|
 Right winger Jonathan Marchessault's third career goal gave the
Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night at
the Honda Center.
Left winger Jonathan Drouin, playing for the first time in nearly
three weeks, added his second of the season for the Lightning
(12-11-3). Goalie Ben Bishop stopped 32 shots, helping Tampa Bay
break a two-game losing streak.
Drouin attributed the Lightning's success to Bishop's goaltending
and the penalty-killing unit, which defused all four of the Ducks'
power plays.
"The PK was outstanding," Drouin said. "We made it hard for them to
come into our zone. They got some good shots, but 'Bish' was there
tonight."
Anaheim defenseman Cam Fowler, who plays the point on the power
play, agreed.
"We had our opportunities," Fowler said. "I think our power play
could have done a better job of creating some momentum for our team.
That's on me, as well. Their goaltender played well, and that was
the difference."
The Ducks (9-12-5) lost for the fourth time in six games despite
right winger Corey Perry's ninth goal of the season.
"We did a good job," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We just
didn't score the goals. If you're looking for a territorial edge, I
thought we outplayed them. But in the end, we have to come up with a
win. That seems to be eluding us on a regular basis."
Anaheim had a chance to tie the score with 12 seconds to play when
Fowler fired a slap shot from the right point. However, the puck
deflected off one of the Lightning players and hit the right post.
"We were right there with them," Perry said. "With that one bounce
at the end of the game, it could've been a different story."
Tampa Bay broke a 1-1 tie with 3:38 left in the second period on a
power-play goal after officials nullified two earlier attempts.
With defenseman Clayton Stoner in the penalty box for
cross-checking, Marchessault received Drouin's pass from behind the
net and quickly flicked the puck past goalie John Gibson for his
second of the season and his third in 13 career games at 16:22.
Before Marchessault scored, the Lightning saw two tiebreaking goals
disallowed within eight minutes. Right winger Nikita Kucherov
deflected a high shot past Gibson at 7:15 of the second period, but
a video review showed the blade of Kucherov's stick above his left
shoulder.
Then at 14:54, seven seconds after Stoner went to the penalty box,
left winger Alex Killorn appeared to score from the slot. However,
Lightning defenseman Ryan Callahan dumped Anaheim defenseman Hampus
Lindholm into Gibson, and the resulting goaltender-interference call
nullified Killorn's goal.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper challenged the latter ruling, which video
replay upheld.
"He fell over my leg, I thought, if anything," Callahan said. "But
it is what it is, and it didn't affect the game."
[to top of second column] |
Drouin, who missed the previous six games because of an undisclosed
injury, gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 2:35 of the second period.
After Gibson deflected defenseman Jason Garrison's shot, Lightning
center Vladislav Namestnikov secured the rebound and made a quick
pass to Drouin, who converted a wrist shot in front of the crease.
Nearly two minutes later, Perry's goal tied the score. Center Ryan
Getzlaf tipped a loose puck in the crease to Perry, who dragged a
short-range wrist shot inside the right post at 4:15.
"The second period was a little sloppy," Fowler said. "We seemed to
be stuck in our own end a lot. That's a team with a lot of
firepower, and when you give teams like that opportunities, they
make you pay."
Tampa Bay had a chance to take an early lead in the first period,
when the Lightning played 3 minutes, 17 seconds with a man
advantage, including 43 seconds in a five-on-three situation. Stoner
received a holding penalty at 4:45, then center Shawn Horcoff
followed him into the penalty box for cross-checking at 6:02.
However, Anaheim's penalty killers, who entered the game leading the
NHL with a success rate of 87.5 percent, held the Lightning to one
shot on goal in the lengthy power play.
Gibson finished the game with 20 saves.
NOTES: Tampa Bay scratched C Tyler Johnson, LW Ondrej Palat, C
Cedric Paquette and RW Joel Vermin. ... Tampa Bay recalled D Nikita
Nesterov from Syracuse (AHL) and sent D Luke Witkowski to the same
club Tuesday. ... Lightning D Victor Hedman needs five points for
200 in his career. ... Lightning assistant coach Steve Thomas played
for the former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2003 Stanley Cup
finals. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer, LW Patrick Maroon
and G Frederik Andersen, who missed his fifth consecutive game
because of the flu. ... Ducks C Nate Thompson made his season debut
six months after shoulder surgery. Thompson played two games last
week for San Diego (AHL) on a rehabilitation assignment. ... The
Ducks returned D Shea Theodore to San Diego (AHL) on Tuesday, two
days after recalling him from that club.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
