Slow Starts Haunt Lightning in Back-to-Back Losses

The Tampa Bay Lightning closed out its pre-Olympic Games schedule by winning 19 of 21 games, and it did so, in large part, by playing tremendous defense. 

That hasn’t been the case in its three games since resuming National Hockey League play. 

The Lightning (38-16-4, 80 points) have been a sieve defensively in their past two games, a 5-4 road loss at Carolina, followed by a horrendous 6-2 defeat at Benchmark International Arena on Saturday. 

With an incredibly tough test looming on Tuesday at Minnesota (35-16-10, 80 points), that defensive identity, despite still ranking as the second-best defensive team in the NHL, is being questioned.

Tampa Bay fell behind 3-0 in the first period against the Hurricanes (38-15-6, 82 points) two nights ago before battling back in somewhat of a respectable fashion. 

On Saturday, the struggles deepened. The Lightning surrendered five first-period goals to the Sabres (35-19-6, 76 points) and never recovered, falling 6-2.

The back-to-back slow starts have left Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper frustrated, particularly after the team had positioned itself well (leading the Atlantic Division) through more than 50 games this season.

“I just think it’s been a three-game trend for us since post-Olympic,” Cooper said on Saturday. “Yes, the Toronto game went our way, but you could see holes in the game. And these past two have been unacceptable.”

Tampa Bay did defeat the Maple Leafs 4-2 last week, but Cooper suggested the warning signs were already there.

“It’s really disappointing,” Cooper said. “To put ourselves in the position we are, and then to come out and play like this — like no pushback, no urgency, no drive, no attention to detail — just gave up.”

Against Buffalo, Cooper made a rare move, pulling star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy after the early onslaught and inserting backup Jonas Johansson.

“I can’t even remember the last time we did,” Cooper said of removing Vasilevskiy. “It never happens. Those are called mercy pulls.”

Cooper did not fault Johansson, who entered under difficult circumstances and faced heavy pressure the rest of the night.

“Pretty solid effort from him,” Cooper said. “Tough job that sucks. Has to come in, and then you think the team was going to push, and we didn’t — actually got worse. He had to make a ton of saves. It just wasn’t great all the way around.”

Compounding matters, young forwards Gage Goncalves and Dominic James were injured against Buffalo. Cooper said there was no immediate update but acknowledged the timing is troubling.

“The mere fact that we slowly are inching our way back to health, and now we lost two more guys — mind boggling this year,” he said.

Veteran winger Oliver Bjorkstrand credited Buffalo’s pace and execution.

“They played fast, played better,” Bjorkstrand said. “It’s up to us to fix that issue. Really, for us, it’s the mindset, the compete level, being over the puck, all those things. They got the better of us today.”

Despite the lopsided loss, Bjorkstrand said there is no panic in the room.

“No, not concerned,” Bjorkstrand said following the loss. “We’ve got to fix it and get back to how we know we can play. We have to be better overall. That’s not our standard.”

Tampa Bay captain Victor Hedman echoed that sentiment, emphasizing a return to fundamentals.

“We win and lose as a team,” Hedman said. “We’ve got to get back to work, have a good practice Monday, get back to our habits, and make sure we’re ready.”

For a team that has built its reputation on structure and defensive discipline, the recent lapses — particularly early in games — have raised concerns. With the playoff push tightening, the Lightning know the margin for error is shrinking.

“We put ourselves way too far down, way too fast,” Cooper said of the defeats. “And that’s on all of us.”

The Wild (35-16-10, 80 points) has lost two straight games. They fell to St. Louis 3-1 at home on Sunday, which followed a 5-2 loss at Utah. 

Similar to Tampa Bay, Minnesota opened its post-Olympic schedule with a victory, and an impressive one, at that, as it beat the top team in the NHL, Colorado, 5-2.