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”

Photo by Linda Hamilton

In what has become a tradition, I hosted my second Lightning Cup-iversary party at my apartment yesterday. Correspondent Jason Haas was visiting, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to reminisce about the insanely awesome time that was the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

We all sat around the television, watching a DVD of all of the fights from that season. As the games progressed to the playoffs, the footage got more expansive. There were all of the playoff goals, including the one by Andre Roy against the New York Islanders that kicked off the post season. There was Vinny’s between the legs goal against Montreal. There was Chris Dingman’s goal in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. That was the game I camped in front of the arena in order to get a ticket.

» Continue reading “The Lasting Legacy Of Tampa’s Cup-iversary”