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.

Tyler Johnson Photo by Alexis Boucher

As the third period was about to get underway at the Tampa Bay Times Forum last night, the scoring summary was shown on the video board as per usual. What was a but of a change was the names showing up on that list. Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn, and Cory Conacher. All recently played for the Syracuse Crunch. All have joined the parent club and have been impossible to ignore on the ice.

Johnson scored his first NHL goal last night and also registered an assist. Sadly there were no fisticuffs to complete the Gordie Howe Hat Trick, but the W is more important. Ondrej Palat also scored his first NHL goal last night as well. The “green” players lead the Bolts to a 4-1 victory over the division rival Carolina Hurricanes.

Take a look at Johnson’s goal. The hard work of that line helped the Lightning to open the scoring. The magic these guys were creating in the AHL has definitely translated to the bigger stage of the NHL. It couldn’t come at a better time for Tampa Bay.

» Continue reading “Luck O’ The Crunch: Rookies Lead Lightning to 4-1 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”

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″