The Tampa Bay Lightning had 10 power play opportunities against Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Ten!
Yet they only managed to score once -- wasting five man advantages in the third period alone -- and, when all was said and done, found themselves with the league’s seventh-worst PP, at 16.8 percent.
“It’s obviously not good enough,” Lightning forward Ryan Callahan said, per the club’s website. “It’s not where it needs to be.
“I mean, 1-for-10 is not even close to where it needs to be.”
The Lightning’s inability to score with the man advantage has been a problem all year long. The team opened the year 1-for-15 and, in the month of November, went six-for-41 (14.6 percent).
The worst part about last night’s effort is that it came at a time where things looked to be coming around.
On Sunday, the Bolts scored two power play goals against Ottawa, and enjoyed a nice streak in early December where they had PPGs in four of their first five games.
Failing to convert against a tired Vancouver team at the end of a six-game trip left the Lightning in a foul mood.
“It’s tough,” captain Steven Stamkos said. “[Special teams] are costing us games this year, so we have to take responsibility as players.
“There are no excuses.”