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.

Anders Lindback Photo by Alexis Boucher

Whew. It was a busy day when it comes to Lightning news. Best to jump right in.

-When Anders Lindback left last night’s game against the Leafs, it didn’t look good. He went in in relief for a struggling Mathieu Garon, and left almost as quickly. The team issued the bad news earlier today. Lindback is out indefinitely with a right ankle sprain. With a little over a month left in the season, it’s pretty safe to say he’s done for the year.

-In light of Lindback’s injury, Cedrick Desjardins has been recalled from the Syracuse Crunch. Twitter buzz suggests Guy Boucher is planning on going with Garon in net for both Saturday and Sunday’s games. Richard Panik has also been recalled due to Ryan Malone’s shoulder injury.

- Tampa signed NCAA free agent defenseman Andrej Sustr to a two year entry level contract. The 22 year old Czech blueliner is literally a huge signing, as he is 6’8″ and 225 pounds.  If his name sounds familiar, you may have seen him at last summer’s prospect camp. The University of Nebraska-Omaha Maverick recorded nine goals, 25 points, and 53 penalty minutes through 39 games this season.

-Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Joffrey Lupul was suspended 2 games for his hit to Victor Hedman’s head Wednesday night. The league’s suspension video can be seen here.

The Lightning are set to take on the Washington Capitals tomorrow evening. February 14th may be known more for romance, but there’s going to be few fuzzy feelings on the ice. That doesn’t mean love won’t be in the air in other ways.

Last year we enjoyed pink and red heart graphics on the video board. During a trip to the team store last weekend, there were pink Valentine’s day pucks for sale. A perfect gift for the sweetheart in your life? Sure, why not.

The Syracuse Crunch are also getting in the spirit of the day. They took to Youtube to share some of the things they love most. And it’s a must see.

» Continue reading “Tampa Bay Lightning & Syracuse Crunch Feel The Love”

Ryan Malone Makes New Friends Photo by Linda Hamilton

Tampa’s improved depth is going to be put to the test going into tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. LW Ryan Malone suffered an undisclosed lower body injury prior to Sunday’s game against the New York Rangers.  Many players take part in a pre-warm up skate soccer game and that seems to be what aggravated a lingering ailment.

Lightning head coach Guy Boucher estimated that Malone could miss as much as 3-4 weeks. Bugsy is hoping that he’ll miss less time. This marks the third consecutive season that the winger has missed time due to injury.

With Malone’s movement to the IR, the Lightning have recalled Richard Panik from the Syracuse Crunch. Panik has 21 goals and and 14 assists through 43 games with the Crunch this season.

“Panik is a big guy with tremendous speed,” Guy Boucher said. “He’s a solid hockey player. He’s got unbelievable hands and skills, and sometimes has shown flashes of brilliance.” (Quote Source: NHL.com)

It’ll be a big night for two of Tampa’s prospects. Panik will make his NHL debut and Alex Killorn will play his first game at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Victory! Photo by Alexis Boucher

So… you guys saw that game too, right? We’re not just imagining the 8-3 thumping the Lightning delivered to the Winnipeg Jets?  The strength of Tampa’s start this season has been pretty unbelievable. After tonight’s victory they are 6-1-0 and have scored five or more goals in four straight games. If this is a dream, please don’t wake us.

Tampa’s power play has been extremely strong and definitely took advantage of Winnipeg’s penalties. Cory Conacher got things under way with the first goal. Chris Thorburn was given a five minute penalty for checking defenseman Sami Salo from behind. Salo left the bench for a bit to get patched up but did return. The Jets were called for two minor penalties while the 5 minutes ticked off the clock, giving Steven Stamkos and Vinny Lecavalier the chance to score their own goals with a 5-3 man advantage.

» Continue reading “Soarin’ : Lightning Down Jets 8-3″

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”

Steve Yzerman & Vinny Lecavalier Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Lightning Facebook Page

This evening’s game at the Tampa Bay Times Forum began with a great celebration of Vinny Lecavalier’s first 1,000 games in the NHL. Once the team gets some of the videos up, we’ll go into that in more detail. The action on the ice was pretty remarkable as well. After a sloppy second period, the Lightning regrouped and defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-4.  In doing so they handed the Sens their first loss of the season.

Matt Carle opened the scoring on a power play  just 1:09 into the first period, but it didn’t take long for Erik Condra to tie it up. Ottawa pulled away in the second on goals from Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson. Steven Stamkos did what he does best to pull the Bolts within one, only to see Kyle Turris widen the gap yet again. Victor Hedman brought an action packed second period to a close with a goal of his own.

» Continue reading “Spoiler Alert: Bolts End Senators Undefeated Streak”

Mathieu Garon Photo by Linda Hamilton

After two excellent showings by new goaltender Anders Lindback, the netminding duties were turned over to veteran Mathieu Garon for tonight’s match up with the Carolina Hurricanes. If there were any lingering questions about Garon’s health after injuring his groin last spring, they were more than answered. He made 35 saves, some absolutely spectacular, to earn his first win of the season.

The good news is that Tampa got off to a much stronger start than they did on Long Island yesterday. They were sharp and organized. Tom Pyatt scored the first goal of the game at 5:08 in the first by batting an airborne pass from Vinny Lecavalier past Cam Ward. Tampa’s flurry continued from there.

» Continue reading “Storm Warning: Lightning Defeat ‘Canes 4-1″

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.

Vincent Lecavalier Photo by Linda Hamilton

While we’re all up STILL waiting for the NHL schedules to be released, how about some news?

- The Lightning will open their training camp tomorrow at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. They’ll remain in town for camp again on Monday before hitting the road. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday’s sessions will take place at Germain Arena in Estero, FL.

- As part of tomorrow’s festivities, fans are being welcomed back to the Tampa Bay Times Forum with a.. well, Fan Fest. Practice, specials on merchandise, and autograph sessions with the entire team. Season Ticket Members are privy to an exclusive autograph session in the Club level. No word on who exactly that will feature. More info can be found here.

-Update: The schedule is here!

» Continue reading “Nuts & Bolts: Training Camp, Fan Fest, Schedule, & Sexy Vinny”