Alex Killorn Photo by Alexis Boucher

It was difficult to know what to expect out of the Tampa Bay Lightning headed into last night’s game against the New Jersey Devils. The first game under the tutelage of a new head coach and Andrej Sustr making his NHL debut on the blue line.  It may be late in the season, but a new era was dawning for the hockey club.

The teams scored 5 goals in about 8 minutes in the second period. Three for New Jersey, two for the Lightning. Steven Stamkos recoreded his 24th and 25th goals of the season.  Nate Thompson notched his 7th of the year in the second as well.

Alex Killorn brought the drama when he scored with 15 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. Teddy Purcell and Victor Hedman scored in the shootout, Mathieu Garon stopped the two Devs he faced, and that’s all she wrote. It will be interesting to see what the team brings to the table for Tuesday’s game after more practice time with Jon Cooper.

» Continue reading “Lightning Down The Devils, Thompson Suspended”

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”

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″

Nate Thompson Photo by Linda Hamilton

After a season of changes for the Lightning, more seemed to be on the horizon where their jerseys are concerned. It was rumored that Tampa could see a new 3rd jersey after wearing the blue “Bolts” uniforms primarily for Saturday games since the 2008-2009.  According to Raw Charge, that’s going to stay largely the same.

The only difference seems to be an updated shoulder patch. The photo of Nate used in this post was taken from November of 2011. As you can see, they were still rocking the second primary team logo that debuted in 2007.

» Continue reading “A Love-Hate Relationship With Tampa’s 3rd Jersey”