3 takeaways from Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Blue Jackets Game 4

3. Third Line Shines

Another reason the Tampa Bay Lightning faltered last season was their third line. This year, Tampa’s third line were the stars of Game 4, along with Vasilevskiy. The Lightning’s third forward line of Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, and Barclay Goodrow scored both of the goals today and were terrific on both ends of the ice.

The first goal was scored by Goodrow, but the whole line made it happen. An aggressive forecheck created chaos in the Blue Jackets’ zone and Gourde was able to tap the puck out to Coleman, who found Goodrow near the crease for the goal. The Tampa Bay Lightning are still all about skill, but they wanted to add some grit after last season. They pursued the right kind of grit – skilled grit – at this year’s trade deadline by acquiring Goodrow and Coleman.

Less than four minutes later, the line struck again. This time, it was Gourde, who got down near the crease and deflected in a point shot from Kevin Shattenkirk. Once again, the third line won battles in the Blue Jackets’ zone. Goodrow got the puck out to Shattenkirk and Gourde created just enough chaos to get the puck through.

Furthermore, Goodrow and Coleman were also acquired for their penalty killing. Both played over two minutes shorthanded today and were the cause of much angst for the Blue Jackets.

I thought they were terrific today and the underlying numbers support that. According to Natural Stat Trick, in 12 minutes and change at 5v5, Tampa’s third line had an xGF% (expected goals for percentage) of over 80%. That’s amazing. In Game 4, the Tampa Bay Lightning needed their third line to be their best forward line. And they were.