with our structure, and it paid off in the end.”
Still, for a team as celebrated as the Lightning, it seems odd that the first round has turned into an annual crapshoot.
“We can look back and take some positives from (Saturday), but we can’t forget that’s only two (wins),” Lightning forward Brayden Point said. “This is a tight series.”
How tight? Well, the Lightning have now won two of the first three games, but they haven’t exactly dominated Columbus. Of the roughly 270 minutes the teams have played, the Lightning have held the lead about 14 percent of the time.
Tampa Bay opened up its first two-goal lead of the series late in the second period Saturday, but it was back to a one-goal game less than three minutes later.
Columbus coach John Tortorella said his team looked like it hit the wall after playing the equivalent of nine games in 14 days with three overtime games factored in, but it still took some tense defensive stops by the Lightning’s Yanni Gourde-Barclay Goodrow-Blake Coleman line to close it out Saturday.
“It was just not a good game by us,” Tortorella said.
Through three games, Tampa Bay has outshot Columbus. Just like in the Lightning’s first-round sweep loss last year. The Lightning have often been playing from behind. Just like last year. And they’ve been suckered into the grind-it-out Columbus style. Just like last year.
So hyperventilating through the third period is entirely justified.
But this is where only the most dedicated and resolute fans were cheerful enough to see better things on the horizon. Because while the first two games had brought echoes of last season’s epic upset, there have also been tangible differences that should not be dismissed.
For one thing, Tampa Bay’s stars haven’t gone missing. Point and Nikita Kucherov have combined for four goals in the first three games, which is one more than Point, Kucherov and Steven Stamkos (out this year injured) got in the entire four-game sweep last season. Also, the Lightning are not just outshooting the Blue Jackets, they are generating more realistic scoring chances.
In the end, the most subtle difference between the two seasons may be in the approach of the Lightning’s players. Last year, their confidence was based on praise and accomplishments. And that was fine, but it turned out to be superficial. This time, the Lightning have a deeper faith in their potential. One borne of sacrifice instead of flattery.
The regular season was devoted to preparing for the playoffs instead of just racing to get there.
The question is whether that will make a difference.
Eventually, we’ll have an answer. Maybe it will take two more games. Maybe it will require four more. Either way, chances are you’ll be sweating the entire time.
Contact John Romano at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @Romano_TBTimes.
The Link LonkAugust 16, 2020 at 10:39AM
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/lightning/2020/08/15/if-your-mouth-is-dry-and-hands-are-sweaty-the-lightning-game-must-be-on/
If your mouth is dry and hands are sweaty, the Lightning game must be on - Tampa Bay Times
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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