Bolts drop Prospect Showcase opener to Nashville

The Tampa Bay Lightning opened play at the 2022 Prospect Showcase on Friday with a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators at Invisalign Arena in Morrisville, North Carolina.

The Bolts started the game with a strong push and carried the play through the first five minutes of the contest before a tripping penalty on Lucas Edmonds sent Nashville to the power play. Hugo Alnefelt made a couple of nice saves to start the penalty kill and allowed Tampa Bay to clear the zone twice before Egor Afanasyev found himself alone on the back door and fired a shot top shelf to give the Predators a 1-0 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the opening frame.

Following the goal, the Lightning responded with another strong push and nearly capitalized when Edmonds sent a nice pass to Declan Carlile, who almost snuck a shot past Yaroslav Askarov, but the Russian netminder made the save and the game went into the first intermission with Nashville leading 1-0.

Nashville started fast in the middle frame and took a 2-0 lead just 57 seconds into the period when a Marc Del Gaizo shot from the point found its way through traffic and past Alnefelt into the top right corner.

Again, the Bolts answered with some strong play and extended zone time. The physicality began to ramp up with a couple of big hits from Tyson Feist and Shawn Element, which gave Tampa Bay some juice as the period rolled on.

As the Lightning continued to push, the top line of Gabriel Fortier, Jack Finley and Gage Goncalves began to generate some great chances in the Nashville zone. The trio did a good job cycling the puck in the offensive end and saw some quality looks at goal, but weren’t quite able to find the back of the net. While the goal didn’t come for Finley’s line, he enjoyed playing with his two linemates and felt that the chemistry will continue to grow as the weekend rolls on.

Video: Jack Finley | Postgame vs Nashville 

“Gage and Forts are both really good players,” said Finley. “I know both of them really well. I spent a little bit of time in Syracuse during the COVID year and practiced with them lots and I’ve played with them a little bit.

“They’re both really smart players. Forts can fly and Gage is a great playmaker, so I think all of our games complement each other really nice, so it was fun.

“I think everyone is a little bit rusty. Nobody’s played hockey in a couple months, so I think off the bat it was a little bit scrambly, but once everyone settled in and we kind of stuck to our systems that the coaches have given us, I thought we did better.”

With 2:20 remaining in the second, Nashville got a Grade-A scoring chance and nearly made it a 3-0 game, but Alnefelt was up to the task and made one of several great saves on the day to keep the deficit at two.

The Bolts built off that save, flew down the ice and immediately drew a penalty in the Predators zone with 1:44 remaining in the period. The power play was able to get some more quality looks at goal, but Askarov made a couple of big saves near the end of the period to keep Nashville’s lead at 2-0 as the horn sounded marking the end of the middle frame.

After the Predators took back-to-back penalties in the first half of the third period, the Lightning found themselves with a 5-on-3 advantage for 29 seconds and broke Askarov’s shutout to pull within one. After a shot on goal resulted in a loose puck in front, Felix Robert immediately jumped on it and jammed it home to make it a 2-1 game.

Robert, who signed a two-year, entry-level deal with Tampa Bay in July, had a strong game on Friday. He saw time on special teams and was active throughout the game with strong forechecking and a consistent motor. His goal was the first for the Bolts at the Prospect Showcase after he potted 16 goals with the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season.

“It’s always nice to score,” said Robert. “Next game, we want to win.

“Obviously, the first couple of games it’s about getting the pace and getting the timing. It’s good to be on the ice with all the rookies. It was a fun game.”

Video: Felix Robert | Postgame vs Nashville

After another huge, point blank save from Alnefelt with 8:50 left in the third, you could feel the Lightning gaining some momentum and energy. That energy was felt when Nick Perbix stepped up in the neutral zone and leveled a Predators forward who was dashing through the middle of the ice with the puck. The hit drew a big crowd and ended with Declan Carlile dropping the gloves with Cameron Hausinger with 7:57 left in regulation.

Nashville gained some spark from the fight and regained the two-goal lead with 5:27 remaining in regulation. Shortly after, tempers continued to flare when Element responded to a hit on Jack Thompson and dropped the gloves with Navrin Mutter.

Trailing by two, the Bolts pulled Alnefelt for a sixth attacker, but the Predators found the back of the empty net with 3:53 remaining to extend their lead to 4-1. Tampa Bay continued to battle until the final whistle, with Fortier scoring just 43 seconds after Nashville’s fourth goal, but the Predators would go on to add another empty-net goal and skate away with a 5-2 victory.

“We played fast,” said Robert. “We played hard. Maybe a little more timing, a little more five-man play, pucks to the net, traffic. We just have to score some dirty goals.”

The Bolts will have a practice day on Saturday before facing the Florida Panthers at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon. All 2022 Prospect Showcase games are being streamed live on TampaBayLightning.com.

“I like the pace that we’re bringing,” Robert added. “Everybody’s good, so we’ve just got to find a way to score.

“The pace was there. Just keep the pace and we’ll get our chances.”

NOTES:

• While the line of FortierFinley-Goncalves was the most consistent in my eyes, the Lightning got some strong play from the trio of Felix Robert, Ilya Usau and Cole Koepke. Koepke looked strong on the puck and was a challenge for Nashville defenders below the goal line. Robert’s energy paired nicely with the size and skill of Koepke. Robert has that waterbug style of play about him and was very active throughout the game. Koepke also had a gutsy shot block and drew a penalty in the defensive zone while on the PK.
• 2022 thirdround pick Lucas Edmonds made his Lightning debut on a line with Shawn Element and Bennet MacArthur. I thought Edmonds got better as the game went on and he gained some comfortability on the ice. His line generated some solid zone time as the game rolled on, including a long shift late in the second period. Element brought good energy and had a nice shot block of his own. His response of dropping the gloves for the hit on Jack Thompson didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates.
• Despite the five goals on the board for Nashville, Hugo Alnefelt played a strong game between the pipes for Tampa Bay. Keep in mind, two of the five Predators goals were emptynet tallies. Alnefelt made some really nice saves, including a post-to-post stop from point-blank range and an impressive save on a tricky deflection from the low slot.
• I was impressed with the play of Declan Carlile on the back end. Carlile displayed some smooth skating and made some nice exit passes out of his own end. He looked comfortable. Roman Schmidt also moves very well for a player of his size and didn’t shy away from the physical aspect of the game. He was active with a couple of shot blocks as well. 2022 seventhround pick Dyllan Gill got better as the game went along and started to look more comfortable on a pair with Jack Thompson.
• As previously mentioned, FortierFinley-Goncalves looked the part of a top line with more mature, experienced players for the Prospect Showcase. The chemistry should continue to improve as the event rolls on. All three were good on the forecheck and maintaining zone time. Finley is a presence with his size.