One, Two, Three, FOUR - Now Go Win One More

Somewhere in the three or four posts that I’ve written about this series I’m sure I mentioned that it would be in the Lightning’s best interest to keep the game five-on-five as much as possible.  So what do they do?  Score all of their goals with the man advantage in a 3-2 victory that puts the Red Wings on the brink of elimination in the first round series.  As usual my prognostication skills are spot on!

Moving young Jonathan Drouin to the point on the first power play unit seems to have sparked the struggling unit as they converted on three of their five opportunities. Drouin picked up assists on all three goal. The Prodigal Son had his breakout game as he tied a post-season Lightning record with his 3 helpers and was dancing with the puck all night long.

Drouin was skating circles around red uniforms all night.  Photo by Greg Shamus Getty

Detroit’s Luke Glendening and his linemates did another stellar job of shutting down the Lightning’s top playmakers as Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn were shut out at even strength during both games at Joe Louis Arena. I’m sure Johnson (who did manage one assist in the game) will be glad to match up against someone other than Glendening when the series returns to Tampa and the Lightning get to change lines last.

Even though they might not have scored at even strength, the Lightning played much, much better than they did in Game 3.  They drove most of the action in the first period as they fired 14 shots on net in the first 20 minutes of the game.  Since they only managed 16 shots in total in the previous game, things were looking pretty positive - especially since they also had a 1-0 lead.

They added another 11 shots in the second (and another goal), mostly in the first half of the period.  Then, the wheels kind of came off for a bit.  Drouin stumbled on a check and allowed Luke Glendening to slip around him and set up Darren Helm for a goal that sliced the Lightning lead in half.  Detroit pressed the advantage for the rest of the period and you could feel the momentum swinging.

As the period started winding down, Gustav Nyquist made contact with Ben Bishop.  Bishop, who is a large individual went down like he got hit with a steel chair.  I’m not saying that he embellished, but somewhere in Montreal Carey Price applauded quietly as the refs called Nyquist for interference.  As ironclad proof that karma exists in sports, Nyquist bounded from the penalty box after his two minutes of reflection and scored the game tying goal with 10 seconds left in the period.

Joe Louis was rocking and all of the hard work that the Lightning had put forward in the first periods looked like it was coming undone.  It was probably for the best that the period ended at that point as Tampa Bay was on their heels.  Seventeen minutes in the locker room helped get them back on their feet and they came out battling in the third.

It was a tight period with both teams getting chances.  At the 7:29 point the game turned.  It’s possible that the series turned as well.  Dylan Larkin, the precocious young Detroit forward, made a great move in front of the net and lifted a backhand over Bishop’s shoulder and under the crossbar.  The announcer claimed it was a goal, all of the people in the stands thought it went in, the players on the ice thought it went in.  Basically everyone but the refs thought it went on and play continued for several disjointed moments.

So close young Mr. Larkin?  Photo by Dave Reginek/ NHLI Getty

Upon review the puck went off the underside of the bar, behind Bishop, out of the crease and just past Larkin. It clearly never went in and the game remained tied.  If Larkin scores, the lid blows off the joint, the Wings have ALL of the momentum and the Lightning have to start chasing a goal.  Instead it’s tied and seven minutes later Tampa Bay finds themselves with one last power play.

In a tied playoff game, the last five minutes of the third period might as well be the first five minutes of sudden death.  It certainly felt that way Tuesday night.  When Jonathan Ericsson slammed his stick into the back of Ondrej Palat and drew a crosscheck, there was the feeling that they really, really needed to score.  And they did.

With time winding down, Drouin found himself at the right hash mark with the puck and a semi-clear shot at the net. He drew back as if to shoot, but instead slid a pass to a surprisingly wide open Palat in front of the net.  All the Czech had to do was redirect into the net - he did.  And then there was joy on the Tampa bench.  The Lightning had the lead and they held on to it. Now they get to go back to Amalie with a chance to end the series.

Drouin’s play in this series makes his situation extremely unique.  He has answered the challenge presented by the coaching staff. He has stepped his game offensively and been the strongest player on the puck in the offensive zone.  Kucherov and Johnson might have all of the goals, but Drouin has been on the puck a lot during the first four games.

At the worst he’s increasing his trade value. At best he’s proving that he could fill the hole voided if Steven Stamkos does decide to bolt from the team.  Of course, he could have done this three months ago if he had accepted his punishment and just played his ass off in Syracuse.

It will be interesting to see how his play continues as the playoffs continue.  He has shown his elite talent in stretches before, but then seems to taper off and disappear.  Will he continue to play with the confidence and aggression that he has played with so far or will he relax and start coasting again?

If I was wrong about special teams, at least I got the Victor Hedman thing right. Despite only picking up 1 point in the first four games, The Big Swede has been logging a ton of ice time.  He has been over 26 minutes in every game except Game Two (where he did spend an inordinate amount of time in the penalty box) and logged a Duncan Keith-like 30 minutes in Game 4 despite Coach Cooper dressing 7 defensemen.

Matt Tamorina got the call as the extra blue liner, but was barely a footnote in the game as he played less than three minutes.  According to the CBC broadcasters one of the reasons he was dressed was because there was questions about Jason Garrison’s health after he took a slash at the end of Game 3.

Garrison played almost 17 minutes and picked up an assist, but looked slower than normal.  Several times some of the faster Detroit forwards were working him pretty hard, especially when he was killing penalties. Both Garrison and Braydon Coburn struggled at times with the speed Larkin, Tomas Totar and Andreas Athanasius (who I thought was one of Detroit’s best forwards) brought to the game. Anton Stralman’s absence was very noticeable during that stretch of 15 minutes or so when Detroit was pushing for the lead.

The Lightning survived and have a chance to move on.  With the Islanders and Panthers looking like they might be engaged in a pretty intense series, having a few extra days of rest would be most beneficial for Tampa Bay.

The Hopeful Chase 3 Stars:

3. Petr Mrazek - Without his play in the first period, the Wings are probably down by two or three goals.  He wasn’t the problem for the Wings as he made several great saves throughout the game.

2. Jonathan Drouin - Three assists and several close chances for the young guy.  It is fun watching him with the puck in tight spaces. His hands are incredible, but he has to make sure he doesn’t get too pass-happy.  Defenders are giving him space because they think he might shoot, if he takes that out of his arsenal, he might find a little less space to work with.

1. Nikita Kucherov - Two more goals and an assist for the Russian dynamo. Not only that, but he also fired 7 shots at the net.  Somehow he keeps finding himself open at the right circle and he hasn’t been missing from there.  The first goal was a one-timer on a pass that was in his skates. It was a remarkable job of adjusting his body in position to get a shot off.

Did Matt Carle Get a Point?

Nope.  Drouin took all of the assists!  He was second on the defense with 19:39 of ice time including a whopping 4 minutes of short handed time.  That’s almost too much for my heart to take, but he was up to the task as he helped the team kill off four more Detroit power plays. He has quietly been the second best defenseman in this series.

Dear God - That's Jo Drouin's Music! Enigmatic Forward Returns to the Bolts

So Johnny D is back in the arena.  The Lightning, beset with injuries (someone make sure Nigel Kirwan hasn’t had a camera fall on him or something), succumbed to the inevitable and recalled their prodigal son.  Now can their former top prospect help them clinch home ice advantage and spark a little life into their moribund offense or will he find himself playing six minutes a game?

Drouin has done what Tampa Bay asked since he got off the couch, turned off the X-Box and returned to the organization.  He has scored nine times in his last nine games with Syracuse and has, from reports, been an exemplary teammate.  Except for one alarm clock-related mishap he has kept his name out of the gossip news and on the score sheet.

Now the questions is, will Coach Cooper truly #FreeDrouin?  Let’s face it, having him play on the fourth line and grind away ice time with Brian Boyle and JT Brown was not, is not, and will never be the way to use the former first round pick.  Whatever his deficiencies, real or imagined, might be defensively with the puck, he has to be given an opportunity to score or else Tampa Bay might as well have called up Joel Vermin or Yanni Gourde again.

Drouin isn’t being brought so that Jonathan Marchessault or Mike Blundin (and his 23% shooting percentage) can move up to the top line.  As stubborn as Coach Cooper is, he has to realize that the Lightning need offense right now with Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan out of the line up.  That’s what Drouin can provide,  even if it comes with the occasional turn over.  Heck he’s watched Val Filppula do it all season, why not let the young kid do it as well?

2013- The last time both of them smiled at the same time

According to a tweet by the Tampa Tribune’s Erik Erlendsson, it does appear that Drouin will get a shot at some top line minutes.  In the morning skate he was taking rushes with Alex Killorn and Vlad Namestnikov, which, for lack of a better combination, is now the default number two line behind the reunited Triplets Line. How long that lasts is anybody’s guess, but hopefully it’s more than three or four shifts.

Drouin wasn’t the only one called up.  Also catching the short flight from Syracuse to New Jersey was Evan Oberg….I mean Matt Taormina.  It looks like Taormina will slot in for Slater Koekkoek who was sent back to Syracuse.  Kind of an odd move as I felt Koekkoek actually played fairly well against the Rangers in his last game.

If you thought the forward lines were a mess for the Lightning, the defensive pairings are a train wreck.  Coach Cooper looks like he will split his veterans with the young guys as Jason Garrison was skating with Andrej Sustr, Nikita Nesterov with Hopeful Chase favorite Matt Carle, Tamorina with Brayden Coburn and the injured Victor Hedman with Nikita Nesterov. I am thinking that the coach goes with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen to spread out the ice time for his mish-mashed defense unit.

Matt Carle tries to stick check an opponent.  Photo by Bruce Bennet/ Getty Images

That….that…is going to be an adventure to say the least.  I’m assuming Garrison/Sustr will get the most minutes, but if that’s the top pairing going into the playoffs then the 15/2 odds of the Lightning winning the Eastern Conference are not high enough.  Since Hedman was skating, that’s a good sign he’ll be back by the time the fun starts next week, but the Lightning defense as is, is not good.

Erlendsson also tweeted that Ben Bishop was first off the ice so it looks like he’s getting the start.  How much Bishop plays in the last two games came up over on Raw Charge where our dear leader John argued that he should be benched for the next two games in order to rest up for the playoffs.

Valid points were made (especially since injuries severely hampered the MVP in both of the last two playoff seasons) and Bishop’s workload over the last three years has been rather heavy.  However, the Lightning need to win one of these next two games to lock up home ice advantage in the first round.  This year more than ever I think they need it.  For whatever reason they are a completely different team on the road then they have been in years past.  And while their home record might not be as locked in as it was last year, I’ll still take the chance of playing four home games in the first round over playing four road games.

My thought was to play Andrei Vasilevskiy tonight against New Jersey and then, if they don’t win, start Bishop against Montreal in the season finale.  That still gives Bishop plenty of rest over the last two weeks of the season while also giving the Lightning the best chance to secure those final two points (lets face it, New Jersey is a better team than Montreal at this point).  However, it looks like Coach Cooper is pushing his chips to the table and looking to lock up the number 2 seed tonight.

Whatever happens, let’s remember that somehow, someway, the Lightning have stumbled to 45 wins this season.  If they win their two remaining games, the 47 wins will be the second most wins in a season in franchise history behind last season’s 50 wins.  They have had a good year.

Forty-some wins with the injuries they’ve suffered is almost impossible.  If you look at games played, Alex Killorn is their only forward who hasn’t missed a game, heck he’s their only player who hasn’t missed a game this season.  They’ve been without their top goal scorer (Stamkos), their top THREE defensemen (Hedman, Garrison and Anton Stralman), two-thirds of their second line (Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat) for significant periods of time and they are still looking at one of the top seeds in the playoffs.

God bless what Gerald Gallant has done in Florida, but this might be Coach Cooper’s best coaching since he’s been in the NHL. The Lightning coach has not only had to deal with injuries but also the Jonathan Drouin situation and the Stamkos contract issues.  Granted, his best move has been to put Ben Bishop between the pipes 59 times this season, but still he has jerry-rigged this team into the playoffs. That has to count for something when it comes to the coach of the year awards,

Two games are left for the Lightning and they are chasing two points to lock up the number two seed.  Hopefully number 27 helps them do that.

Game 38 - The One Where I Write About Jo Drouin

Game: 38

Opponent: New York Rangers

Score: 2-5 Regulation Loss

Thoughts:

So yeah, I didn't watch this game. Thanks to the weird NHL Gamecenter blackout rules I wasn't eligible to watch the game live. It was “blacked out” in my area. Which, if I had cable I would understand. But I don't. And the folks that control these things know that. How do I know? Because when I log into NBC Sports they say that I don't have cable so I'm not eligible to watch the game online through their website. Good times.

Instead I watched a bit of the Penguins/Toronto game. Wow, I thought Lightning fans had it bad. Pittsburgh fans must be super sad this season. After that I went to the bar, had a grilled cheese sandwich and a couple of beers, went home and listened to the third period of the Lightning game.

Apparently they didn't play that well. Even the ever-excited Dave Mishkin sounded depressed when the final horn sounded. He made a point to mention that except for a brief time in the third period they lacked urgency. Jonathan Drouin played in the game. In his 10:51 of playing time he managed be on the ice for 2 of the Rangers goals, he mustered one shot and had one takeaway. Not one of his better stat lines.

On Saturday the Lightning made a roster move. Johnathan Drouin was reassigned to Syracuse of the AHL in order to make room for Ondrej Palat who is set to come back against the Minnesota Wild. The move sent a shock wave through the Lightning community. Well maybe a shock ripple. Let's see what the response was. Here are some replied to Erik Erlendsson's Tweet:

@Ax-NHL: Bust

Yes, let's label him a bust with less than 100 games played in the NHL.

@Probbins47: Is Cooper turning into the NHL's Chip Kelly?

What? I don't even get the point this person is trying to make. First of all, Coach Cooper doesn't have final say in player moves. If Steve Yzerman want's Drouin on the roster, he would be on the roster. Also, Coach Cooper actually wins trophies.

@BraizNasty: wow TB is falling apart

@BuckB727: this organization is a mess

@_Dixieland_: what is wrong with TB

Guys. Do you remember the dark days? Do you remember when The Cowboys were in charge? Do you remember when they couldn't make payroll? That's an organization that is falling apart. This is an organization that hit a speed bump and is trying to get their top prospect some playing time.

@giamberadino: this seems to be a recurring pattern with their superstars

Yes. All of the Lightning superstars have been sent back to the minors. Remember when Stamkos and Hedman racked up all of those points with Norfolk?

Everybody needs to relax. As some other, slightly more rational, fans have pointed out, Drouin is caught up in a numbers game. With Palat coming back, the Lightning have a ton of forwards on the roster. Drouin is able to be sent down to Syracuse and not have to pass through waivers. Nobody else that might be sent down has that luxury.

Also, as much of a fan of Drouin as I am, I admit that he has struggled this year. Sadly his stat line against the Rangers isn't that much different than what he's been doing since the beginning of the year. He's had his chances on the top line and while he show's flashes of belonging, for the most part he hasn't earned his spot on the roster.

Going down to Syracuse will allow him to play 20 minutes a game. It will allow him to develop the aspects that he might be struggling with. I'm sure that Mr. Yzerman and Coach Cooper have told him what they're looking for in his play in the AHL. The general manager has already said that Drouin will be back up this year.

The Lightning are not giving up on Drouin. They are trying to make him better. That's all this is about. He might be pissed about getting demoted. Heck I'm glad he's pissed. If he wasn't I would wonder about his desire to play. Now he needs to turn that anger into points. He needs to rack up the points, win face-offs, backcheck and protect the puck like a madman. Show them the player they think he is. Make it impossible for them to keep him down there for long.

I think a lot of this, and the a lot of the #FreeDrouin “controversy” could have been avoided. Drouin wasn't ready for the NHL last year. Or at least he wasn't ready for the Lightning NHL team. He shouldn't be playing 10 minutes on the fourth line. He is a top six forward and he should be playing 17-20 minutes a game.

If the Lightning could have put him in the AHL last year, he could have spent that year developing some of the skills that he struggles with in the NHL. However, the Lightning didn't have that option. It was either the NHL or juniors – a league in which Drouin had nothing left to prove.

It is one of those situations that makes fans wonder if the current agreement between the NHL and the Canadian Hockey League needs some refreshing. For the most part it makes sense. A lot of the 18 and 19 year olds drafted are not ready for professional hockey. However, from time to time there is a player that is stuck in between.

Perhaps each organization should be allowed an exemption. I don't want to see all of the talent flow out of Juniors. It would be detrimental to the league and to the development of a vast majority of the players that come through the program. However, some flexibility would help teams with players caught in the middle – players like Jonathan Drouin.

Did Matt Carle Get a Point?

Nope. Another game and another goose egg. He saw 13 minutes of ice time and, like Drouin, was a -2.