The Tampa Bay Lightning played well but just couldn’t get enough past Eddie Lack. The Bolts offense racked up 51 shots but could not stop the Devils when it mattered most. As for the Devil’s, Eddie Lack stole the show as he stopped almost every shot they threw at him. This was a crazy game with some dirty hits and tons of big opportunities, let’s take a look at how we got here period by period.

First Period

The Bolts got off to a slow start in this one as the Devils got the first few shots. The Devils would somehow get on the board first when Ben Lovejoy took a shot from a weird angle and the puck snuck past Vasy to make it 1-0 Devils. Kucherov was also shaken up on the play but looked to be ok (whew). Just a few min later the Bolts got a few nice chances but none would get past Eddie Lack. Stamkos would then get 2 for hooking and send the Devils to the power play. The Bolts did a good job though of stopping the Devils in their tracks and would be able to kill off the penalty. Just a little bit later the Bolts would get their first power play as Blake Coleman got 2 for high-sticking. The Bolts got tons of great chances on this power play, one of them coming from Gourde who just missed the net as Lack dove in desperation. The Bolts somehow were not able to score despite all the chances and the Devils would successfully kill off the penalty. The Devils got a few more chances before the end of the period but the score would remain tied at the end of 20.

Goals: 1-1

Shots: 15-9 Tampa Bay

Second Period

The Bolts got off to a much better start in the second as they got a few good chances right off the bat. With the early pressure, the Bolts would get their second power play opportunity as Sami Vatanen was called for holding. The Bolts power play got some great chances and the last one was the best one. Yanni Gourde ripped a shot from the circle and Brayden Point pushed it home to give the Bolts the lead. Unfortunately for the Bolts this lead was short lived as the Devils would get it back after Hischier took a great shot to make it 2-2. Things then got very ugly fast, Vladdy got hit hard by Wood and it wasn’t pretty. This was a very dirty hit as he left his feet, in addition to hitting him in the numbers. Sustr came in late to defend Vladdy and Wood busted his visor which cut Sustr’s nose pretty bad. Sustr and Wood got 2 for roughing and Wood got an extra 2 for boarding, yes only an extra 2… Luckily everyone was ok despite the bad hits and punches. Unfortunately however for the Bolts things only got worse as the Devils would get a shorthanded goal with Zacha scoring on a 2 on 1 to make it 3-2. Just a few minutes later the Devils thought they had scored but Hall’s potential goal was waved off. The red light had gone off but the puck had actually bounced off of Stralman who then cleared it out. The Bolts would then get another shot at the power play as Noesen took a high-sticking penalty. Unfortunately for the Bolts, they would not be able to capitalize and they remained down by 1. Both teams then went back and forth getting some odd-man rushes but both goaltenders shut the door keeping it a one-goal game. Hedman then took a tripping call and the Bolts found themselves back on the PK. The Bolts got two huge chances to tie this game shorthanded but Lack stood tall as the penalty expired. And then the Bolts headed right back to the PK as Gourde was called for hooking! The Bolts would once again kill it off though. After one crazy period, the Bolts found themselves down by 1 with one last period to go.

Goals: 3-2 New Jersey

Shots: 33-21 Tampa Bay

Third Period

The start of the third did not get any better for the Bolts as just 1:24 into the period Miles Wood, who shouldn’t even be on the ice in our opinion, got one by Vasy to extend the Devil’s lead to 2. Not much later Kyle Palmieri would get called for tripping and the Bolts made him pay. Steven Stamkos sent a rocket from the right circle to make it 4-3 and put the Bolts within one. The Bolts then continued to pepper Eddie Lack with shots but he somehow continued to turn the Bolts away. The Bolts would then get one last power play as Hall was called for holding. Again the Bolts got chance after chance after chance but just could not find the back of the net as the penalty expired. The Bolts would work their way up to a whopping total of 51 shots by the end of the game but still needed one more goal to send this game to overtime. The Bolts would pull Vasy with 1:56 to go for an extra attacker but just couldn’t get anything past Lack. The Devils would ice the puck with just under 30 seconds to go and called a timeout…something you can’t legally do. Lack held off the Bolts until the clock hit zeros and stole 2 points for the Devils.

Goals: 4-3 Leafs

Shots 34-23 Vancouver

3 Stars

1.  Eddie Lack (48 SV)
2. Ben Lovejoy (1G, 1A)
3. Ryan Callahan (1A) That Pass!

Up Next and Final Strike

The Bolts Played a decent game tonight, they made a few mistakes but got unlucky as well. One positive from tonight night is that the Bolts once again held their opponent to 28 shots which is much better from the normal 40+ so they will look to keep that up. The hit on Vladdy was extremely dirty as you should never leave your skates and should have definitely been a game misconduct. The Devil’s also did get away with calling a timeout after an icing. With that said this should not be the only reason the Bolts loss the game as there were other things to improve on. Look for the Bolts to bounce back soon as these losses are bound to happen.

The Bolts will look to get take back first place as they get set to take on the Washington Capitals Tuesday, February 20th at 7:00PM EST.