Bolts fall in Playoff opener 5-4 in Overtime

Excitement was in the air. The forums ice was painted for the playoffs for the first time in three years. The atmosphere inside the Tampa Times Forum was electric as playoff hockey returned to Tampa Bay. And then the puck dropped and the sobering reality set in that this is a young, inexperienced team on the big stage for the first time.

The game started off innocently enough. The two teams both played it safe the first ten minutes, getting a feel for each others style. Finally, a turnover gave the Lightning the first goal of the game off the stick of Nikita Kucherov halfway through the first period. The lead would be short lived however, as just nineteen seconds later Montreal tied it up 1-1. The Lightning from a quality of play standpoint, never recovered.

The game went back and forth the rest of the way. Stamkos put the Bolts on top 2-1 midway through the second, before Montreal came right back and tied it again.

It was the Canadiens turn to take the lead early in the 3rd, before Alex Killorn, another rookie came back and evened it at 3. Montreal responded by taking the lead yet again, before the regulation scoring finally ended with Stamkos knotting it up at 4 with six minutes left.

Overtime was basically dominated by Montreal, and with 1:52 left in the extra session, they finally scored, thanks to a defensive lapse that allowed Stephen Weiss room wide open right in front of the net. The goal felt like only a matter of time the way the Bolts were playing.

The Lightning spent the whole game in Deer in the headlights mode. A bit understandable given all the rookies getting a taste of playoff action. The defense played atrocious and the offense generated little throughout the game. Overall the Bolts were outshot 44-25.

There are several ways to look at this game. First, the Bolts played about as poorly as possible and still almost won. if they tighten it up a bit, they are very capable of winning this series. But scoring 4 goals in 25 shots is a 1 in 6 average. There is no way they score at that clip the whole series, so they absolutely have to find a way to get more shots on net.

On the other hand, if the Bolts play the same way they play last night, it will be an early offseason. There is no way they will come that close to winning playing that way again, it will lead to blowouts and a probable sweep. Game 2 is tomorrow at the forum, and it is truly a must win, as going to Montreal, one of the best home ice advantages in any sport, down 2-0 is basically a death sentence.