SB Nation User Blog: Cassie McClellan

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 70: versus the Buffalo Sabres

Cassie McClellan — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:58:07 -0000

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Buffalo Sabres 5-2.

There weren’t a lot of redeeming qualities about this game. The Lightning played hard, and they weren’t as easily discouraged as they had been the previous couple of games, but it was penalties that did them in. They did come back in the third to make it 4-2 late in the third, which is great, but it was also too little too late.

In a surprising move, head coach Rick Tocchet pulled Antero Niittymaki during a third period power play for a two-man advantage. That was interesting for two reasons. One, Tocchet hasn’t pulled a desperation move like that before. He apparently has realized that it’s do or die time in regards to playoffs and was pulling out all of the stops – literally. Frankly, it would’ve been nicer to have seen this a few games ago, but at least he’s starting to figure it out.

The other reason that move was so surprising was that it indicated that Tocchet had more faith in his defense than perhaps they deserve – as was shown at the very end of the third period when Buffalo got their empty netter. Individually, the defensemen on the Lightning are good – some very good. But as a group playing together, they’ve got a long way to go.

The names that I kept hearing on the broadcast over and over were Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos, Steve Downie, and Niittymaki. Those seemed to be the guys that wanted the game the most.

Niittymaki was great; I wish he had more defensive support. A guy can only stop so many shots on his own, after all. And he’s tried to stop them all, too. The thing is, it’s the law of averages that finally gets to a guy like that. If you get enough shots on you, one’s likely to go in at some point.

Downie wasn’t one of the names that I consistently heard all game, but as the game wore on, he was mentioned more. Coming to Stamkos’s defense, after Stamkos had gotten ran, was predictable – and frankly, it needed to be done. He has taken some questionable penalties this season, but overall, Downie’s turning into a very good offensive threat. Once he finds that balance of playing with passion and staying in control, he’ll be almost unstoppable.

Stamkos is likely still playing injured. He wasn’t that great in the faceoff circle, only winning 4 out of 14, but he got better as the game went along. Martin St. Louis is playing banged up himself, so that line’s a little gimpy right now. Which is too bad, since those two guys make up most of the Lightning’s total offense.

Lecavalier is a new man since the Olympic break – and that couldn’t have happened at a better time. He’s been shooting more, winning more faceoffs, and scoring more. About the only thing that Vinny isn’t doing is playing better defensively. He’s a -8 in his last nine games. But most importantly, he’s leading the way. You can tell that he really wants to get into playoffs, and he’s more than willing to carry the team on his back to get there. Unfortunately, seeing how the rest of the team’s doing while he’s taken his game up another notch, he’s doing more carrying than leading at this point.

The next game is the last matchup with the Washington Capitals this season on Saturday, 20 March. Game time is 7:30 pm Eastern. If you don’t have tickets, think about getting some. This ought to be a good game.

And, if the hockey gods are kind, maybe a preview to a first round playoff matchup?

Sabres vs Lightning coverage [SB Nation]

Die By The Blade [SB Nation Buffalo Sabres site]

Sabres vs Lightning recap [TSN]

Sabres vs Lightning boxscore [TSN]

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 69: versus the Phoenix Coyotes

Cassie McClellan — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:44:32 -0000

Chris O'Meara - AP

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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1.

The game wasn’t terribly good. It wasn’t completely awful, either, though. The Lightning played fairly well, but not remarkably so. Antero Niittymaki was very strong in net, only allowing two goals – which is a vast improvement over that stretch of games where the Lightning were allowing five goals or more.

The defense has been a lot better as well. I would consider Mike Lundin to be the top guy on defense, at this point. He takes care of the top forwards from opposing teams and shuts them down. He’s done a pretty good job of doing just that, too. And he’s fantastic at blocking shots.

Vincent Lecavalier has really stepped up his game. He’s been a touch inconsistent lately with his faceoffs, but he’s managed to make it into the top 10 in the NHL with his faceoff percentage. And having him in front of the net now, instead of on the perimeter, is definitely a good place for him. Yeah, he’ll take more abuse, but that abuse also gets him mentally into the game. Sometimes I think he thinks too much when he’s on the ice. He does best when he doesn’t think but just reacts to what’s going on, and putting him in the middle of the action in front of the net really helps him with that.

By the way, how underrated and overlooked is Nate Thompson? This guy comes to the team from the New York Islanders, and he’s a faceoff machine. He won 10 of 12 faceoffs against Phoenix – that’s an 83% winning percentage. And while he hasn’t been doing quite that well every game, he’s usually well up over the 50% mark, all the same. And yet, he’s rarely mentioned by anybody, even in that regard.

The problem with the Lightning during this game wasn’t so much the effort as it was the attitude. Perhaps this comes out of the injury bug going around, but the Lightning are very easily discouraged these days. They go down a couple of goals and they seem crushed by that instead of it making them want to fight to get back even – as they’d been doing for much of the season. It took them most of the second period to recover from being down two goals. That’s not a good thing.

For months, the Lightning have been relatively injury-free. But for this final stretch of the season leading into playoffs, that’s changed. Key personnel are out because of injury or are walking wounded. Ryan Malone just had "minor" arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday but is also dealing with an upper body injury as well, Mattias Ohlund is out indefinitely with an ankle sprain, Zenon Konopka has back spasms/a slightly ruptured disc, Steven Stamkos has a bruised back, and Martin St. Louis has been banged up with undisclosed injuries.

And those are just the players that are bad enough off for the public to know about. So not only is the push for a playoff spot difficult because the team isn’t winning, but likely the team isn’t winning because they’re not healthy. That shouldn’t be used as an excuse, however, since most teams aren’t completely healthy at this time of year.

It’s a very good thing that Lecavalier has found his scoring touch again. Because at this point, he’s going to be the only guy they’ll be able to rely on on a regular basis. Though, other guys off of the team are going to have to step up and support him as best they can. Like Steve Downie, for instance, needs to focus entirely on scoring, at this point. Especially since his line mates Stamkos and St. Louis aren’t entirely healthy.

The next game is at home Thursday, 18 March, against the Buffalo Sabres. Game time is 7:30 pm Eastern. Go out and say hi to the silver-medal winning Team USA goaltender Ryan Miller – but be sure to cheer for the Lightning, all the same.

Coyotes vs Lightning coverage [SB Nation]

Five For Howling [SB Nation Phoenix Coyotes site]

Coyotes vs Lightning recap [TSN]

Coyotes vs Lightning boxscore [TSN]

Q & A with Tampa Bay Lightning Goaltending Prospect Dustin Tokarski

Cassie McClellan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:54:15 -0000

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

6 months ago: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Dustin Tokarski (40) makes a save during overtime as teammate Martin St. Louis defends during their 2-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers in an NHL hockey game Friday, Sept. 18, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

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Goaltender Dustin Tokarski was chosen in the fifth round, 122nd over all, at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He played three years with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, winning the major junior championship - the Memorial Cup - in 2008. A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, he helped the Canadian junior team win the World Junior Championships in 2009.

He's now in his first professional season, playing with the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL, and has seen limited action with the Tampa Bay Lightning, chalking up just over 40 minutes of playing time coming in relief in two road games in January. Norfolk is currently gearing up for a playoff run, and I had a chance to talk to him last week and ask him a few questions....

Did you start out as a goalie or did you start out at a different position?

Well, when you’re young, you play a bit of everything. So I played everything up until I was 13 years old and then I became a full-time goalie.

Who from your past – a coach, a teammate, family – would you credit with helping you get this far as a goaltender? Who helped start you on this path?

That’s tough. I’ve had so many people influence me to get where I am. But to start it all off, I’ve got to say my mom and dad, for sure. My dad was a goalie, but he never put any pressure on me ever to be a goaltender. But when the time came that I chose that, he definitely helped me with little stuff and would shoot on me and gave me pointers when I was young.

We hear a lot about forward and defense conditioning during the off season, do goalies do the same regimen or how exactly is it different?

It’s somewhat similar. I mean, you’ve got to be in overall good shape, just like players. But you definitely do different drills for a goaltender. You’d like to have strong shoulders for your arm movements, and you obviously want to have strong legs for quick movements in the crease – powerful pushes and edges. You do a lot of powerful movements as a goaltender. So you try to specify your training like that.

This summer I’ll be following a program from Tampa, and I’m sure they’ll help me make it a personal one, so I’ll just follow that.

Do you do any other sports to cross train with?

I really like to golf in the summer. I golf for fun. Training-wise, that doesn’t help too much. But basically in the summer I play hockey and practice, and I play golf, and I work out. Those are my main activities.

What’s your favorite golf course?

Oh, I don’t know. I’ve played a lot of them in Spokane, and home. I don’t really have a favorite.

Which is better – your short game or your long game?

Probably would have to say my short game.

You have a past with Norfolk’s acting head coach, Leigh Mendelson, with the Spokane Chiefs organization. Has having a familiar face helped with the transition from juniors to the pro ranks?

Yes, for sure. When I got here – just to know a familiar face, even just to talk with everyday opinions about – was pretty comforting. Even just to ask an opinion on where to look to rent and stuff like that – just a bunch of little stuff – and he was great with helping me out, so it was really nice.

Norfolk has had two major coaching disruptions this season: Darren Rumble being fired in January and Jim Johnson being promoted to Tampa Bay two weeks ago. Did that cause any upheaval in the Norfolk locker room?

Not in the locker room. We’ve got very good leaders on our team, with Ryan Craig leading the way. I mean, when Darren moved out and Jim stepped in, sometimes that’s just what you need is a change. The change obviously helped our hockey club and put us on a streak. And when Leigh stepped in for Jim, we just kept the same mental aspect of what got us to where are now. And I think we’re still doing the same things – just staying focused and worrying about the things we can control.

Speaking of upheaval, how much of the NHL trade deadline talk made its way to Norfolk? Is it an after-thought or does it affect guys as much as the guys at the NHL level?

Well, I mean, that’s another thing out of your control. You know, in the WHL there’s a trade deadline, too, and I’ve been thru that for two years now. You pay attention, of course, to the changes that happen up top in Tampa. It’s definitely interesting. But at the same time, you want to stay focused on what you’re doing.

You made your NHL debut in January on the road against Florida (in Miami) and New York (against the Rangers). What are some of the off-ice perks in the show that surprised you compared to the AHL and juniors?

Well, you’re treated amazing up there. Everything from equipment-wise to food-wise to hotels, it’s all top-notch. They make sure that the only thing you have to worry about is to play hockey on the ice. So they treat you really good.

But you use your same equipment from Norfolk?

Yeah.

How long does it take to break in those? Your pads?

It varies. Last year, in Spokane, I broke in a pair in a couple of days. Right now I’m trying to break in a pair and it’s been over a week. So it kind of depends every time.

From the same maker, it still depends? Or from switching from…?

I haven’t switched makers, so I’m with the same one. It just varies; it’s all personal.

You've made a name for yourself in Canada in the World Junior Championships, and yet you're now part of a franchise in a non-traditional market. Do friends back home give you grief for this?

No, no grief at all. I mean, if anything, I get praised. When I got drafted to Tampa, all my friends were saying, "Cool, you get to play hockey and wear shorts at the same time."

You're in the unique position of having recent playoff experience (with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs in the Memorial Cup) and tournament experience in the World Junior Championships. How does that come in handy at playoff time if the Ads make it into the AHL playoffs?

For sure, all that experience helps. From midget it helped me in the WHL. And from the WHL helped me at World Juniors. It all leads on. I’m excited for playoffs, and I really hope we make playoffs, and take a run at it and hopefully go on a nice streak.

I know you just turned pro so they might not have produced any but, do you have any of your own rookie hockey cards and whose cards would be a fair trade?

I don’t know what you mean by "rookie." I don’t have an NHL card yet. I don’t know, really. There are some cards out there, but I don’t know if they’re considered my "rookie" card. I’ve had some with Spokane, and I know that there are some out here, but I don’t know exactly.

With everywhere you have traveled - in juniors, in the AHL and in the NHL - what’s been your favorite place to play? Favorite city to visit?

I’m not sure. Every place I’ve played has been really good for hockey, and I’ve enjoyed it. You know, we’ve just played in cities, nothing too crazy. I mean, I’ve played in tons of different cities and they’re all different.

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 68: versus the Pittsburgh Penguins

Cassie McClellan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:08:26 -0000

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1.

The game started out well enough. They had picked up where they'd left off the last game against the Washington Capitals. Everything was running smoothly, and Antero Niittymaki was playing well.

Actually, Niittymaki played well the entire game. It really looks like he's back to form from earlier in the season. Without Niittymaki, the third period might've been very ugly.

There was some ugliness in the first when Brooks Orpik landed a hard but legal hit on Steven Stamkos. It knocked Stamkos down and hurled him into the boards with some velocity. It wasn't anywhere close enough to the boards to be considered boarding, thankfully.

But Steve Downie took exception to Stamkos being hit that way, and decided to hit Sidney Crosby. I've seen cleaner hits, but I don't think that Downie was trying to injure Crosby. He just wanted to send a message. Had the game turned into a route, then that likely would've come back up again.

As it was, there was a little messiness with Victor Hedman and Ruslan Fedotenko in the third. There was some all out fighting going on, but the officials decided to call it "roughing" despite punches being thrown. They also managed to give Hedman the high sticking penalty when he got Fedotenko's stick in the face. Pretty tricky of Hedman to have had that happen, huh?

Yes, the officiating was questionable once again.

However, despite the unequal penalty calls, you can't blame this loss entirely on the on-ice officials. The Lightning had had control of this game thru two periods. Yes, they had four penalties called on them in a row, but they've overcome penalty trouble before to win games.

The fact of the matter is, they let control of this game slip away to the Pens in the third when they had opportunities to win it. No shots for the first seven minutes of the third is unacceptable - even if they were killing off penalties. They still had 4-on-4 time to work with during that stretch, and they did nothing with it. Usually, the third period is their best period of the game, but not this time.

Vincent Lecavalier had flashes of brilliance, but he wasn't consistent. Martin St. Louis had a bit of an off night as well. And Stamkos was struggling to keep up with things at times. The defense did look pretty good again this game, however.

Perhaps they'll do better with the Phoenix Coyotes, who will be in town on Tuesday, 15 March. Game time is 7:30 pm Eastern. Let's hope they can pull themselves together by then.

Penguins vs Lightning coverage [SB Nation]

PensBurgh [SB Nation Pittsburgh Penguins site]

Penguins vs Lightning recap [TSN]

Penguins vs Lightning boxscore [TSN]

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 67: at the Washington Capitals

Cassie McClellan — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:48:48 -0000

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 3-2.

I was at this game [photos], and to me, it looked like one of their best games this season. Antero Niittymaki was quoted saying something similar as well. But John, who had been texting me off and on during the game, wasn't so convinced.

Steven Stamkos's point streak stopped at 18 game, due to the fact that he didn't have any points in the game. He also ran out of sticks, apparently, and started using Matt Walker's sticks since they were similar. John texted that little fact to me, as I would have had no idea about that being in the stands. I did see him break his last one, because he looked pretty disgusted about that. Time for some wood sticks there, Stamkos?

It's so hard to compare the live game to tv, since you're seeing the game at two totally different angles and you don't always have the benefit of replays in the arena. When Vincent Lecavalier's goal was being reviewed, the Verizon Center did not show any replays of that until after the goal had been allowed. Until then, fans in the stands were sort of in the dark.

I was sitting in that end, and I saw it go off of Vinny, but I wasn't sure where. He immediately turned to the on-ice official, still on his knees, patting his elbow and obviously telling the guy that that's where the puck deflected in off of.

On the metro on my way home, there were a couple of Caps fans talking about that. They were saying that they were right behind the goal, that they thought that the puck definitely deflected in off of a high stick and that it should not have been allowed. Which just goes to show that people see what they want to see.

I thought that it was a great overall team effort. They played together as a team, which I haven't seem much of this season. And the defense was a lot better. Victor Hedman played much more confidently than I've seen him play in weeks. And Niittymaki was back to his old self - that was definitely good to see.

If they can keep playing like that for the final 15 games this season, then they might actually be able to make playoffs after all.

The next game is Sunday, 14 March. It's against the Pittsburgh Penguins at home. Game time is an early start - 5 pm Eastern. Dinner and hockey? Gotta love that.

Lightning vs Capitals coverage [SB Nation]

Japers' Rink [SB Nation Washington Capitals site]

Lightning vs Capitals recap [TSN]

Lightning vs Capitals boxscore [TSN]

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 66: at the Toronto Maple Leafs

Cassie McClellan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:36:19 -0000

More photos » Frank Gunn - AP

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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime.

With the overtime loss, the Lightning gain a point in the standings, but they are still six points out of eighth in the Eastern Conference. Standing between them and playoffs are #8 Boston Bruins (72 points), #9 New York Rangers (67 points), and #10 Atlanta Thrashers (66 points). The Lightning currently have 66 points as well, but Atlanta has one more win. Tampa Bay has 16 games left in the regular season.

Vincent Lecavalier is one of the guys who is playing his heart out right now. Some might say that it’s too little too late, but he’s giving it his best when it counts – for the playoff run. He’s trying to carry the team on his back, like a captain should, but he’s not getting a lot of help. He had a team-high six shots on goal last night with four hits. You’ve got to love the way he’s playing right now, even if you’ve got to hate the fact that he’s a -10 right now.

Martin St. Louis is also giving it his all. He’s focusing more on setting up Steven Stamkos than scoring himself, though. He only had two shots on goal. But what makes me curious is why he’s taking faceoffs. He’s not a bad faceoff guy, but he’s playing with Stamkos and occasionally Lecavalier – both centers. I haven’t quite figured out the purpose of that. Incidentally, St. Louis is third in the NHL in assists.

Stamkos is still on his scoring tear. He now has points in 18 games straight, and he’s scored a goal in all of his last seven. He’s currently third in the league in the goal scoring race behind a tied Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

There’s no doubt that the team can score – finally! – but now the problem seems to be the defense. Mattias Ohlund is banged up, Victor Hedman is lacking confidence, and the rest of the defensemen are sort of hit and miss on any given night. There’s no consistency with them. Whether that’s a lack of chemistry or a coaching issue, that’s hard to tell. But it’s been the case for much of the season.

Goaltending has become an issue as well. Mike Smith just isn’t consistent at this point – even through the course of a single game. He looked great on some saves, but let in a couple of ugly goals. Antero Niittymaki’s hasn’t been playing with the same focus he had had earlier in the season, either.

Again, there are 16 games left in the season, but they don’t have all 16 games to make it into playoffs. But this team isn’t together enough on a consistent enough basis to do what they need to win. It’s not good enough to play hard, as St. Louis has said, but they’ve got to pull together on the ice as a team. Right now, they’re playing as separate entities – the defense is doing that over there, the forwards are over here doing something else, and the goalies are off in their own little world.

The only way they can win is as a team – even as inconsistent as their play has been. They can still pull it out, but they’ve got to do it together on the ice as one cohesive unit of 20 men pulling in the same direction for every single minute of all 16 games that are left. Vinny can’t do it alone, and he can’t do it with just Marty and Stamkos helping him out, either. If you don’t have everyone on the same page doing their jobs, then you might as well throw in the towel and start making your golfing plans now.

The next game is today against the Washington Capitals. Game time is 7 pm Eastern. Wouldn’t it be sweet if Stamkos could tie or pass Ovechkin in the goal scoring race in DC?

Lightning vs Maple Leafs coverage [SB Nation]

Pension Plan Puppets [SB Nation Toronto Maple Leafs site]

Lightning vs Maple Leafs recap [TSN]

Lightning vs Maple Leafs boxscore [TSN]

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 65: at the Montréal Canadiens

Cassie McClellan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:25:13 -0000

More photos » Ryan Remiorz - AP

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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Montréal Canadiens 5-3.

This game seemed much closer than it actually was. The Lightning put in a good effort, but they still came up short. There was good energy, however. And this was probably the cleanest game that I've seen this season in terms of penalties taken.

Which isn't to say that it wasn't physical. Mattias Ohlund was back to form dishing out the big hits. That hasn't been seen from him in a while. The hit on Tomas Plekanec laid the poor guy out, tho he came back to finish up the game. Probably got the wind knocked out of him, I suppose. It was kind of a scary hit since it was close to being a knee-on-knee situation. Luckily it wasn't, and everyone ended up okay.

Steven Stamkos continued on his scoring tear. He now has points in his last 17 games, which is a new Lightning record. But on top of that, he has set the record for most power play goals in a single season by a Lightning player, with 17 of them.

Matt Walker scored his first goal of the season as well.

Antero Niittymaki was replaced by Mike Smith after letting in four goals in 13 shots. Since the Olympic break, and even a bit before that, Niittymaki hasn't been playing as well as earlier in the season. I'm sure not playing in any games for the entire Olympics didn't help matters any. And, of course, part of the problem is the defense, which has been an inconsistent spot with the team all season.

This was the sixth time in seven games where the Lightning have allowed five or more goals. That's not a good thing, and at this point it's the entire team that's at fault. The defense has had its problems, and the goaltenders haven't been as sharp, but the forwards aren't supplying much help, either. Defensively, the entire team needs to buckle down and play better.

Vincent Lecavalier tried his best to get his team going. He didn't have the best night in the faceoff circle, only winning 36% of his faceoffs, but he was doing a lot of other things to compensate for that. He had a game-best eight shots on goal, had two hits, a blocked shot, a steal, and he was skating hard the entire game. There was a scary moment where it looked like he'd tweaked a knee - he came limping off the ice - but thankfully he was able to finish the game alright.

Ryan Malone and Zenon Konopka sat this game out due to injuries. After the awkward hit on Martin St. Louis the previous game, and with so little information available about his status, it wasn't necessarily a sure thing that St. Louis was going to play this game. Luckily, he was able to, and he also played well.

The next game is Thursday, 11 March, versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Game time is 7 pm Eastern. Let's leave this losing streak at one game, okay?

Lightning vs Canadiens coverage [SB Nation]

Habs Eyes On The Prize [SB Nation Montréal Canadiens site]

Lightning vs Canadiens recap [TSN]

Lightning vs Canadiens boxscore [TSN]

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 63: at the Washington Capitals

Cassie McClellan — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:53:32 -0000

More photos » Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP

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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Washington Capitals 5-4.

This was the Lightning’s fifth straight loss and has let in five or more goals in those five games. However, it was also Steven Stamkos’s 15-straight game with a point. Steve Downie has a nine-game point streak going on himself. And Vincent Lecavalier broke a six-game pointless streak. So, you take the good with the bad.

Actually, I didn’t think this was a bad game for the Lightning. They stayed in the game with the league-leading Caps, and you really can’t ask for more than that. You’ve got to be able to compete with the team you’re playing with in order to have a chance to beat them, after all.

Frankly, if the team can play like that during the remaining 19 games this season, then they’ll beat most teams.

Other than the first goal that was let in, you really can’t blame Mike Smith for this loss. He kept the Lightning in the hunt, despite letting in five goals. The first one he was a bit shaky on, but the rest were good shots by the other team.

Statistically, it wasn’t a bad game. Martin St. Louis had three assists. Mike Lundin had an insane seven blocked shots, while Andrej Meszaros had four of his own. Stamkos and Lecavalier had six shots each. Vinny had two goals. On five goals allowed, no one was worse than a -2.

The next game is Saturday, 6 March. It’s against the visiting Atlanta Thrashers, who acquired former Lightning player Evgeny Artyukhin at the trade deadline from the Anaheim Ducks. Game time is 7:30 pm Eastern.

Lightning vs Capitals coverage [SB Nation]

Japers' Rink [SB Nation Washington Capitals site]

Lightning vs Capitals recap [TSN]

Lightning vs Capitals boxscore [TSN]

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 62: versus the Philadelphia Flyers

Cassie McClellan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:04:52 -0000

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 7-2.

Welcome back to the NHL season, everybody.

Don’t let the score fool you. Well, fool you completely. For two-thirds of this game, the Lightning were on top of things. Going into the third period, it was tied 2-2, and all seemed to be alright with the world.

Until, of course, the parade to the penalty box started in earnest, Antero Niittymaki was finally chased out of the net, and Philadelphia scored five unanswered goals.

The problem wasn’t one person, one line, or one part of their game. The third period was a complete and utter collapse by the entire team. Niittymaki wasn’t that sharp, the defense was invisible, the offense was ineffective, and the penalties gave them no chance to recover. The third period had no redeeming qualities for the Lightning.

After reading the quotes by coaches and players in the Tampa area papers, I have to wonder about this team. They all seemed a bit, well, stunned that this kind of thing could happen to them. I find that to be very strange. I mean, hasn’t this been happening to them on a regular basis all season long? And not just this season, but for the past three seasons?

Guys, it’s time to wake up. The game against the Flyers shouldn’t be shrugged off as a random occurrence, because it’s been a regular occurrence. Stop scratching your heads and wonder how weird it was to have had that happen, and instead figure out what’s wrong and fix it.

Let’s start with the goaltending. Goaltending has probably been the least problematic position all season – which has been a nice change. That’s mostly been because of Niittymaki. But even he has off-nights, like last night, as does Mike Smith. And they can’t win games all by themselves.

The Lightning have some very good defensemen. On paper, this group should dominate most of the NHL’s forwards. But they don’t; the defense has been arguably the weakest part of this team. I’m not sure if it’s a lack of leadership, poor coaching, no chemistry, or some combination of all three, but something needs to change with them.

And then there are the forwards. You’ve had Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone scoring goals, while Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis are getting the assists. And that’s pretty much all of the offense this team as generated all season long. It doesn’t help that the lines are constantly mixed up so that it’s hard for anyone to develop any chemistry. Again, I’m not sure if it’s a lack of leadership, poor coaching, no chemistry, or some combination of all three, but something needs to change with them as well.

The coaching/management/ownership situation puts things in such a state of limbo that no one’s able to provide any sort of reliable leadership or direction from the top down. Brian Lawton, Rick Tocchet, and the rest of the coaching staff are very likely out of jobs at the end of the season. How can any of them focus doing what it takes to win games when they know they’re out of a job?

Other than the goaltending, this team’s a mess. And it’s all mental, too. They know what they need to do, they’re all professionals after all, but they’re unable to follow through and actually do it. Some strong leadership by somebody – anybody at this point – would help get them through, but no one’s been willing to do that. And by "strong leadership", I’m talking basically a draconian dictator type of guy who’s going to tell people where to go and what to do and then hold them accountable for when they don’t pull thru.

I guess what they really need is a John Tortorella type of guy - "my way or the highway". It doesn’t have to be a coach, though that would certainly help. It just needs to be someone within the team to provide a clear and unwavering vision to give them direction. And any player could do that. Will any of them actually do it, that’s the question. It steps on people’s toes, and no one will want to do that. But they have to if they want to make playoffs.

This team doesn’t lack an identity, like some have opined. They lack direction. They lack a goal. Give this team that, as well as a leader to whip them along to make them achieve it, and then they’ll really have something.

What happened against the Flyers is a lesson in how this season will end up if no one steps up and does what needs to be done. The time for cruising along is long over. The players can’t blame the coaches for what happened, and the coaches can’t blame the players for what happened. They can only blame themselves.

The bottom line is this: if you want something bad enough, then you’ll do what you need to to get it or make it happen. Only 20 more games until the regular season is over, Lightning. How badly do you want to make the first round?

The next game is at the Washington Capitals on Thursday, 4 March. Game time is 7 pm Eastern. Let’s see if the Lightning learned anything from their game with the Flyers.

Flyers vs Lightning coverage [SB Nation]

Broad Street Hockey [SB Nation Philadelphia Flyers site]

Flyers vs Lightning recap [TSN]

Flyers vs Lightning boxscore [TSN]

Women's Hockey Gold Medal Game: USA vs Canada in Battle of Superpowers

Cassie McClellan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:36:02 -0000

Women's Hockey Gold Medal Game: USA vs Canada in Battle of Superpowers

Here's the official game thread for the US-Canada women's gold medal game. Enjoy!