TAMPA | Johnathan Kovacevic scored an empty-net goal from 150 feet midway through the second period. Martin St-Louis had never seen a game like it, but this strange sequence finally gave the Lightning wings.
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There are scenes that cannot be invented. That of Kovacevic is one of them in this 4-3 loss for the Canadian against the Lightning, Sunday, at Amalie Arena.
Thinking of a stoppage in play, the Lightning players stopped playing and goalie Jonas Johansson began his routine by coming out of his net to skate as he always does between two whistles. Even the DJ in the amphitheater had turned on the music.
But Kovacevic never gave up on this play. He smelled the right thing by taking a long-distance shot when there was no goalkeeper left.
“The building was very noisy,” recalled Kovacevic in the opposing team’s locker room. I didn’t see any Lightning players near me. I chose to continue the play. I saw Andy (Josh Anderson) who was free, but then I saw the goalie skating away from his net. I wasn’t sure. But I suspected that the referees had not blown the whistle. I had to go there in one shot. The risk and reward calculation was too important not to try it. I swear I didn’t hear the whistle. »
“This is the strangest goal of my career,” he continued. But it’s unfortunate since this goal served as a turning point for the Lightning. The fans were so mad at the referees. And the Lightning was also enraged. It was intense after that game. We played a good match without coming away with the victory. »
When Kovacevic scored, it was 2-0 for the visitors. The Lightning, however, bounced back with four unanswered goals, including two before the end of the second period.
Montembeault blamed himself
Brayden Point and Austin Watson took turns beating Samuel Montembeault before the end of the second period.
“We scored a weird goal with Kovacevic’s, but the Lightning also got a weird goal when the puck jumped on Monty (Montembeault),” said defenseman David Savard. For me, we were tied in lucky goals. The crowd also woke up after Anderson’s big hit. There was atmosphere. »
Anderson knocked down defenseman Erik Cernak with a hard-hitting hit behind the Johansson net.
Foiled four times on 20 shots, Montembeault took part of the blame for the defeat.
“I gave a bad goal at the end of the second period and it cost the victory,” he admitted. I find it a pity. The puck was bouncing. When I did my reading, I saw a Lightning forward rushing for a comeback. I didn’t want to go all together to give feedback to the enclave. I wanted to push the puck away with my stick or my pad, but it went over me. »
Positive in defeat
After losses in Raleigh and Sunrise, the Canadian continued this portion of the trip after Christmas with another defeat. A third in a row. But the final result was not the perfect indicator.
The Habs dominated the Lightning 30 to 20 in shots and 63 to 49 in shots attempted.
“It’s difficult not to get the result since we dominated a large portion of this match,” said St-Louis. It is most encouraging. I am proud of our work and our play as a team. It’s demoralizing when you don’t get the result, but we’re going to come back to work to get the result we deserve. »
Getty Images via AFP
If there is a difference between the Canadian and the Lightning, it can be explained by the presence of elite players in the Tampa camp. Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman energized the Lightning attack in the third period at a crucial moment in the game. And Brayden Point revived his team by responding less than three minutes after Kovacevic’s strange goal.
There is no Kucherov, Point or Hedman at CH.