Nate Thompson Photo by Linda Hamilton

This was a game the Lightning needed to win. Scratch that. They’re all games they need to win if they want to even think about bumping into the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Turn overs and mental mistakes were hallmarks of this evening’s game against the Islanders. The Bolts did show some resiliency and tied the game twice, but ended up falling short and losing 4-2.

New York struck first and Richard Panik evened the score about five minutes into the second period. Josh Bailey pushed the Isles ahead again, but Matt Carle tied it yet again. What seemed to seal the deal was the third New York goal. Ben Bishop was screened and didn’t even see the puck until it was already behind him. Right through the five hole. An empty net goal in the final seconds of the game put the kibosh on any hopes of Tampa come back.

» Continue reading “Lightning Falter On Long Island, Lose 4-2 Against Islanders”

Photo by Linda Hamilton

At the risk of getting into trouble by littering this brief recap with four letter words, I’ll keep it brief. Instead of censoring, here’s a short list.

- Can’t blame this one on Anders Lindback.

-Radko Gudas remains a beast, trimmed beard or no.

- Congrats to Tyler Johnson on his NHL debut.

As for the rest? Well… we’ll let 2006 Michel Therrien take it from here.

» Continue reading “Lightning Lose 2-0 To Islanders. Yes, The Islanders.”

Photo by Linda Hamilton

Like most of you, we didn’t get a chance to watch the Lightning’s matinee match up against the New York Islanders. Based on how the first two periods went and the reactions on Twitter, that might be for the best. The score makes it seem closer than  it actually was. Things started off in rollicking old time hockey fashion. Just one second into the game B.J. Crombeen paired off with Matt Martin. As if it couldn’t get better, Pierre-Cedric Labrie dropped his mitts and took on Joe Finley.

» Continue reading “That Escalated Quickly: Lightning Fall To Islanders 4-3″

Photo by Alexis Boucher

It’s hard to think of the Tampa Bay Lightning and not think of Vincent Lecavalier. He’s essentially been the face of the franchise for 14 seasons. The captain will reach a very special milestone in this afternoon’s contest against the New York Islanders. Today is Vinny’s 1,000th career NHL game. It’s pretty staggering to consider how far he’s come since being drafted first overall in 1998.

Lecavalier will be the 280th NHLer to reach the 1,000 game mark. That may seem like a lot, but consider that the average NHL career is less than 5 years. This type of longevity in a sport as rigorous and demanding as hockey is rare to behold. Vinny will also have the distinction of being the first of those players to have played all 1,000 games exclusively in a Lightning sweater.

The 18 year old “Michael Jordan of hockey”. The Stanley Cup Champion & Team Canada representative. The captain & veteran presence in the locker room. The integral part of the community & insanely generous charitable endeavors. So many memories. We’ll leave the video packages for the team. For now we just say…

Thanks, Vinny. Here’s to many more.