Tampa Bay Lightning comeback falls short against the Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators were outshot 45-26, but goaltender Anders Lindback did just enough by making 42 saves and helped his team to a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
How it happened
After the Lightning opened the scoring at 6:30 of the first from Sean Bergenheim, who scored his third of the season, the Predators came back and got goals from defenceman Shea Weber and winger Sergei
Kostitsyn, the first goal of the season for each player.
Cody Franson made it 3-1 for the Predators in the second period, and Colin Wilson made it 4-1 with a goal midway through the third, before the Lightning really began to turn it on.
With a huge deficit to overcome the Lightning's comeback fell short as they got goals from Martin St. Louis and Adam Hall less than a minute apart, but it wasn't enough.
What they're saying
Despite giving up three goals after facing a barrage of shots, the Predators players were quick to praise their goalie, Anders Lindback, for helping them to collect the win.
"Our goalies are awesome," Franson, scorer of the Predators' third goal, said. "Our goalies have been a real backbone for us."
Franson also spoke about the Lightning's late rally by adding, "I think our biggest thing was just trying to stay positive. We started gripping our sticks more than we needed to. Obviously, it's tough
when they get two quick ones like that. It causes a little extra urgency. But that's where we have to stay composed."
Lightning head coach, Guy Boucher, gave credit to the Predators and the way they played, but was upset at the number of good scoring chances his team gave up.
"We played a very good team," he said. "They're very fast. We obviously made some costly defensive mistakes – real costly ones that basically gave them breakaways and 2-on-1s."
"Our effort was there in the third period," he added. "We came back against that goalie … I think it's good, but if you want to beat a team like that, you can't get give away those offensive chances that
we gave away."
What it all means
The Nashville Predators, winners of two straight, are the only team in the NHL yet to lose a game in regulation. They host the St. Louis Blues next on Thursday 28 October.
Despite the loss, the Lightning remain atop the Southeast Division for the time being. They host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
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