You deserve better than that overtime heartbreak.
The Tampa Bay Lightning came up short last night in Calgary, falling 4-3 to the Flames in overtime. It was a tough one to swallow, especially after the Bolts battled back so hard in the third period. Roman McDonagh got us on the board first, a nice shot from the point, but Calgary answered quickly with two goals just 27 seconds apart in the first from Victor Olofsson and Morgan Frost. Michael Backlund pushed their lead to 3-1 in the second, and for a minute there, it felt like it might slip away. But we're the Lightning, and we don't do 'give up.' Darren Raddysh pulled one back with a beauty from Nikita Kucherov, and then rookie Pontus Holmberg, what a moment for him, tied it up in the third period to send it to extra time. Unfortunately, Ryan Strome found the back of the net only 26 seconds into overtime, ending the game and our hopes for two points. The shots were 35-29 in our favor, which tells you we were pushing, but sometimes the bounces just don't go your way.
This loss means the Tampa Bay Lightning hold steady at 91 points, still second in the Atlantic Division. Our last ten games are now 5-4-1, which isn't terrible, but we need to tighten things up as the playoffs loom. Every point matters from here on out. The schedule doesn't get any easier, but that's fine; it's a test for the kind of team we are. We've seen this team overcome so much, and you can bet Jon Cooper will be digging into the tape today, figuring out how to fine-tune our defensive zone coverage and that overtime strategy. No one in Tampa is panicking, not after what we've witnessed from this squad in past seasons. We know what they're capable of.
Walking around Ybor City this morning, you can feel that quiet frustration. Not anger, just that 'we should have had that one' feeling. But there's also an underlying current of belief. We've been here before. We've seen the Tampa Bay Lightning rally and respond. This team has the grit and the talent to shake off this road loss and get back to business. It’s a bump in the road, nothing more. Keep the faith, Bolts Nation.
This is Cassie Morales from Ybor City — Be the Thunder, Bolts Nation.
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