Game: 52
and 53
Opponent: Ottawa
and Montreal
Score: 1-5
Loss and 2-4 Loss
Thoughts:
Well. That was a
fun trip through Canada, now wasn't it. When they crossed the border
into the Great White North the Lightning were in second place in the
Atlantic Division and ready to show the world that their recent
winning streak wasn't restricted to the Sunshine State. Three days
and two losses later, when asked if they had anything to declare at
the border they responded with, “Yeah, we got our asses kicked.”
Nine goals
(granted with the exchange rate it's only really like giving up 4 and
½ goals) allowed against two teams behind them in the standings is
not good hockey. At least against Montreal they looked like they
understood the game of hockey as opposed to their night in Ottawa.
I'm not sure what game they were playing in Canada's capital city,
but it sure wasn't hockey.
With their two
losses the Lightning saw both Detroit and Boston leapfrog them in the
standings. Now, instead of being comfortably in the playoffs (with
home ice) they are in a wild card spot. Another loss and a New Jersey
win and the Lightning are back out of the playoffs and the negative
vibes can flow freely again.
Speaking of bad
juju, it's funny how when the Lightning are losing the Steven Stamkos
saga becomes more intense, but when they win it kind of fades to the
background. While it's on my mind, let me lift the Stammergeddon ban
for a second.
As the trade
deadline nears who in their right mind would trade for Stamkos? And
why would they part with anything of significance? If you were a GM
would you pay the king's ransom for a player that you may have for
the better part of two months (maybe two more if you make the
playoffs?) If he's traded to a non-Toronto team, there is no way he
signs an extension before July 1st.
So why trade a
couple of high draft picks and top tier prospect? There is no way
Mr. Yzerman is taking less than that for his captain and face of the
franchise. Would Toronto trade for him? Would he waive his no-trade
for Toronto? Maybe. If I'm not mistaken, that would allow the Maple
Leafs to offer him the extra year as a free agent. Maybe that would
be worth it. But if you're Mr. Yzerman the names William Nylander
and Jake Gardiner better be the first words out of your mouth.
I don't believe he
gets traded. At this point he re-signs with the Lightning or signs
with Toronto in the off-season. Either way, I don't think there is
an answer until July 1st. Now back to the team.
The team from the
coach on down seemed to shake off the Ottawa loss as just one of
those days. Every team has them. For whatever reason nothing seems
to work and every mistake ends up in the back of the net. Case in
point – Nikita Kucherov turns the puck over in the neutral zone,
picks the wrong person to check in the defensive zone and the
Senators turn it into a goal. Or Jason Garrison tries to clear the
puck up the middle (something the Lightning do a lot of) and it's
knocked down and poked past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Sadly it was one
of the last things Mr. Garrison did in the game as he left the game
after the first period. I'm no medical expert (nor did I stay at a
Holiday Inn Express) but I do remember him throwing a check in the
first period and falling backward awkwardly backwards, with his ankle
bending underneath his body. So I'm going with high-ankle sprain or
tweaked knee. Whatever is broken on him will keep him out 3-5 weeks,
which means the Lightning are short a defenseman.
Will they go the
trade route? After all, according to the rumor scuttlebutt, all of
the deals for Johnny Drouin included a blueliner coming back the
other way (Cody Ceci or Kevin Shattenkirk). Unfortunately, St. Louis
took a hit of their own with Alex Pietrangelo hurting his knee so
those talks might have cooled off a bit. Ottawa did bring in Dion
Phaneuf so they could technically afford to trade Ceci.
For now it looks
like they will keep things in house as they've called up Slater
Koekkoek. Yes I'm excited to have someone called Slater on the team
so I can make unlimited “Saved By the Bell” jokes. Also, I
really, really hope he wears the number 87 so that the Lightning can
ice an 86-91 line:
86 – Nikita
Kucherov
87 – Slater
Koekkoek
88 – Vasilevskiy
89 – Nikita
Nesterov
90 – Vlad
Namestnikov
91 – Steven
Stamkos
A blogger can
dream, right?
While Garrison's
injury is not good for the team it is good for the next part of this
recap....
Did Matt Carle Get a Point?
I was afraid I was
going to have to discontinue this feature after Matt Carle was
scratched for the last few games (and Nesterov looking better with
increased action). Carle did not play against Ottawa, but he did see
14:46 of action against Montreal. He did not score a point (boo), but
it wasn't from lack of trying as he fired 4 shots at the net.
Increase that trade value, baby!
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