The Tampa Bay Lightning finished up play ahead of the Christmas break with back-to-back losses on the road in Toronto on Tuesday and Detroit on Wednesday. Tampa Bay was outscored 11-5 across the two games but the numbers are inflated a bit after the Lightning allowed four empty-net goals across the two games.
The losses marked the first time this season the Lightning have lost both games of a back-to-back. Tampa Bay was originally scheduled to head into the break after playing in Buffalo Friday night, which has now been postponed to March as a result of the severe winter storm.
Friday’s @TBLightning at @BuffaloSabres game postponed, rescheduled for March 4. pic.twitter.com/l0Cfq8smGu
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 21, 2022
Tampa Bay will now have a full week to sit on their first losing streak since early November after having their five-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday.
Both losses were disappointing for different reasons. Tampa Bay played a much better game in Detroit than they did in Toronto on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs significantly outplayed them and the Lightning had one of their worst performances of the year but still had a chance to win based on the play from Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The Lightning still could not completely find their game in Detroit but had a better effort than the night before. The difference ended up being goaltending as Brian Elliott had his first bad game of the season and had his own seven-game win streak come to an end. Elliott’s praises have been sung all season and rightfully so but you have to point out the off nights when they happen too.
One thing that was present in both losses was the Lightning power play came away empty, including a long two-man advantage against Detroit. The Lightning power play had been humming along but off nights are part of what happens in this league.
Tampa Bay will head home now for three straight at games in Tampa and have the opportunity to hit the reset button. With the time off over the holidays, expect a rejuvenated group to come back when the Lightning hit the ice again against the Montreal Canadiens.
