The Tampa Bay Lightning entered Wednesday's game against the New Jersey Devils hoping to do something twice in a week that a lot of teams have not been able to accomplish of late, beat the Devils. New Jersey, one of the hottest teams in the NHL, has won enough games to get back into the playoff discussion. In a game that lacked any kind of real offensive outburst from either team, it was the Devils returning the favor, beating the Lightning 2-1.
The first period was dominated by defense-first hockey, so much so that the Lightning spent much of the first half of the frame without a single shot on goal. There were plenty of opportunities to get shots through, but both teams did a great job clogging up the front of the net and not allowing any time or space for the opponent. The best scoring chance of the period came on a Nate Thompson breakaway shorthanded. Thompson, the only player to tally a shorthanded goal for the Bolts this year, tried to beat Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur high glove side, but Brodeur was able to make the save. The game went to the intermission with no score, and the Lightning only getting three shots on goal.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2011.