TAMPA — Brandon Hagel changed his mind at the last minute. The Lightning left wing had a plan for his third-period penalty shot Tuesday night but abandoned it on the fly, and it paid off.
Hagel beat Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros over the blocker for a go-ahead goal, and Tampa Bay went on to beat the Predators 5-3 in its season opener at Amalie Arena.
It was just the 25th time in NHL history a penalty shot has been taken in a season-opening game. Hagel became only the seventh player to capitalize on it.
“That one felt good, obviously,” Hagel said. “That one (Juuso Parssinen) goal (three minutes earlier) was a little bit my fault. I kind of lost my guy there. So to be able to get it back, taking the lead at that point was a nice feeling.”
Hagel said he had a more intricate plan for his shot, but when Saros didn’t move after Hagel crossed the blue line, he just snapped the puck over his blocker.
“I came down the left side and I was going to make a move,” Hagel said, “but I saw that spot the whole way, so I took the shot.”
It was Hagel’s second career penalty shot attempt and first penalty-shot goal. He drew it by splitting Nashville defenders Luke Schenn and Jeremy Lauzon. Schenn pulled him down from behind, resulting in a holding call.
Hagel’s only other penalty shot came in Game 4 of the opening-round playoff series against the Maple Leafs in April, which the Lightning lost in six games. Ilya Samsonov stopped him with a left-pad save.
The earlier-than-expected ending to Tampa Bay’s season was still on Hagel’s mind Tuesday.
“I think everyone’s excited to get back, obviously,” he said. “The ending of last season wasn’t the way we wanted to do it. So everyone’s excited. Big game, obviously.
“Now we go on on the road against three new teams (Detroit, Ottawa and Buffalo) that have been improving over the years and are supposed to be really good this year. So, it’s big obviously to get the win (Tuesday) and kind of carry that momentum into those buildings in a few days.”
Johansson meets the moment
As if Jonas Johansson didn’t already know how big the shoes he is trying to fill are, Lightning fans quickly reminded him. The biggest cheer of the pregame introductions came when the giant overhead screen zoomed in on injured goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The Lightning don’t expect Johansson to be Vasilevskiy, a former Vezina and Conn Smythe trophy winner. They just need him to give them a chance to win. Tuesday, he did exactly that.
Johansson, playing in just his 36th career NHL game, stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced.
“His game was quiet,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “He made himself big. He wasn’t erratic. …. When the heat turned up, his heartbeat didn’t go up. You kind of want to see that in a goaltender.”
Johansson will have plenty more opportunities to show what he’s got.
Vasilevskiy underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back and is expected to miss the first two months of the season. According to the ESPN broadcast, Cooper expects the Lightning to be without Vasilevskiy for about 30 games.
The team declined to sign a veteran backup goalie this season in part to save some cap space and because they didn’t think Vasilevskiy needed a mentor in his 10th NHL season.
Motte injured
Lightning forward Tyler Motte left the game after appearing to be hit in the hand by a puck near the end of the second period.
Motte, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason, did not play in the third period. The team had no information after the game other than to confirm that Motte had been hurt.
“We’ll know (Wednesday),” Cooper said. “He wasn’t able to come back from the injury.”
The Lightning do not play again until Saturday, so Motte will have extra time to heal if the injury is not serious.
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