Photo by Linda Hamilton

Before buckling down for the game against the New Jersey Devils, congratulations are in order. Today is  Steven Stamkos’ 23rd birthday. Last year Ryan Malone gave him a shaving cream pie to the face during morning skate as a present, no word if it was a re-gift again today.

Stamklos has accomplished a lot since coming to the NHL as an 18 year old. The Tampa Bay Lightning put together a list of his accomplishments. Some of the highlights are:

-Is the third-youngest player in NHL history to record 50 goals in a season behind Jimmy Carson and Wayne Gretzky.

- His 186 goals are more than any active player had accumulated before turning 23. Only three NHL players in history have more: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Dale Hawerchuk.

- Stamkos leads the league in scoring with 163 goals since the start of the 2009-10 season.

- Became the youngest player to win the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2010. He is also one of four players in NHL history to have won the trophy more than once.

- Ranks first in franchise history with the most goals scored in a season. He also holds a team record for most power play goals in a season in 2009-10 with 24. Those 24 also lead the NHL in PPGs.

- He’s the only NHL player to record 40 or goals in each of the last 3 calendar years.

Whew. An impressive resume for someone so young. It is an absolute privilege to have seen Steven mature as a player and to get to see him on the ice regularly. The scary part? He’s only 23. Who knows what other records he’ll lay waste to as his career progresses.

Happy birthday, Stammer! Here’s hoping you get a win tonight as a gift.

Photo by Alexis Boucher

It’s tough to be disappointed no matter what you read on Twitter. 2 games in as many nights are difficult for any team no matter how many goals they’ve been scoring. That seems to be what the Lightning suffered tonight. Through the second and third periods they just seemed tired. New York disrupted their rhythm and took the victory in the 3-2 game. A tad ironic as current members of the Rangers Brad Richards and John Tortorella were honored as part of the 20th anniversary celebration this evening.

The main thing that I take away from tonight, other than rage at the jerk Rangers fans sitting behind us, is how fickle Tampa’s fan base really is. Having been with them through thick and thin apparently I assume everyone has as well. Yesterday people were ready to hand the Bolts the Stanley Cup and now the sky is falling. It’s one game. The condensed schedule does place extra importance on each match up, but they’re going to lose games.

» Continue reading “Streak Snapped: Lightning Fall 3-2 To Rangers”

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″

Maurice Richard Trophy Photo by Linda Hamilton

A piece of the Hockey Hall of Fame is going to be in our backyard this Friday, Bolts Nation. The Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy will  be on display at the Tampa Bay Times Forum for the Lighting’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.  The hardware will be on the West Plaza prior to the game and at various locations throughout the arena. Fans can pose for pictures with the trophy at the display areas.

The Richard trophy was on the plaza prior to a preseason game after Vincent Lecavalier won it during the 2006-07 season. Not a whole lot of people were buzzing around it to take pictures, so you could take pretty much as much time as you wanted to really study the names on it. Given the three straight sell outs, that may not be the case tomorrow so you might want to see it early.

Donated by the Montreal Canadiens to the NHL in 1999, the award has been given to the league’s leading goal scorer since the end of the 1998-99 season. In addition to Vinny’s win, Steven Stamkos has won the trophy in 2010 and 2012 as a member of the Lightning as well.

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”

Martin St. Louis Photo by Linda Hamilton

It’s never boring when the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers meet. Whether it’s the 1996 or 2004 playoffs, the holding the puck fiasco of last season, or the 15 goal game of two seasons ago. These teams always find a way to make things interesting. Tonight’s 5-1 Tampa victory was no exception.

Philly took an early lead on Sean Couturier’s goal, the first shot Anders Lindback faced in the game. In a departure from last season, the Bolts were able to keep pressing and rebound. A huge shot of energy game in the form of a fight from captain Vincent Lecavalier. Yes, you read that correctly. Vinny dropped the gloves.Seeing is believing.

» Continue reading “Louie, Louie: St. Louis’ 4 Point Night Caps Off Win”

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”

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.

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”