SB Nation - Martin St. Louis

Video: Guy Boucher On Martin St. Louis And His 300th Goal

Steve Slowinski — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:23:45 -0000

Out of all the teams we cover on SB Nation Tampa Bay, the Lightning have to be one of my favorite clubs. I'm a hockey buff so I'm rather biased, but the Bolts have all the hallmarks of a fun club to follow. They're a competitive team, run by smart management, and their roster is chock full of clean cut, lovable players. Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, Nate Thompson - the list goes on and on. And chief among those players is franchise legend Martin St. Louis.

St. Louis scored his 300th career goal with the Lightning the other day, putting him 61 goals behind fellow line-mate Vincent Lecavalier for the franchise record. In the aftermath of the game, head coach Guy Boucher had some touching words to say about St. Louis, which you can find below the jump:

Also, if you're looking for an overly dramatic tribute video on Martin St. Louis, you don't even need to resort to YouTube. The Lightning have you more than covered:

St. Louis is certainly an awesome guy and an incredible player to watch....but man, that's something else.

For more on the Lightning, join in the coversation over at SB Nation's blog on the Bolts, Raw Charge.

Martin St. Louis Scores 300th Goal

Daniel Russell — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:36:44 -0000

From the Elias Sports Bureau: via ESPN

Tampa Bay Lightning's Right Wing, Martin St. Louis, scored the 300th goal of his NHL career in their last game, a 4-1 loss in Boston on Saturday.

St. Louis is the 33rd Quebec-born player to reach the 300-goal plateau, but he's one of only two active Quebec natives to have done so. The other active Quebecer with 300-plus goals just so happened to earn one of the assists on St. Louis' 300th NHL goal: The Lightning Captain and Center Vincent Lecavalier, who has scored 352 times in regular-season play.

The Lightning will still be on the road this evening as they take on the Washington Capitals at 7:00 pm, Broadcast on Versus. The road trip will extend to New York Thursday and Miami Saturday before the Lightning home opener Monday.

For more Lightning coverage, stay close or visit our Tampa Bay hockey affiliate Raw Charge.

Ted Leonsis Says Caps 'Only Improved On Paper,' Lightning Team To Beat

Adam Vingan — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:23:16 -0000

Much was made over the weekend about how the Washington Capitals and General Manager George McPhee did "borderline-magical things" during the opening days of free agency. Not only did McPhee bring back a former captain (Jeff Halpern), an unheralded postseason performer (Joel Ward) and an established two-way defenseman (Roman Hamrlik), he traded supposedly KHL-bound goaltender Semyon Varlamov to the Colorado Avalanche for two draft picks. And don't forget signing Tomas Vokoun, who took roughly a 80% pay cut to join the Caps.

Several notable hockey publications have given the Caps high marks for their free agency proceedings and majority owner Ted Leonsis took the time Tuesday to appreciate the hard work that his management had done. But he also praised a team that was not his own.

We received high marks and kudos for our work in free agency this past weekend. I am very happy with the performance of our front office and professional scouting department. I think they really delivered.

In between thanking Matt Bradley for his services while playing for the Caps (he signed with the Florida Panthers this weekend, but then again, who didn't?), Leonsis went on to say that despite the praise, that the Caps are "only improved on paper." In fact, according to Leonsis, the Caps should not even be favored in the Southeast Division. That distinction belongs to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who swept Washington out of the Eastern Conference Semifinals:

I believe Tampa is the team to beat. They finished this past season a few points behind us and they beat us in round 2 of the playoffs. They are the team to beat in the division with the Boston Bruins the odds on favorite to repeat in the East as defending Stanley Cup champs.

The Lightning may have been the team to beat last season as they led a comfortable lead in the division until the Caps ultimately caught and usurped them to win their fourth consecutive Southeast Division championship. Tampa Bay had the last laugh, but have not made the drastic moves that the Caps have since July 1. The Lightning re-signed rejuvenated goalie Dwayne Roloson and acquired Mathieu Garon, but lost Simon Gagne and playoff hero Sean Bergenheim. But the core of yet-to-be-signed Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier should all provide another challenge to the new-look Caps.

The last time Leonsis made a bold statement on his blog, it came to fruition as the Caps made several personnel moves as promised. Usually, bulletin board material comes from the opposition, but perhaps Leonsis' bold statement could plaster the Caps' locker room at Verizon Center come October?

NHL Playoffs Second Round Biased And Random Predictions

Jordan Ellel — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:31:34 -0000

Well they may be fairly biased and random, but the first round predictions for the NHL Playoffs were also 75% correct, with the only misses being for the Phoenix Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins. I wasn't able to predict just how exciting these playoffs would be, of course, what with nine consecutive days featuring overtime games, but as the second round gets ready to kick off, let's take a look at the match-ups and what may happen.

One thing to note about the 2011 NHL Playoffs (that maybe I'm the only person who finds at all interesting): this year in both the Eastern and Western Conference we have the no. 1, 2, 3 and 5 seeds advancing. Last season, a different number seed won each series in the first round from the two conferences meaning that the second round kicked off with each seed from 1-8 still represented. Ok, just interesting to me.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #5 Nashville Predators

The President's Trophy winners had quite the run-in with the defending Stanley Cup Champs, going up 3-0 in the series, before allowing Chicago to storm all the way back to even the series, tie the final game with a shorthanded goal with just over a minute to play, only to win it dramatically in overtime. For Vancouver, the monkey is off their back in a way as they've knocked off the Blackhawks for the first time in three seasons, but goalie questions loom as Roberto Luongo was scratched for Game 6 in the series and Corey Schneider played fairly well in his absence.

Ryan Kesler, however, looks like a man possessed and Vancouver remains the deepest team in the playoffs. Nashville, on the other hand, finally wins a playoff series for Barry Trotz and looks to turn it into a deep playoff run. They have the best defense in the league and a style that compliments that talent with Pekka Rinne manning the nets deftly. Can they double down on their postseason success? I'd love to say it's in the cards, but Vancouver just has too much fire power here. Canucks in 6.

#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #3 Detroit Red Wings

I've seen more than I care to of the Red Wings and they are the real deal again. They blitzkrieged through the Coyotes in the first round and have been sitting at home just waiting for the match-up to get set. With all of their experience and the potential return of leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg, they will be a formidable foe for any adversary.

San Jose didn't have quite the easy time with Los Angeles, but they did show their talent with some comebacks for the ages in the series and clutch performances from noted playoff-choke artist Joe Thornton. Last year, San Jose was able to eliminate a battle-weary Detroit team that had snuck past the Coyotes. This year, Detroit will be better rested and appears on a mission. With Pavel Datsyuk leading the charge, San Jose will need better goaltending from Antti Niemi (or Antero Niittymaki) if they want to move on. Red Wings in 6.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #5 Tampa Bay Lightning

Two Southeast Division foes will square off in the first Eastern Conference Semi-final series and it should be an offensive affair. There's a lot of talent on both squads here with Steven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin and their respective supporting casts battling it out. It will likely come down to the roll players and grinders, guys like Jason Arnott, Mike Knuble, Todd Purcell and Dominic Moore to decide this series.

Both teams have less-heralded goaltending, but Michael Neuvirth was quite impressive in the Caps' win over the Rangers and Dwayne Roloson proved he is an ageless wonder in taking down the Penguins. Will Bruce Boudreau's more defensively minded style continue to reap playoff dividends or will Martin St. Louis spoil the fun at the Phone Booth. Capitals in 5.

#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #3 Boston Bruins

The Flyers became the first team in history to win a playoff series in which three different goaltenders started a game. The Flyers' adventure in net should be all the reason needed to pick against them, especially when faced with a highly motivated Bruins squad that would like nothing more than to erase the memories of last season's collapse against Philadelphia where they blew a 3-0 series lead and 3-0 lead in game 7 to drop the second round series.

So why do I think Philadelphia wins this series handily? Because despite struggling with a peskily fast Buffalo squad, the Flyers finally locked their game down in Game 7 and simply out-talented the opposition. The Flyers are one of the deepest teams both at forward and on defense in the NHL this year and with Chris Pronger returning to normal action, it adds that level of experience and simple intimidation that will put them over the top, in my opinion. No disrespect to a very good Boston squad with likely Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas in net and Zdeno Chara manning the blue line. This should be a great series and expect all the nastiness that you can imagine to be on the surface. Flyers in 6.

Nicklas Lidstrom Among Lady Byng Trophy Finalists

Sean Yuille — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:09:25 -0000

The NHL announced the three finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy on Thursday: Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, Lightning forward Martin St. Louis and Stars forward Loui Eriksson.

The Lady Byng Trophy is annually given to the "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk took home the award four years in a row (starting with the year after the lockout) before having his streak snapped last year by St. Louis.

If Lidstrom were to win the award, he would become the first defenseman to take home the Lady Byng Trophy in 57 years. The last defenseman to capture the honor was Detroit's Red Kelly, who won the award a total of four times (three times with the Red Wings as a defenseman and once with the Maple Leafs as a center).

Over the next two weeks the finalists will be announced for seven more NHL awards. The winners will be announced at the 2011 NHL awards show on June 22 in Las Vegas.

Martin St. Louis Finalist For Lady Byng Award

Steve Slowinski — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:49:02 -0000

From the NHL press release:

Dallas Stars left wing Loui Eriksson, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis are the three finalists for the 2010-11 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which is awarded "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability," the National Hockey League announced today.

The members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.

I've only started watching the Lightning this season, but it's tough not to become enamored with St. Louis. He's a great player and skates hard every day - not to mention he'll play through a double root canal - but he also seems very well respected by players across the league. He's had a big hand in the Lightnings' Cut for a Cure campaign, as they raise money for pediatric cancer research, and he's one of the main reasons the Lightning have lasted even this long in the playoffs.

This is St. Louis's sixth time being nominated for the Lady Byng award, and he won the award for the first time last season. Congratulations to St. Louis for another nomination.

Martin St. Louis Takes Stick To The Face, Has Double Root Canal

Steve Slowinski — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:11:44 -0000

It was a rough first game of the NHL playoffs for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as they lost 3-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, with all three goals coming in the third period. But apparently, that wasn't enough for the Penguins; they had to add injury to insult, smarting the Lightning with hard hits all night including this one to Steven Stamkos. And then in the second period, Martin St. Louis took a high stick to the face and played through the rest of the game.

Considering that St. Louis played through the game and hockey players routinely take hard hits, I had pushed the incident from my mind until I saw this Tweet from St. Pete Times reporter Damian Cristodero:

With only a fat lip as evidence of a stick in the mouth and a double root canal, Marty St. Louis is on ice for practice in Pittsburgh.

What? A double root canal? Oh, but no biggie, St. Louis still expects to play tomorrow night. The man is insane, but in a way that makes it impossible not to love the guy. That, my friends, is a hockey player.

Martin St. Louis Eats Stick, Has Double Root Canal, Will Play Friday Anyway

Travis Hughes — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:01:06 -0000

On Wednesday night, we briefly mentioned Martin St. Louis' dental issues after taking a stick to the face in Game 1 between the Lightning and the Penguins. There was no call on the play, he stayed in the game, etc. It was the realization that yes, it is indeed the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

What happened after the game is more of an indication that it's playoff time than anything else, though. Via Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune:

#tblightning RW Marty St. Louis suffered to fractured teeth, had double root canal performed after the game, expected to play Fri. #playoffs

Alright, poll time. If you had a double root canal, how long would you stay out of work?

Poll

How long would you stay out of work after a double root canal?

A whole lot longer than Marty St. Louis will

574 votes

574 votes | Poll has closed

Hey, The Stanley Cup Playoffs Are Here...

Travis Hughes — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:45:19 -0000

... and Martin St. Louis might be down a tooth.

No call on the play, of course.

A Guide To Surviving Overtime Playoff Hockey

Jamie DeVriend — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:06:38 -0000

It's playoff time! As Penguins announcer Mike Lange would say, "Get in the fast lane Grandma, the bingo game's ready to roll!" Or as Lightning announcer Dave Mishkin would say, "(INDECIPHERABLE SCREAMING, MAY BE SPEAKING IN TONGUES)"

Since the Bolts haven't been in the playoffs since 2007, it's been awhile since Lightning fans were treated to, hands down, the best part of playoff hockey -- sudden-death overtime. No more 4-on-4. No more shootouts and "wacky" lineups from Guy Boucher. No more lame arguments about whether Martin St. Louis' spinorama move is legal or not. Just period after period of 5-on-5 hockey until someone scores... for however long it takes.

Some people can't handle the pressure of overtime. They get tense and nervous and start watching the games through the gaps in their fingers as they cover their eyes. I live for overtime games, especially the ones that drag on forever. I don't even need a team to root for. They're always exciting because you never know what shot, what moment, or what player will decide the game. I will stay up much later than I should to watch a West Coast playoff game that goes to double or even triple overtime, just for the drama and the adrenaline rush. I guess I'm an overtime addict.

A lot of Lightning fans aren't used to this kind of excitement. In their 18 seasons, the Bolts have only had a total of 12 playoff overtime games, and most of those were over pretty quickly. Fortunately my playoff overtime experience has been supplemented by the Dallas Stars. After I moved to Texas, I watched them play in three of the longest games in NHL history. So I think I'm pretty well qualified to explain to the hockey newbie how you should prepare for your next overtime session.

-- Don't go anywhere when the whistle blows. Just don't do it. There are no TV timeouts in overtime, and play starts up pretty quickly after it stops. There's only one scheduled stoppage in play, at the first whistle under the 10:00 mark of each overtime period. But that's only to scoop up the snow that's built up around the goal posts, in the crease, and along the boards. It doesn't take very long. You might make it to your refrigerator and back. Might.

-- Don't burn off all your energy too quickly. This happens to the players, too. Sometimes the teams try so hard to end the game in the first five or ten minutes of overtime that they wear themselves out and the game ends up dragging on and on and on because no one has any juice left. Treat overtime like a marathon, not a sprint. Then go nuts when the game's over.

-- Don't expect a bunch of penalties. In the old days, before the lockout, you pretty much had to kill someone to get called for a penalty in overtime. The refs still do their best not to decide the outcome of the game, but they'll call at least a few penalties nowadays. Basically whatever you had to do to get a penalty during regulation time in the pre-lockout NHL is what you have to do to get a penalty during overtime now.

Actually what you'll see a lot, especially if the game drags on, are too many men on the ice penalties. Guys get tired, they can't skate to the bench as fast as they did earlier in the game, they have to make line changes from the far end of the ice, someone makes a mental error, and bam. Suddenly you're trying to kill a penally with the game, and maybe your season, on the line. It's how the Lightning got their first playoff series win in 2003, in triple overtime against the Washington Capitals.

You may also see the dreaded delay of game penalty for shooting the puck into the stands from your defensive zone, but fortunately one of those penalties hasn't yet decided a crucial playoff game that I can remember.

-- If you're in the arena, don't plan to do anything time-consuming during an overtime intermission. You can't get beer during overtime because alcohol sales are shut off. The stands are going to stay full for at least one and probably two overtime periods, so you won't get in and out of the bathroom any faster. And you don't want to be the poor sap who's running through the concourse to get back to their seat when the game-winner is scored.

True story -- the first hockey game I ever took my future wife to (and probably the first one she had ever watched) was a Stars playoff game. We had lousy seats way up in the top of the upper deck of the American Airlines Center, and when the game went to overtime she ran down to get concessions. Unfortunately, she didn't make it back before the extra period began. Which meant she missed this:

Even though she didn't know anything about hockey at the time, she knew she had missed something really neat. Now, the only way we're leaving the arena during overtime is if an usher throws us out.

And I might remind everyone the most dramatic moment in Lightning history happened 33 seconds into an overtime period.