For the second year in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s American Hockey League affiliate is running rough shod through the AHL playoffs. Last year, it was the Norfolk Admirals, winning 15 out of 18 games on their way to the Calder Cup championship. This year, it’s the Syracuse Crunch, who have clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals ... Read More »
At the age of 37, Martin St. Louis is the oldest player in National Hockey League history to lead all players in points at the end of the season. St. Louis — who will turn 38 in June — clinched the Art Ross Trophy, given to the player with the most points (goals and assists combined), in Saturday night’s season-ending ... Read More »
The Boston Bruins have what the Tampa Bay Lightning so desperately covet. A goaltender who can take over a game and carry his team to victory. Tuukka Rask did just that on Thursday night, leading Boston to a 2-0 victory despite being outshot 30-24 and allowing several great offensive chances to Tampa Bay. The shutout was Rask’s fifth of the ... Read More »
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis finally had his signature moment in his candidacy for the Art Ross Trophy on Wednesday night. St. Louis recorded his seventh career hat trick, vaulting himself into the NHL points lead and helping the Lightning pick up a 5-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I want to finish the year strong and ... Read More »
If there was one team the Tampa Bay Lightning had dominated in this lockout-shortened season, it was the Carolina Hurricanes. In four games before Sunday, the Lightning outscored Carolina 18-4, winning all four times. On Sunday night, however, in the battle between two non-playoff teams, it was the Hurricanes who had their revenge. Carolina, behind three straight first-period goals, picked ... Read More »
For the second straight year, a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization has been named the American Hockey League Most Valuable Player. The AHL announced on Friday afternoon that Syracuse Crunch center Tyler Johnson has been named the 2012-2013 MVP. Former Bolt Cory Conacher won the Les Cunningham Award last year on the Calder Cup champion Norfolk Admirals. “I’m ... Read More »
They say all good things must come to an end. Well, apparently all bad things must come to an end as well. It’s been a long time coming, but the Tampa Bay Lightning have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. The death blow came in Thursday night’s 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, where Brian Gionta scored two goals for ... Read More »
The Tampa Bay Lightning tried to be the spoilers on Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets. After a four-day layoff, the Jets had fallen out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference by virtue of not being able to keep playing. A loss to the Bolts on Tuesday would have been a painful blow if it coincided with a New ... Read More »
As the countdown towards the Tampa Bay Lightning’s official elimination from the playoff picture ticks towards its imminent conclusion, the players are beginning to realize the situation they are in is nearly impossible to overcome. “We’ve hit that point where we’re out of the playoff chase, so I think reality at some point sinks in,” coach Jon Cooper said after ... Read More »
I may have covered this before, but the Lightning really aren’t very good. If they were real lightning and they shocked you, it would probably hurt as much as one of those fake gum packets that emit an electrical charge when you try to pull the fake piece of gum out. In other words, it wouldn’t hurt much. Sure, their offense is great, one ... Read More »
Perhaps the jolt Tampa Bay received upon coach Jon Cooper and goalie Ben Bishop’s arrival has finally worn off. The increased intensity and energy the Bolts had brought for the last two weeks was found only in small spurts on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Better yet, though, perhaps the Lightning were just playing a much better team and ... Read More »
On this night, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Cory Conacher and Ben Bishop trade. Conacher and his new Ottawa Senators teammates fell short on Tuesday night, losing to Bishop and the Lightning 3-2. However, Ottawa may have the last laugh in 2013 because they are sixth in the Eastern Conference while Tampa Bay sits six points out of the ... Read More »
They started at the bottom, and now they’ve made it to the top. After losing 9 of their first 11 games, the Washington Capitals were in the Southeast Division cellar. Alex Ovechkin had only three goals, and new coach Adam Oates’ system didn’t settle in as quickly as he had hoped. However, following Sunday night’s 4-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning, ... Read More »
A good goaltender can hide a lot of a team’s deficiencies, but it can’t hide everything. Ben Bishop proved that on Saturday night, making 24 of 27 saves, as the Tampa Bay Lightning lost 4-2 to the New York Islanders. Bishop played well, and the Lightning weren’t out of the game until Andrew MacDonald’s empty-net goal (3) with less than 15 seconds ... Read More »
The difference that a good goalie can make in a hockey game is amazing. I’ve been saying for a few games that the only thing really holding the Tampa Bay Lightning back from winning games consistently was the play in net. Anders Lindback proved he is not ready to handle the duties of a number-one goaltender, and now he’s sitting on injured ... Read More »
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