"The shots-on-goal issue that plagued the Thrashers last season reared its ugly head Saturday night. With the barrage of pucks sent at goaltender Chris Mason there came an increasing deficit on the scoreboard. With a talented group of forwards doing the damage, Tampa Bay jumped to a four-goal lead en route to a 5-3 win over the Thrashers at the St. Pete Times Forum. The discrepancy was especially damaging early. The Lightning scored twice in the first and second periods to take the commanding lead. Steve Downie, Dominic Moore, Vincent Lacavalier and Steven Stamkos all scored in the team's season opener. Tampa Bay had a 20-13 shots-on-goal advantage in the first period. Before the game, former Thrasher and current Lightning defenseman Pavel Kubina warned of his team's potent offense. "We have a good team here," Kubina said. "Look at our forwards. We have some of the best forwards in the league. We know we are going to score." Quite prophetic. The Lightning, who were eighth in the NHL on the power-play last season, scored twice with a man-advantage. Downie's goal came 5:23 into the game with 16 seconds remaining on a Thrashers penalty for too many men on the ice. Lacavalier's goal came 2:20 into the second period with Enstrom serving a tripping penalty. It was the first power-play goal that opened the flood gates. "I thought we started OK, but then they turned it around on a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty," Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said. "I've seen a lot of those, and I don't like it. The change was called, we had two guys jump for one. There was some confusion among the defensemen. We just can't have that." After falling behind 4-0, Ramsay called a timeout to re-focus his team. It worked as the Thrashers scored three straight and nearly tied the game. The Thrashers pulled to within two goals when Enstrom and Ben Eager scored 1:42 apart late in the second period. Enstrom scored on the Thrashers' fifth power play of the second period, converting on a 5-on-3. He blasted a shot from the center point past Lightning goaltender Mike Smith after being set up by Niclas Bergfors and Andrew Ladd. The Thrashers held an 8:06-2:47 power-play advantage in the second period, but scored just once. Even with the five Thrashers power plays, the teams each had nine shots on goal in the second." Read more: http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-thrashers/thrashers-fall-behind-early-672275.html
