TAMPA, Fla. – A three-game road trip in which the Lightning managed only a single point and scored just eight goals would, on the surface, seem unsuccessful. While an 0-2-1 swing through Detroit, Ottawa and Buffalo was not ideal, there were plenty of positive developments.
“Everyone wants to win and when we lose it’s not fun,” said Brandon Hagel, whose goal with seven seconds remaining in Buffalo on Tuesday night, his second of the game, forced overtime in a 3-2 loss. “We want to get the two points, but at the end of the day the effort and everything has to continue to be there. If that happens, wins are going to come.”
The effort has certainly been there and more often than so has the quality of play during a 1-2-1 start. The lone win was against Nashville in the season opener at Amalie Arena last Tuesday.
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In fact, aside from a couple of periods, coach Jon Cooper has been pleased by what he has seen.
“If you are going to break down period by period by period of the four games we played, you throw out the second period of Detroit and the second period of Nashville, and I will take a lot of what we have done,” he said following the loss to the Sabres.
Cooper was especially pleased with the effort in Buffalo. Playing without Steven Stamkos (lower body, day-to-day) for a second straight night, the Lightning fell behind by a pair of goals in the opening period. The Bolts stuck with it, ultimately forced overtime and picked up a point.
“We just have to keep plugging away,” said Cooper. “This league can humble you and you have to have that mental fortitude to fight your way through it. When you look at a lot of what we have done as a group, it has been excellent. We just haven’t been able to generate (offense) when we have needed to.”
On that latter point, Cooper noted how his team had 22 missed shots against the Sabres. Those are chances that did not produce a rebound or otherwise create much discomfort in the opposing zone.
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The Lightning would certainly like to decrease the number of misfires beginning Thursday night against Vancouver, the first of five straight at Amalie. The Canucks (2-1-0) are coming off a 2-0 loss in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening after opening the season with a pair of wins in a home-and-home set against Edmonton.
Toronto is in town Saturday, Carolina on Tuesday, San Jose next Thursday and Seattle on Monday, October 30. All games are 7 p.m.
Five straight games of home cooking could be an opportunity for the Lightning to build on what was a strong game in Buffalo.
“I hope this is kind of a step in the right direction,” said Hagel, after the game. “There is a lot of belief in this room.”
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