Tuesday, 4 a.m.
Once again, futility.
Once again, heartbreak.
Once again, overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Familiar disappointments settled over the Tampa Bay Lightning Monday night in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Leafs. Going back to last season's playoffs, it was the third straight one-goal overtime loss by the Bolts to Toronto.
The Bolts have now played four overtimes this season. They don’t have a shot on goal in any of them. They've been outshot 14-0 in the four extra periods.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
"They turned it up a notch, and we sat back and watched them," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We’ve had the lead in the third in all three games (of the road trip),and we only have three points to show for it. If you want to make sure you’re a playoff team, you’ve got to win those games."
The Bolts lost despite a four-point game by Nikita Kucherov (following the five-points he had Saturday night) and despite a tying goal with 2:26 to play by Brandon Hagel.
The Bolts got two goals from Kucherov, one from Victor Hedman and one from Brayden Point.
The Leafs took over in the second period, cutting the deficit to one. They then took the lead on two goals in eight seconds in the third period.
Rookie Joseph Woll came in and shut down the Bolts, stopping 18 of 19 shots.
The Bolts play in Montreal tonight.