Photo by Alexis Boucher

It’s difficult to know where to even begin with tonight’s game. There was a whole lot of bad from start to finish. Whether it was allowing 41 shots, giving Evgeni Malkin space to work his magic, and missing good offensive opportunities. If it sounds like a broken record, that’s because a lot of these issues have plagued the Bolts all season. Pittsburgh came away with two points in an absolute beat down.

Guy Boucher may be gone, but Jon Cooper is dealing with an offense that continues to try to be too fancy. Instead of putting the puck on net, they’re dipsy doodling around with passes. Getting too complicated leads to turn overs and a lot of scoring changes for the opposition. It also means the Lightning lose quality chances to score their own goals. This has to be addressed.

As for the Lightning’s goals, all three came with the man advantage. Teddy Purcell scored twice and Brett Connolly scored his first of the year. The success on the power play is pretty much the only good thing that happened tonight.

This is a lesson to us all. The Lightning have a long way to go to be able to stand with the elite teams in the league. There’s a lot of work ahead of them this summer, that’s for sure.

Photo: Cut For A Cure

Several members of the Tampa Bay Lightning lost a fair amount of hair this evening at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Vinny Lecavalier, Teddy Purcell, B.J. Crombeen, Alex Killorn, and Matt Carle formed Team Lightning in the 4th Annual Cut For A Cure charity Challenge.

The event sees people from all over the Bay area raising money to benefit the Pediatric Cancer Foundation. The Bolts have also selected the Vincent Lecavalier Foundation as an additional recipient of the funds they raise. Thanks to the wonders of Twitter, we can see what the guys look at after shedding their locks.

Just because the shaving has already taken place doesn’t mean the fundraising has ended. You can still show your support for this extremely worthy cause through May 3rd here. In a very touching gesture, the players are participating in memory of former teammate Dominic Moore’s late wife Katie.

Martin St. Louis Photo by Linda Hamilton

A Lightning goalie pitched a shut out in their debut game with the club while wearing their old team’s mask. If this sounds familiar, that’s because Dwayne Roloson did it in his first game with the Bolts in 2011. Ben Bishop joins those ranks tonight after backstopping a 5-0 Tampa Bay victory against the Carolina Hurricanes. Even more impressive, Big Ben faced 45 shots over the course of the game.

The entire team had a different personality. Bishop was quick, moves extremely well for being such a big guy. Jon Cooper allows the offense to be extremely creative and that made this one a whole lot of fun to watch. An offensive flurry in the second period saw Teddy Purcell, Tom Pyatt, and Keith Aulie score. Marty St. Louis and Benoit Pouliot extended the lead in the third.

- Captain Vinny Lecavalier made his return to the line up after missing nine games.

-Victor Hedman sustained a lower body injury and did not return to the game after the first period. He is listed as day to day.

Another solid win that ties Tampa with Carolina in the Southeast division standings. The Bolts head off to meet the Islanders on Saturday.

Photo by Alexis Boucher

Another game at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, another shootout. Unfortunately things didn’t go in the Bolts’ favor this time. They managed to earn a point, but with the season slipping away that second one is key. Tampa managed to rally from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game, showing a resilience that hasn’t always been present this season.

The score sheet looked a little different this evening. For starters, Steven Stamkos and Marty St. Louis’ names weren’t on it. Tom Pyatt and Alex Killorn scored both of Tampa’s goals. Victor Hedman, Matt Carle, and Teddy Purcell registered the helpers. The Bolts did stage an offensive flurry, getting 41 shots on goal in regulation.

The team looked a little more tempered than in Friday’s victory. Jon Cooper is getting more practice time and that’s only a good thing. With a three game road trip looming , the remainder of this week will likely determine if the Bolts make the post season or have an early summer. They have been resilient, but they need to come ready to play.

Alex Killorn Photo by Alexis Boucher

It was difficult to know what to expect out of the Tampa Bay Lightning headed into last night’s game against the New Jersey Devils. The first game under the tutelage of a new head coach and Andrej Sustr making his NHL debut on the blue line.  It may be late in the season, but a new era was dawning for the hockey club.

The teams scored 5 goals in about 8 minutes in the second period. Three for New Jersey, two for the Lightning. Steven Stamkos recoreded his 24th and 25th goals of the season.  Nate Thompson notched his 7th of the year in the second as well.

Alex Killorn brought the drama when he scored with 15 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. Teddy Purcell and Victor Hedman scored in the shootout, Mathieu Garon stopped the two Devs he faced, and that’s all she wrote. It will be interesting to see what the team brings to the table for Tuesday’s game after more practice time with Jon Cooper.

» Continue reading “Lightning Down The Devils, Thompson Suspended”

Photo by Alexis Boucher

Instead of getting mired down in another loss, let’s look at the positive. The Lightning had their strongest first period in recent memory. They converted on the power play twice in the first period. Mathieu Garon stopped 24 shots. Alex Killorn had a hell of a game in his return to Boston. There were definite positives, but the end result remained the same with a loss in regulation.

The first period had all of the fire the Bolts were lacking against the Rangers. Fast on the puck, physical, and went to work quickly on the man advantage. Steven Stamkos opened the scoring with his 15th goal of the season just 5:32 into the game. How he got this past Khudobin on that angle, we may never know. Seriously, his left foot was behind the goal line.

» Continue reading “Grin & Bear It: Lightning Improve, But Lose 3-2 In Boston”

Lightning Lockerroom Sign Photo by Linda Hamilton

Bobby “The Chief” Taylor said it best during the Lightning post game radio show this evening.  You don’t win games by allowing 39 shots on goal at home. Unfortunately that’s just what happened during Tampa’s game against the Washington Capitals. There were some good things, but the nagging mistakes continued to come back to bite them. The Bolts mustered another late rally, but fell short of securing a point. The 4-3 loss extended Tampa’s winless streak to 6 games.

Woo freakin’ hoo.

» Continue reading “Bad Romance: Sputtering Lightning Lose 4-3 To Caps”

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″

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”

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.