The Tampa Bay Lightning continued to wobble along with their season Thursday, losing a 2-1 game to the Las Angeles Kings at Benchmark International Arena.
It was the third straight loss for the Bolts, who played without Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel and, at the end, Anthony Cirelli. The Bolts fell to 8-9 on home ice.
The home record seems to irk Lightning coach John Cooper.
"I don't think we execute at home the way we execute on the road," Cooper said. "The other thing I feel like we're behind at home. When you fall behind, you're putting the game in peril. Teams play D. It doesn't help when you have to chase the game.
"The way we execute here isn't the way we execute on the road."
Tampa Bay is now fourth in the Atlantic Division.
The Bolts took a 1-0 lead on a power play goal by Oliver Bjorkstrand. Adrian Kempe came back with two goals in the second period.
Tampa Bay saw the return of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who stopped 18 of 20 shots.
L.A. goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 31 of 32 shots.
The Bolts play at Benchmark on Saturday against Carolina at 7 p.m.
By the end, after the mediocrity was complete, all that remained for the USF Bulls was to measure the holes.
Did the Bulls miss coach Alex Golesh more? After all, he hs the latest architect of the program. USF got their energy from Golesh, their creativity. But Golesh is in Auburn now, only a memory.
Or did they miss Byrum Brown more? Brown was the heatbeat of the offense with his highlight-reel season. With Brown, watching the scoreboard spin as a sport of its own. But Brown spend the evening as a pseudo coach, perhaps preparting to leave himself.
Without those two, the Bulls looked ordinry. They lost, 24-10, to Old Dominion. It was their lowest scoring total of the season.
The Bulls rushed for just 52 yards on 35 carries. They threw four interceptions. And they struggled to top Old Dominion.
Quarterback Quinn Henickle threw for 127 yards and ran for 107 and two scores. Running back Devin Roche ran for 100 yards.
For the Bulls, Gaston Moore threw for 236 yards but had two picks.
Receiver Charles Neptune caught 10 passes for 102 yards.
The Bulls now wait on new coach Brian Hartline to take over the program at the conclusion of Ohio State's season.
Maybe that's why the Tampa Bay Lightning can't get a foothold on What's-Its-Name Arema.
The Bolts took on on the nose night, getting thumped by the Florida Panthers 5-2. The Bolts struggled to score, falling behind 4-0 in the loss.
It was nothing new. The Lightning is now a mediocre 8-8 record at home (called Benchmark International, by the way). The Bolts are still fighting for the NHL Atlantic Division lead, but there are six teams in the division that have more home wins.
The Bolts lost eight home games all of last season.
The Panthers jumped to a quick lead when Sam Reinhart scored a shorthanded goal 2:16 into the game. Anton Lundell scored a minute and a half later.
In the second period, Brad Marchand and Reinhart scored the next two goals to make it 4-0. It was Reinhart's 17th goal.
The Lightning tried to get back into the game on goals by Maxwell Crozier (his first) and J.J. Moser. But Carter Verhaeghe closed it out with his 10th goal.
Bolts goalie Jonas Johansson stopped just 19 of 24 shots.
Tampa Bay is home (at Benchmark) at 7 p.m. against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
For the Tampa Bay Lightning, it is good to see Long Island in the rear view mirror.
The Bolts lost their third game in 12 days to the New York Islanders, 3-2 in a shootout. The Bolts scored just three goals in the three losses.
The Bolts fell behind 2-0, but came back to tie it on goals by Darren Raddysh and J.J. Moser. But the Bolts went the last 16:40 of regulation and all of overtime without scoring.
The Islanders scored on two of their three shots in the shootout, with Mathew Barsal and Emil Heineman scoring. Brayden Point made the Bolts' lone penalty shot.
The Bolts outshot the Islanders 17-1 in the second period and had 34 for the game. In three games, the Bolts launched 97 shots but scored only three times.
"It's not ideal falling behind a team we haven't scored much in thet three times," Bolts' coach Jon Cooper said. "We gave up one shot (in the second period) and seven in the lst two periods. It's tough not to walk away with two points.
"It's tough. Sometimes you run into a team that has your number. I have.
Been happy with how we played. It can be frustrating at times. You have to find a way to get those two points."
The Bolts are home on Monday night against the Florida Panthers at 7 p.m. at Benchmark International Arena.
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Friday, 4 a.m. Put a fork in them. Call off the dogs. Turn out the lights. For the Tampa Bay Bucs, it is all but over. The Bucs’ endless slide continued on Thursday night. The Bucs blew a two-touchdown lead, allowed the Atlanta Falcons to overcome a third-and-28 on its winning drive and didn’t take […]
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Wednesday, 4 a.m. Yes, they can still score. Yes, they can still win. After a rugged slide, with four straight losses and two straight shutouts, the Tampa Bay Lightning finally stood up Tuesday night. The Bolts won 6-1 over Montreal in the Bell Centre. Was the losing streak only four games? It felt longer. Was […]
Tuesday, 4 a.m. 5 Thoughts Call them The Incredible Shrinking Team. The Bucs have had a lot of bad teams over the years, but rarely with a 5-1 start. 2. Here’s a question. Will the Bucs win again? And if so, how many? 3. I don’t know who the Bucs should draft. I just know […]
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About Gary Shelton
• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
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