Pierre Cedric Labrie Photo by Linda Hamilton

It was a momentous evening at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The Lightning started off their two game home stand with a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Ben Bishop stood strong (and tall) in his fourth straight start for the Bolts. Tampa showed resiliency and ended the night with two points.

A number of congratulations are in order.  Mark Barberio made his NHL debut. Marty St. Louis recorded the 900th point of his career with an assist on Vinny Lecavalier’s goal. Pierre-Cedric Labrie scored his first career NHL goal in the 2nd. Steven Stamkos scored his 26th goal of the season and cemented the win.

The Lightning remain a work in progress. Bishop faced 33 shots. He managed to stop 31 of them, but that’s a pretty high number. There were also a large number of turn overs that afforded the Senators some quality scoring chances. Luckily that didn’t happen, but it is a bit concerning. Nothing to dwell on too much, this season is what it is. It’s only after Cooper has the team for a training camp and with steady practice time that we’ll know the identity he wants them to possess.

-Marty’s 900th point ties him with Tony Amonte at 97th place on the NHL all time points list.

-Ryan Malone made his return to the line up. Bugsy recorded 15:43 in ice time, two penalty minutes, and 1 shot on goal.

The Pittsburgh Penguins come to town on Thursday. Here’s hoping the Lightning are ready to cause some trouble for the Atlantic Division Champions.

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″

Pierre Cedric Labrie Photo by Linda Hamilton

- Lightning GM Steve Yzerman made an announcement about some roster alterations this afternoon. Defenseman Brendan Mikkelson and forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie have been assigned to the Syracuse Crunch for a conditioning stint. Not a bad idea.

Mikkelson has skated in 2 games so far this season and did suffer a scary injury where he collided with the boards in practice. Labrie has seen time in 3 games and has garnered 5 penalty minutes. Neither has seen a lot of time and this will serve them better than sitting in the press box.

- Anders Lindback missed his start against the Washington Capitals due to a bout of the flu. Per head coach Guy Boucher, the goalie is feeling much better. Lindback practiced today and is anticipating to start in Saturday’s matinee game on the road against the Florida Panthers.

» Continue reading “Nuts & Bolts: Syracuse Assignments, The Beard, & Hockey Weekend Across America”

Slater Koekkoek photo by Jason Haas

- Lightning prospect Slater Koekkoek played just 2 games with the Windsor Spitfires before being shut down. Koekkoek lost time with the Peterborough Petes last season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. After a trip to Tampa where he was examined by team doctors, it was determined a second operation was needed. Expected healing time is 4-6 months. Tough break for a kid who played just 26 games last year due to the same injury.

-The Syracuse Crunch traded future considerations to the Florida Panthers yesterday. In return the Crunch add forward Jean-Francois Jacques to their ranks.

“We felt like we needed to add a power forward to our group,” Crunch general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Someone who brings some size, some grit, and who can score.” (Quote Source: Official Lightning Site)

While the Crunch gained Kyle Wilson following Tampa’s training camp, they lost Cory Conacher and Pierre-Cedric Labrie to their parent club. This move will add some more depth for them as Syracuse moves towards the playoffs.

-The Bolts will honor captain Vinny Lecavalier’s 1,000th career game with a pre-game presentation. As part of the festivities, Reebok is giving away 1,000 tickets to the game against the Ottawa Senators. You can enter the contest at the Lightning’s Facebook page.

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″

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 Alexis Boucher

A shortened season means an abbreviated training camp. With their season opener set for Saturday night, the Lightning coaches have to decide on their roster by the 3 pm deadline on Friday. The deadline to place players on waivers to be reassigned to the AHL is noon tomorrow. On top of all those time restrictions, a smaller camp means fewer positions up for grabs.

That doesn’t mean guys aren’t making an impact. All of the news about Cory Conacher has been positive. He’s spent a large amount of time playing on a line with Teddy Purcell and Vinny Lecavalier. Coach Boucher has been impressed.

» Continue reading “Battles For Roster Spots Rage On At Tampa’s Training Camp”

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.

The arena lights dimmed and AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” blared through the sound system. A spotlight illuminated the tunnel exit on the home team’s bench. Fans went wild as their team took to the ice and the famed Tesla coils cracked to life amid wild cheers. If it sounds like any number of Lightning home games, you wouldn’t be too far off. It was a bit different, though. This was training camp.

Tampa’s shortened season is just 6 days away and they started things off with a bang. An estimated 5500 fans poured into the Tampa Bay Times Forum and I was privileged enough to be one of them. Festivities kicked off with an autograph session by all attendees of training camp.

Guy Boucher spearheaded his first practice of the year and definitely put the boys through their paces. A few thoughts on the session:

» Continue reading “The Bolts Are Back In Town As Training Camp Opens”

Dustin Tokarski photo via the Bolt Prospects Facebook page

Friday night’s game will be the first time that last year’s Calder Cup champions return to the city they won it for.  Coach Jon Cooper and nearly the entire team moved to Syracuse after Tampa Bay changed their AHL affiliate in the offseason. » Continue reading “Everything Old is New Again: Crunch Return to Norfolk”