Martin St. Louis Photo by Linda Hamilton

A Lightning goalie pitched a shut out in their debut game with the club while wearing their old team’s mask. If this sounds familiar, that’s because Dwayne Roloson did it in his first game with the Bolts in 2011. Ben Bishop joins those ranks tonight after backstopping a 5-0 Tampa Bay victory against the Carolina Hurricanes. Even more impressive, Big Ben faced 45 shots over the course of the game.

The entire team had a different personality. Bishop was quick, moves extremely well for being such a big guy. Jon Cooper allows the offense to be extremely creative and that made this one a whole lot of fun to watch. An offensive flurry in the second period saw Teddy Purcell, Tom Pyatt, and Keith Aulie score. Marty St. Louis and Benoit Pouliot extended the lead in the third.

- Captain Vinny Lecavalier made his return to the line up after missing nine games.

-Victor Hedman sustained a lower body injury and did not return to the game after the first period. He is listed as day to day.

Another solid win that ties Tampa with Carolina in the Southeast division standings. The Bolts head off to meet the Islanders on Saturday.

Photo by Alexis Boucher

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the tenth edition of the Lightning’s Hockey ‘N Heels. An annual event geared towards the female members of the fan base, it’s a great opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at the game we love. This year’s event was a little bit different given the shortened season, but it may have been my favorite of the three I’ve attended. Instead of trekking around the building, the event took place entirely in the locker room with four different stations.

» Continue reading “Lightning Host Hockey ‘N Heels 2013″

Victory!

Tonight’s game was without a doubt one of the most complete efforts the Lightning have had all season. No question. Mathieu Garon was solid in net, stopping 13 of the 14 Buffalo Sabres shots he faced. The rookies were responsible defensively and some familiar names found their way onto the score sheet.

The over riding story going in to the evening was Jon Cooper being named the new head coach. Coop was in the building, but not behind the bench. Assistant coach Dan Lacroix and player development coach Steve Thomas ran things on ice level. All that will change going forward with Friday’s game against New Jersey as Cooper’s first outing as the Bolts’ coach.

Steven Stamkos and Marty St. Louis had the goals for the Lightning. Keith Aulie had an absolutely excellent game. The “No Cup Buffalo” chant was deployed. Andrej Sustr took warm up skate. That pretty much sums up the evening.

I’m attending Hockey ‘n’ Heels tomorrow evening and will bring an update from there.

Eric Brewer Photo by Linda Hamilton

My second topic for this segment is veteran defenseman Eric Brewer.  This one is tough because I think the Lightning have the tools to turn things around quickly – and Brewer would be an important piece during the stretch run.  That being said, there are some young defensemen like Mark Barberio and Radko Gudas knocking on the door. Keith Aulie is already in the NHL and proving that he belongs. Let’s take a look at both sides: » Continue reading “Trade Deadline Talk: Eric Brewer”

It’s always nice to make new friends. Photo by Alexis Boucher

After the overtime victory in Sunrise on Saturday, a lot of questions faced the Lightning going into their brief home stand. Would they be able to continue that momentum? Would they reap the benefits of having a practice session on Monday? Would the scoring continue or would they fall back into bad habits? It’s still a mighty small sample size, but Tampa seemed to find their stride in front of a vastly pro-Toronto crowd. They answered the bell and continued to put the puck on net, defeating the Leafs 4-2.

When I say the crowd was pro-Toronto… it felt like we were in Canada. I asked my friend if this means we get free health care now. Nature of the beast with a hockey team in Florida. So many snowbirds live down here during the winter anyways. For those who aren’t part time residents, it may be easier and cheaper to get tickets here. No hard feelings, everyone was well behaved. But there was a lady behind me who thought that ever Maple Leafs player was Phil Kessel. Riiiiight.

» Continue reading “No Leafs No: Lightning Bolt Past Toronto 4-2″

Mathieu Garon Photo by Linda Hamilton

After two excellent showings by new goaltender Anders Lindback, the netminding duties were turned over to veteran Mathieu Garon for tonight’s match up with the Carolina Hurricanes. If there were any lingering questions about Garon’s health after injuring his groin last spring, they were more than answered. He made 35 saves, some absolutely spectacular, to earn his first win of the season.

The good news is that Tampa got off to a much stronger start than they did on Long Island yesterday. They were sharp and organized. Tom Pyatt scored the first goal of the game at 5:08 in the first by batting an airborne pass from Vinny Lecavalier past Cam Ward. Tampa’s flurry continued from there.

» Continue reading “Storm Warning: Lightning Defeat ‘Canes 4-1″

Pierre Cedric Labrie Photo by Linda Hamilton

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced their opening night roster well ahead of Friday’s deadline. Here’s how the team is going to look:

Forwards: Vinny Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos, Marty St. Louis, Teddy Purcell, Ryan Malone, Benoit Pouliot, Tom Pyatt, Dana Tyrell, Adam Hall, Nate Thompson, B.J. Crombeen, Cory Conacher and Pierre-Cedric Labrie.

Defensemen: Victor Hedman, Sam Salo, Eric Brewer, Matt Carle, Brian Lee, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Keith Aulie and Brendan Mikkelson.

Goaltenders: Anders Lindback & Mathieu Garon.

So there you have it.That’s how the 2013 Bolts ( Not 2012-13. There was no 2012 involved in this season) will get started. The coaches seemed extremely positive about Conacher, so his addition isn’t exactly a surprise. Labrie on the other hand? Wow. For a while it seemed like Tyler Johnson could make the jump to the main club. Both he and Conacher have been insanely prolific when it comes to scoring. Johnson’s time is definitely coming, but not this Saturday.

The addition of Labrie and Crombeen have the potential to change the landscape of the on ice product if you will. With the exception of Steve Downie, the Lightning have been more about skill and finesse since Yzerman & Boucher came to town. The mantra was reacting to the opponent. Labrie and Crombeen play their game with a healthy amount of grit and physicality. They’ll be expected to play with discipline, but it could make other teams think twice before they take physical advantage of the Bolts.

Yup. Officially getting excited.

Photo by Linda Hamilton

The Lightning issued an announcement on Sunday that they were going to add 4 additional players to their training camp roster. J.T. Wyman, Mark Barberio, Tyler Johnson, & Radko Gudas have joined the squad by now ahead of their first session in Estero, FL this evening.

Syracuse is well represented during this week’s session. Mike Angelidis, Cory Conacher, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Keith Aulie, and Matt Taormina took place in Sunday’s session.

Defenseman Evan Oberg was placed on waivers, ending another rash of “Oberging” before it even begins.

Photo by Alexis Boucher

With the NHL’s impending return, the fans are buzzing with excitement of having actual hockey to talk about again. Our players are returning from near and far. Training camps are right around the corner and many squads have already begun informal skating sessions.

While flipping through photos of the Lightning’s skate the other day, an unsettling moment occurred.  There was a player in a Tampa sweater. And I had no idea who the hell he was. Summer signings feel like they were a million years ago, so we can cut ourselves a little slack. We need a refresher course as to who exactly plays for our team now. What better way to do that than with a little game?

Here’s how it works. A series of roster photos will be shown along with multiple choice answers. Pick your answer until you reach the end. The answer key will let you know how you did. Winner gets… the satisfaction of a job well done.

Now it’s time for NAME… THAT… BOLT!

» Continue reading “Name That Bolt!”

Brett Connolly Photo by Linda Hamilton

The topic du jour today is the apparent leap forward in the NHL’s labor negotiations.  Optimism seems higher than ever before and many people think the lockout could end as early as this Friday.  While I’m not denying the importance of this, these injury updates from Syracuse should make Lightning fans happy as well. » Continue reading “Crunch and Grind: Injury Updates from Syracuse”