Kucherov’s turnover sparked an odd-man rush, and his lack of urgency on the backcheck sealed the game-winning goal for Chicago. When your stars don’t shine, the season gets darker. Tampa Bay will need more from its elite if it wants to avoid a long year
As the public address announcer at Benchmark International Arena belted the final tones of ‘This is the final minute of the period’ on Thursday night, Tampa Bay Lightning fans appeared due for at least one point banked in the standings and a period of overtime hockey.
Chicago cut that anticipation short, forcing a Lightning turnover in the offensive zone and bursting down the ice to score a rebound goal with 53.2 seconds left in the game and steal a 3-2 regulation victory.
The Lightning are now 1-4-2 this season.
While Tampa Bay outshot the Blackhawks 32-24 and overcame two separate deficits to tie the game, Lightning coach Jon Cooper mentioned too many penalties and late turnovers as errors proving to be too costly.
“In the end, they got it across the goal line one more time than we did, and that's it. And it's unfortunate, the breakdown we had at the end,” Cooper said. “And you can't just sit here and go, ‘There's a moral victory that we played a fairly good game.’ But we have to finish these off, whether we finish it off in overtime or in a shootout. But we can't let that happen. It was just a mistake on our part."
Chicago forward Teuvo Teravainen stole the puck in their defensive end in the final minute and sauced a pass to Frank Nazar at the offensive blueline. The latter’s initial shot was stopped, but Ryan Donato’s rebound attempt found the back of the net for a 3-2 lead that stood as final.
The goal was Donato’s second of the night.
"We have a lot of veterans in the lineup. Because you've done it before doesn't mean you're going to do it again. You have to understand what it took and what it takes to do it again,” Cooper said. “And right now we're not making a ton of mistakes, but when we are, we're getting burned. When it's capitalizing in a game of mistakes, we're making too many."
Chicago utilized the game’s first power play to claim a 1-0 lead 10:41 into the game. Forward Tyler Bertuzzi had the puck below the Lightning goal-line and fed a pass to Nazar, whose one-timer from the slot snuck into the left half of the Lightning net to make it 1-0.
Tampa Bay opened the second period by dominating puck possession time and got rewarded with the tying goal.
A rush chance for the Lightning saw Nikita Kucherov narrowly miss at the right post, but the forward corralled the puck behind the net and flung it to defenseman Ryan McDonagh at the top of the offensive zone. McDonagh’s shot from the point was tipped by Jake Guentzel to beat Chicago goalie Spencer Knight, who was on the ice due to the original rush chance.
Donato took the lead back for the visitors midway through the second period. Donato’s 2-1 goal came on a high-blocker shot on a rush chance from the top of the left circle.
Nikita Kucherov earned his second point of the night and 999th of his NHL career in the final minute of the period, drawing Chicago defenders near the goal line before dishing a pass to McDonagh at the right circle. McDonagh wasted no time in firing his team-high third goal of the season through Knight to tie the game with 42.1 seconds left in the middle frame.
The Lightning erased a 5-on-3 power-play chance for Chicago followed by 3:17 of a 5-on-4 penalty kill to keep the game tied 2-2 with 12 minutes left.
The teams continued to trade chances in the third period, and Tampa Bay hit numerous posts in the third period before Donato’s winning tally late.
"It's so close. That's the NHL, and we've been on the right side of it a lot of times when you know you don't deserve it and tonight, maybe you think you deserve at least something out of the game, especially to get through that PK in the third,” McDonagh said. “But at the end of the day, the final score is all that matters with this group, and we didn't find a way. We want to keep growing here and keep believing and keep trusting each other out there and find a way to play some winning hockey."
Up next for Tampa Bay is a bout with the Anaheim Ducks (4-2-1) at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Benjamin’s Three Stars:
- Ryan Donato, CHI (2 goals)
- Ryan McDonagh, TBL (Goal, assist)
- Frank Nazar, CHI (Goal, assist)
Buccaneers QB Teddy Bridgewater’s Injury Designation Turns Heads on Social Media
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a tough loss in Week 8 at the hands of the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, dropping their record to 5-2 on the season. There’s a lot to like about what the Buccaneers have managed to do through seven games, but it’s clear that their injury issues are becoming a real concern.
In fact, it appears as if players on the Bucs are finding new ways to get injured, as evidenced by backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater‘s latest absence from practice. After it was revealed that Bridgewater did not take the field for the team’s first practice of the week on Wednesday, the reason he ended up not being on the field quickly caught the attention of fans.
Teddy Bridgewater Dealing with Teeth Injury
#Bucs QB Baker Mayfield was officially limited in practice today because of a knee injury.
Backup QB Teddy Bridgewater (teeth) did not practice.
Tampa Bay has largely managed to overcome its injury woes early in the season to establish itself as one of the top teams in the league. Despite being without several key playmakers, such as Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Bucky Irving, and Jalen McMillan for extended periods of time, Baker Mayfield has been able to keep the offense chugging along.
That changed against the Lions, as the Buccaneers’ offense looked lifeless for most of the night. Losing Evans to a broken collarbone almost immediately after he managed to get himself back on the field after he missed time with a hamstring injury certainly hurt, but the team had managed to make do without the star pass catcher over the past few games.
The Bucs are going to simply work on putting this loss behind them and moving on to Week 8, but injuries are once again popping up. With Mayfield dealing with a knee injury, fans were concerned to see Bridgewater miss practice on Wednesday. However, that concern turned to confusion, as it was revealed that Bridgewater is dealing with a injury to his teeth.
“Bucs QB Baker Mayfield was officially limited in practice today because of a knee injury. Backup QB Teddy Bridgewater (teeth) did not practice,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network shared in a post on X.
Will Teddy Bridgewater Play in Week 8?
GettyTeddy Bridgewater has popped up on the Buccaneers injury report with a teeth injury
The extent of Bridgewater’s injury is currently unknown. However, considering you don’t exactly need your teeth in order to play football, there’s a decent chance that Bridgewater will be back on the practice field in some capacity over the next couple of days, especially with Mayfield battling a knee injury of his own currently.
While some fans poked fun at Bridgewater’s odd injury report status, the Buccaneers are doing what they can to keep all their players as healthy as possible. As we have seen through seven games, that’s easier said than done, but one loss to the Lions shouldn’t completely derail their season. Tampa Bay will look to get back in the win column in Week 8, as they have a favorable matchup against the New Orleans Saints on their hands, with kickoff scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.
