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.

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.

Anders Lindback Photo by Alexis Boucher

The Lightning are extremely lucky to have pulled out a win against the Panthers tonight. Tampa registered just 13 shots on goal through the whole entire game. We’ve been remembering moments over the team’s 20 year history this season and they made it again tonight. They registered the lowest number of shots in franchise history. On the other end of the ice, Anders Lindback faced 39 shots. How on earth did the Bolts end up winning 3-2? Lindback stopped 37 of the Panthers chances.

It’s going to be difficult for some to give credit where it’s due, but Lindback stole this game for the Lightning. That can’t even be argued.

» Continue reading “Lindback Leads The Lightning In 3-2 Win Against Florida”

Nate Thompson Photo By Linda Hamilton

Tonight saw the Lightning defeat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 in what has been their most complete effort in recent memory. No exaggeration there. A lot of the mistakes that plagued them through the first three games of their road trip were addressed. Fewer turn overs, they were dominant in the face off circle, and were throwing hits. Add on scoring from the grinders and this was a very entertaining game to watch.

Here are some of the things that stood out this evening:

» Continue reading “Shout At The Devil: Lightning Snap Losing Streak In New Jersey”

Lightning Lockerroom Sign Photo by Linda Hamilton

Bobby “The Chief” Taylor said it best during the Lightning post game radio show this evening.  You don’t win games by allowing 39 shots on goal at home. Unfortunately that’s just what happened during Tampa’s game against the Washington Capitals. There were some good things, but the nagging mistakes continued to come back to bite them. The Bolts mustered another late rally, but fell short of securing a point. The 4-3 loss extended Tampa’s winless streak to 6 games.

Woo freakin’ hoo.

» Continue reading “Bad Romance: Sputtering Lightning Lose 4-3 To Caps”

Guy Boucher Photo by Linda Hamilton

Following the Lightning’s loss in New Jersey last night, there were a lot of things that  could have made headlines. Anders Lindback. The questionable calls by the officials. Steven Stamkos’ birthday. Those all became mere footnotes in light of head coach Guy Boucher’s reaction to several penalties in the third period.

It started when Marty St. Louis was called for hooking. Less than a minute later, the officials miss a Devils’s icing call and when Adam Hall tried to clear the puck, he was called for high sticking after catching Travis Zajac on his follow through.  The whole thing can be seen here:

» Continue reading “Guy Boucher’s Derp Face Captivates The World”

Pretty much, Guy.

So. Yeah. Things started off well enough in Newark this evening. The Lightning got off to a stronger start, looked a lot less sluggish, and were putting pucks on net. Unfortunately,  a number of the same issues that have reared their heads over the last few games came with them too. Unable to sustain pressure in the offensive zone and turnovers played a big part on the 4-2 loss to the New Jersey.

Oh and those funny penalty calls in the third period, but we’ll get there soon enough.

» Continue reading “Devil In The Details: Lightning Fall In New Jersey 4-2″

Cory Conacher Photo by Alexis Boucher

Goals. They’re kind of… um, the goal of a hockey game. Goaltending and defense help teams to have the best possible chane at winning, but it doesn’t mean much if no one gets the biscuit in the basket.  So far this season the Tampa Bay Lightning have had an embarrassment of riches in that department. Over the course of their four game winning streak, they have scored a combined total of 20 goals.  The most impressive part? Those goals aren’t just being scored by the names you might expect.

Sure, Steven Stamkos has 4 goals on the season thus far. But up until Tuesday’s game against the Florida Panthers, defenseman Eric Brewer had scored as many times as the reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner. Sure, Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier have 3 goals. So do Tom Pyatt, Cory Conacher, and Ryan Malone. It’s not just the top lines that are producing which is one of the scariest thing about Tampa’s offense these days.

» Continue reading “Tampa Bay Lightning’s Diversity Day”

Martin St. Louis Photo by Linda Hamilton

It’s never boring when the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers meet. Whether it’s the 1996 or 2004 playoffs, the holding the puck fiasco of last season, or the 15 goal game of two seasons ago. These teams always find a way to make things interesting. Tonight’s 5-1 Tampa victory was no exception.

Philly took an early lead on Sean Couturier’s goal, the first shot Anders Lindback faced in the game. In a departure from last season, the Bolts were able to keep pressing and rebound. A huge shot of energy game in the form of a fight from captain Vincent Lecavalier. Yes, you read that correctly. Vinny dropped the gloves.Seeing is believing.

» Continue reading “Louie, Louie: St. Louis’ 4 Point Night Caps Off Win”

Photo by Alexis Boucher

Prior to the match up with the Ottawa Senators the Lightning honored Vinny Lecavalier for reaching his 1,000 game milestone.  It’s kind of a big deal. Many of us remember when a lanky 18 year old Vinny was drafted first overall back in 1998. He’s been a constant on the team for so long it’s hard to think of Tampa Bay’s hockey club and not think of #4.

The evening began with a pregame ceremony to honor the captain. I can’t lie. The video montage made things get a tad dusty. In case you missed it:

» Continue reading “Celebrating VL4′s 1K”