Game 63 Recap: The One With All of the Callups

Game: 63
Opponent:  at Toronto
Score: 2-1 Win
Thoughts:

Welcome back to the recaps!  My god, it has been awhile hasn’t it?  The last time posted a recap I believe the Lightning were clinging to a playoff spot and now they’re looking down from atop the Atlantic Division.  It’s been so long that even Matt Carle has scored!

I apologize for abandoning this project for a month.  Life, as it tends to do, got in the way a bit.  A little bit of traveling, a couple of “sleep studies” and various changes in work hours have gotten in the way of watching and recapping the games. Luckily, things are slowing down a bit so more time for me, yea!

Monday night found the Lightning in Toronto riding a six-game winning streak that has given them some separation from the bottom of the pack of Eastern Conference playoff race. Wins against Pittsburgh and New Jersey, two teams chasing a wild card spot, really, really helped the cause.

For once this season, the storyline against Toronto wasn’t revolving around Steven Stamkos future employer.  It was, instead, about the debut of the next generation of homegrown Toronto talent.  Four players were making their NHL debut, among them highly touted rookies William Nylander (son of former Lightning forward Michael Nylander), Kasperi Kapanen (son of former NHL’er Sami Kapanen who scored 9 goals against the Lightning in his career) and Nikita Soshnikov  (who was scouted by Evgeny Namestnikov, father of current Lightning forward, Vlad).

The Maple Leafs have spent the last year burning their team down to the ground, digging a hole and burning it some more, taking the ashes and then throwing them in an incinerator.  As Lightning fans, we’ve been through this process and it is painful.  However, the Leafs are at the point where it begins to turn.  Instead of watching retreads like Roman Polak and Rich Clune lose games they now get to see prospect like Nylander and Kapanen lose games.  Trust me, there is a difference.

Remember when the Lightning did their mass call up from Syracuse at the end of the 2012-13 season and we got to see a glimpse of Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Richard Panik, Ondrej Palat at the NHL level?  Wasn’t that fun?  That’s what Leaf fans get to enjoy for the next month - hope.

As for the game, to be honest, whether it was all of the youthful exuberance in the line up or the fact that the Lightning had played in Boston the night before, the Leafs outplayed them for most of the game.  With exception to the first period, where the play was pretty even, most of the game belonged to the Leafs. They just couldn’t put one past Andrei Vasilevskiy until late in the game.

The Lightning did get two goals from a stitched-up Tyler Johnson (perhaps taking a puck to the face reminded him that he is, indeed, good at hockey), but the number one star for them was Vasilevskiy.  The young goaltender was sharp in gaining his 11th win of the year.  The 22 points the Lightning have picked up in his starts can’t be understated.  Being able to give Ben Bishop a rest and still have a better than 50% chance to win is a tremendous advantage in a close playoff race.

It was obvious as the game went on that the Leafs had the quicker legs. They were first to loose pucks, dominated the neutral zone and limited the Lightning to occasional forays into the offensive zone.  However, along with Vasy’s excellent play, Tampa Bay as a team did a great job of clearing rebounds and keeping most of the threats to the perimeter.

Early on in the game the Lightning dominated. They pressed the Marlies Leafs in the zone and unloaded 15 shots on goal (and another three that found iron). If it wasn’t for Garret Sparks and his awesome leg pads, the game could have gotten out of hand early.  Perhaps Sparks’ best save came on Valtteri Filppula who was looking at an empty net after collecting a rebound.  Unfortunately for the blond Finn, Sparks was able to get enough of his stick on it to deflect it wide.  Sparks would also stop Filppula on a breakaway later in the game.

Sparks is not getting a Christmas card from Flip this year.

There was a feeling that if the Lightning could get one goal things would fall apart for Toronto.  They didn’t get that goal until the second period when Tyler Johnson, using a nifty pick by Brayden Coburn on a Leafs defenseman (that’s why he got the big bucks) roofed a shot over Sparks’ shoulder.  Things did not fall apart. Johnson scored 11 minutes later when he was able to trickle a shot through Sparks’ pads. It was a soft goal that the rookie net minder should not have allowed. Surely, now the Leafs, who had had been pressuring the Lightning for most of the ten minutes between the two goals would collapse.  Nope, and don’t call me “Shirley”.  In fact they increased the pressure and held the Lightning to only 5 shots on net.

Of the young players Kapanen seemed to be the most dangerous. He seemed to always have the puck on his stick in front of the net and of his 5 shots that were directed at the net at least three of them were close enough that I breathed a sigh of relief when they didn’t go in.

The Lightning won a game that, on paper, they should have won. They also won a game that, on ice, they shouldn’t have won.  The future is bright for the Leafs.  God help us all if they add Auston Matthews and a certain high-priced free agent center.

Those things are so awesome. Best pads in the league!

Did Matt Carle Score a Point:

Sadly, he did not.  Everyone’s favorite beleaguered defenseman was on the ice for a season-high 21 minutes (probably due to Andrej Sustr leaving the game with an injury) and recorded one shot on net.  He wasn’t bad, more like back to his invisible self.  There was at least one, “puck turned over by Carle” comment from announcer Rick Peckham, but other than that a solid game.

Carle has been playing decently since his return to the lineup. He has 3 points on the season now and has proved valuable in the absence of Jason Garrison. If Sustr is out for any length of time, Carle should be able to fill the spot adequately.

Game 16 - Missing in Minnesota

Yes I realize two games are missing. I'll get to those this week.

Game: 16

Opponent: @ Minnesota

Did I watch Live?: Yes

Three Stars: 3. Nikita Kucherov 2. Ben Bishop 1. Devan Dubnyk (From now on we will just assume that the number spot will go to the opposing goaltender)

Worst Play: Steven Stamkos tripping over....ummm...his own skates and wiping out. For a super awesome wonderful hockey player there are moments where he resembles a baby gazelle. Let's hit the flashback machine!

Thoughts:

This stuff is getting pretty old. Lightning play well, get chances, don't score. The Lightning have a momentary let down, the other team scores. The Lightning start moping and watch Ben Bishop stop a bunch of shots. The Lightning regain momentum, hit a couple of posts, get robbed by the goaltender once or twice. The Lightning hear the final whistle, skate back to the bench with Sad Panda faces because they lost again. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Another road game and another loss. This time it was to the Minnesota Wild, 1-0. Ben Bishop was back between the pipes and once again, despite having a pretty good game, took the loss. He has now dropped five in a row. Total amount of goals scored by his team in those five loses – 3 (two by MY BOY NIKITA KUCHEROV).

In our fun with numbers section lets look at Ben Bishop. He is now 5-7-1 on the season. In his five wins the Lightning have scored 19 goals. In his 8 losses they've scored 11 (and 7 of those came in 2 games). That's not a lot of support. It's enough to make the tall man take up drinking. If it isn't then watching his so-called teammates score 8 goals in Andrei Vasilevskiy's two wins should have him reaching for the nearest bottle of Fireball (he looks like a guy who drinks Fireball, right?)

Maybe they're saving all of their goals for the post season. Or they're trying to see if a goaltender with a losing record can win a Vezina. Who knows? Whatever they're doing they have to figure it out soon. Their next two games are against Buffalo (thank you for the 3 wins!) and Calgary (the first JoVsJohnny match-up!). Then things get a bit challenging with the Rangers, Capitals and Kings all coming up.

There is some good news lost in their offensive struggles. They've definitely fixed their penalty kill. Since giving up 2 power play goals against Dallas on October 13^th, they've killed off 31 of 33 times shorthanded (and one of those was a 5-on-3 goal) to raised their overall kill percentage to 80.9%.

Overall they're only giving up 2.31 goals a game which puts them 8^th in the league. That's good. They're just behind Anaheim who is giving up 2.29 games a game. The two teams play each other on November 21^st – bet the under.

At some point they're going to figure out how to score again. They are literally too good not to eventually succeed. We just have to sit back and hope it's not too late in the season.

Jo or Johnny:

Let's welcome Jonathan Drouin back to the lineup! The youngster was finally healthy enough to suit up and play. Not wanting to disrupt the awesome chemistry that the top three lines have developed (why yes that is sarcasm) he skated with Brian Boyle and possible fledgling Jedi JT Brown. 

Aww, Star Wars Couple's Costume! Photo taken from Lexi Lafleur's (that's his girlfriend) Instagram

Sadly our favorite skater was held scoreless in his return to action and still sits at 6 points. On the other side of the continent Johnny Hockey threw down 3 points in his match-up with Sidney Crosby. He has taken advantage of Drouin's absence to take an 11 point lead in their competition. He sits at 17 points with 4 goals and 13 assists in 15 games played.

Game 13 Recap - A Win? What the Hell is That?

Game: 13
Opponent: @ Carolina
Did I Watch Live?: Nope
Why Not?:  Went to Ikea
Did I watch the replay?: Yup
Three Stars:  3. Kris Versteeg 2. Ryan Callahan 1. Nikita Kucherov
Worst Play:  After breaking a 4-game losing streak there are no worst plays
Thoughts:
Yes, I passed on an opportunity to watch the game live so that I could head out to the suburbs to pick up some things from Ikea. The Duchess had spilled some coffee on the couch and we needed a new cover for it.  It was an excuse to ride in a car and spend some time outside of the apartment with the wife.  When you work second shift hours you have to make the most of your time together and I’ve spent the last few nights with the headphones on watching the game on the computer.

We own a car but I haven’t been in it since some time in July or August.  I think it was August.  I can’t even remember the last time I actually drove it other then to move it on a street cleaning day. So I rode shotgun out to Schaumberg for a little Swedish shopping.

What did I miss?  Only the best offensive performance since the Bolts were in Winnipeg. Four goals by four different players and a strong season debut for Andrei Vasilevskiy. The four goals double the amount the team had been able to produce in the previous FOUR GAMES and brought a little relief to Lightning Nation.

Also feeling a little bit of relief was the forward who scored the fourth goal for the Lightning - Tyler Johnson. Number 9 finally broke his scoring drought when he roofed a nifty little wrister under the crossbar on a 2-on-1 midway through the third period.  The goal gave the Lightning a 4-1 lead and pretty much salted away the game.

The four goals ended up being just enough to edge out the Hurricanes, a team that had been riding a bit of a hot streak as they had won three in a row coming into the game.  Vasilevskiy was solid in his return, stopping 32 of 35 shots in earning his first win of the season. It looks like he has recovered from his surgery and is ready to settle in as Ben Bishop’s backup.

Carolina would draw within two when Kris Versteeg snuck a breakaway goal past Vasilevskiy with a few minutes left to play.  Jordan Staal would score the least dramatic buzzer beater in history as he scorched a slap shot past the Russian goalie with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.

Kind of a letdown finish to the game, but a win is a win is a win.  Capturing two points on the first game of another four game road trip is a great way to start.  It will be interesting to see if they can keep the offense going against a Red Wings team that handed them their first loss of the season.

A Jonathan Drouin Comparison:

Jonathan Drouin is stuck on the sidelines with a lower body injury.  Until he returns to challenge Johnny Hockey I will be comparing him to some players with similar Lightning stats.  In 33 games with the Lightning Drouin has scored 5 goals.  Another Lightning forward who has five career goals for the team  - Jaroslav Svejkovsky.

Svejkovsky found himself on one of the worst teams in franchise history when he was traded to Tampa in January  of 2000.  He would end up playing in 29 games for a team that only won 19 games all season long. He actually faired well netting 10 points (5 goals and 5 assists).

The Czech forward was a number one draft pick for the Washington Capitals in 1996. Drafted 17th overall (just after the Lightning drafted Mario Larocque) “Yogi” was part of a young nucleus for the Caps that included Richard Zednik and Jan Bulis.  While a prolific scorer in the minors (he scored 58 goals for the Tri-City American in 1995-96 and 38 for the Portland Pirates in 1996-97) he never transferred that scoring touch to the NHL.

After the one partial season with the Lightning he would play 2 games for their IHL affiliate in Detroit before suffering a concussion that would end his career. He is currently serving as a coach for the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League.

Game 12: Connolly Comes Back To Ruin The Lightning's Night

Game: 12
Opponent:  Boston
Did I Watch Live?: Why, yes I did!
Wow, exciting Halloween for you in the big city: It was.
Three Stars: 3. Anton Stralman 2. Ben Bishop 1. Brett Connolly
Worst Play:

Victor Hedman had a pretty bad shift with about 6 minutes to go in the game.  First he flung a blind pass into the slot right onto Jimmy Hayes’ stick. Which wouldn’t have been bad if Hayes played for the Lightning.  Unfortunately he doesn’t.  Luckily Ben Bishop made the save.  He then had to make another save as Hedman failed to clear the zone once again.

Thoughts:

Losing is rarely fun. However, there are always teams that make losing to them even more excruciating. Boston is one of those teams. There is just something about them, the players, the coach, the fans, the announcers that makes it more infuriating when they come out on the winning side.

Unfortunately on Halloween night, the Lightning and their fans had to deal with yet another loss to the Bruins. The offense sputtered once again as they dropped the 3-1 decision on Saturday night. Former Bolt Brett Connolly had the deciding goal as he converted a cross ice pass while the Bruins were enjoying a 5-on-3 power play.

The good news is that the Lightning actually  held a first period lead, something that is as rare as a Mattias Ohlund sighting. According to the Tampa broadcast video, the team has yet to end a first period with a lead. The bad news is that the streak continued.  Matt Beleskey took a shot, got knocked down and fired home a spinning backhand shot on the rebound that surprised Bishop.

As mentioned, Connolly’s game winner came on a 5-on-3 power play. Both penalties by the Lightning were a little ticky-tack.  Hedman (not his best game) took a holding penalty on Brad Marchand’s breakaway. The Big Swede put his hand on Marchand’s hip and the Boston forward spun down like he had been shot.  A minute and a half later Erik Condra was fore checking in the Boston corner when he poked his stick at the puck. Unfortunately he missed and Torey Krug stepped on the blade and fell down.

The Lightning lost the ensuing faceoff and the Bruins were able to pass the puck along the perimeter. Marchand threaded the needle with his pass across the crease and Connolly flicked it into the open net.  There was actually a better chance of the puck hitting Stralman and deflecting into the net then Connolly getting the pass and being able to roof it past the outstretched Bishop.

Depressing as it may be to be scored on by the team’s former first round pick, the real sad part of the game was the lack of offense from the Lightning.  Yes, they are a bit beat up on the front lines with Jonathan Drouin missing another game along with Cedric Paquette. Brian Boyle returned and Tyler Johnson played after being doubtful for most of the game, but both of those centers are playing at less than 100%.

Still despite the banged up offense, they are still spending time in the opponents zone. They just aren’t getting shots on net.  They are actually generating some shots, just not getting them on goal.  They were credited with 22 shots (despite having 5 power plays) and Boston was credited with blocking 14 shots.  There were another dozen or so that went wide of the net.

They have to find a way to direct more of the shots on target.  Instead of trying to score goals off of pretty passes (although Nikita Kucherov’s goal was pretty, pretty) they have to start owning the front of the net and scoring the ugly goals. Until then they’re going to struggle.

Jo Vs. Johnny:
This feature is being suspended until Mr. Drouin is back on the ice.

Game 11 - At Least They Scored

Game: 11

Opponent: Colorado

Did I watch Live?: Yes, I did!

Three Stars: 3. Ben Bishop 2. Nathan McKinnon 1. SemyonVarlamov

Worst Play: Tyler Johnson's goalie interference “penalty”. So let me get this straight. You get cross-checked into the goalie AND you still get an interference call? In my less-than-expert opinion, the ref saw Johnson crash into Varlamov, assumed he did it of his own accord and called a penalty. When he huddled up with his buddies they told him what happened so an off-setting cross-checking penalty was called. Still cost the Lightning a power play. That's where I miss having Bobby Taylor in the booth. He would have gone crazy.

Thoughts:

Well, the team has killed something along the lines of 20 straight penalties. So that's good news. They also scored a power play goal against Colorado in the 2-1 loss. That's good as well. Unfortunately, for the third straight game they were held off the score sheet while skating five-on-five. That's not good.

There was some hope going into Thursday's game that Colorado, and Semyon Varlamov in particular, would be the cure for the Lightning's offensive woes. After all, in four of his five previous games he had given up 3 or more goals, including 4 goals to the not-so-good Columbus Blue Jackets. Sadly, they ran into the Varlomov who almost won the Vezina in 2013-14.

Varlamov (and the goal post) kept the Lightning off the score board until Alex Killorn broke the scoreless drought late in the second period when he jammed home a rebound on the power play. Kllorn looked good all game long as he was re-united with Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan on the top line. Callahan, showing the traits that made him a captain in New York, was all over the ice, throwing checks in the corners, setting up in front of the net and generally causing a ruckus all game long.

The Colorado goalie won the game in Tampa. Make no mistake about that. The Lightning played on tilted ice all game long and generated one of their best games in terms of possessions and shots. With the exception of the McKinnon,Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla line, it was all Tampa.

Ben Bishop was solid. He bailed the Lightning out early by making a diving blocker save on Matt Duchesne thirty seconds into the game. From there on he made all the saves he needed to win the game. Both of the Avalanche goals were slightly freaky- Tanguay's just barely trickled over the line before the ref blew his whistle and McKinnon's was the result of the puck redirecting to his stick off of Bishop's skate. An inch or two in either direction and Bishop posts a 1-0 shutout win.

The Lightning are gripping the sticks a bit tight right now, but they are still playing well. If they stick to what they're doing the goals will come.

Jo or Johnny:

Jonathan Drouin was a late scratch with the ol' dreaded “lower body injury”. Of course, the lateness of him missing the game set off the “Cooper Hates Drouin” crowd on twitter. Odd, I didn't see any of them post apologies after the official word came out that he was hurt. Any way, he is stuck on 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists). Johnny Gaudreau picked up an assist against Ottawa. He is up to 1 goal and 10 assists. Good for him.

Game 10 - Goals are Overrated

Game: 10

Opponent: @ St. Louis

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Why Not?: Work and NHL Game Center's weird 48 hour blackout rule.

Did I watch on replay?: Eventually

Three Stars: 3. Me, for watching the game knowing the outcome 2. Alex Killorn 1. Jake Allen

Worst Play: Pierre McGuire laughing uncontrollaby at the name of Ben Bishop's family restaurant - “Bishop's Post”

Thoughts:

When I thought of this little project I knew there would be games like this. Games I missed live due to whatever reason (usually work) that I had had no interest in watching. A 1-0 loss to the Blackhawks is one thing. Following it up with a 2-0 loss to the Blues is dreadful. Not that the Blues are a bad team, but after watching them not score in one game, do I really want to spend another hour and a half watching them not score again.

Apparently I do, as I finally got around to watching. The first period wasn't too bad. If you're one of those fans that believe hard work and pushing the play of the game (rink generalship if you will) then you would be extra disappointed in the fact that after 20 minutes St. Louis had the lead.

The Lightning outshot the Blues 12-7 and had a healthy lead in attempted shots (something like 29 to 12) but thanks to a little lackadaisical play by Bishop they trailed. With about four minutes left in the period, the Blues won a faceoff in the Lightning zone they worked it back to the point (Alex Killorn had a chance to clear but he choose to play the body) where Colton Parayko (Pierre's favorite player of the game) fired a puck at the net. Bishop nonchalantly stood at his goal line thinking it was going high and wide. Unfortunately old man Scott Gomez got his stick in the way and redirected it past Bishop. All the goalie could do was appeal to the ref that Gomez's stick was above the crossbar. It wasn't.

That was all Jake Allen needed for the win. The Lightning ricocheted a couple of pucks off of the post, but couldn't generate enough to get anything past Allen. Troy Bower would seal the game with an empty netter with less than a minute to play. The buzzer sounded and Tampa Bay had been shut out for the second consecutive game.

Despite the two shutouts, they did manage to pick up 4 out of 8 points on their swing through the Central Division. And they did so why picking up some nagging injuries. The casual observer might think that not having bottom six forwards Brian Boyle and Cedric Paquette in the line up isn't a huge deal when Stamkos, The Triplets, Killorn and Drouin are still in the lineup, but the loss of Boyle and Paquette did upset the lines a bit. Going with the 11 forwards and 7 defensemen caused a lot of line mixing, I'm pretty sure Valteri Filppula played with every single forward on the team, and it was hard for some players (Jonathan Drouin) to adjust to the changes.

Hopefully a return (although brief) to home ice recharges the offense.

Jo or Johnny:

Like his teammates, Drouin was held scoreless against the Blues and is no without a point for the 5^th straight game. Not good for a top line forward. If the rest of the team was scoring, then his play might be more of a topic. Should he moved off of Stamkos' line? Not yet. He is still playing well, just not able to cash in on his opportunities. Moving to Calgary – hey Johnny Gaudreau didn't score! Despite being shut out by the Islanders he still leads this little contest 10 point to 6.

Game 9 - A Return To The Windy City

Yes, I know I'm a week behind.  The good news is that the only game I still have to watch is the St. Louis games.  When the Lightning play on a national channel it really screws with my time line as I have to wait 48 hours to watch the replay - the downfall of being a cord-cutter.

Game: 9

Opponent: at Chicago

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Don't You Live in Chicago?: Yup

Why Didn't You Just Go To The Game?: Games are crazy expensive up here. I'm going to use that money to go to another Lightning road game

Which One?: It's a surprise

Really?: Yup.

Did I watch on replay?:Yes I did. Eventually

Three Stars: 3. Jonathan Toews 2. Corey Crawford 1. Kristers Gudlevskis

Worst Play: Every time Blackhawks announcer Pat Foley tried to say Gudlevskis

Matt Carle is not impressed with Andrew Shaw's air guitar solo.

Thoughts:

They honestly didn't play too bad. Sure they lost 1-0 in overtime, but the Lightning managed to pick up a point against a good team on the road while playing the second game of a back-to-back. So yeah, I'll take it.

The first period was actually a pretty good period for the Lightning. They dictated the play, forced penalties by skating hard and then just couldn't convert (they would go 0-4 on the power play for the game, but you probably guessed that since they got shut out).

About five minutes into the second period, their long travel seemed to catch up to them. The Blackhawks started to drive possession and held the Lightning to only 4 shots. Gudlevskis, in his season debut, held down the fort. He made several key stops (10 in all that period) to keep the defending Stanley Cup champs off the scoreboard. The Latvian netminder looked much, much better than he did in training camp.

Sadly it wasn't enough (much like his performance for Latvia in the Olympics a few years ago) and Johnathan Toews,who is way to serious for all of that end-to-end nonsense we've seen in overtime so far, knocked in his own rebound less than a minute into the extra session.

The Lightning's struggles continue in the Windy City, luckily they don't have to make another stop there this season.

Jo or Johnny:

Drouin was held off the score sheet once again and is now riding a four-game scoreless streak. He didn't play bad, but his entire line was quite ineffective against the Blackhawks. He might benefit the most on the team once The Triplets get rolling. If they find their groove, teams might pull the top defensive pairings off of the Stamkos line and Drouin might see some more open ice. Meanwhile Gaudreau keeps rolling along, picking up two more points against the Red Wings.  

Recap Game 8: Getting Caught Up

Game: 8

Opponent: @ Winnipeg

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Why Not?: Date night with the Duchess

Where did you go? HB Bistro

Was it good? As always

What did you have? Sweet Potato Gnocchi. It was delightful

Did I watch on replay?: Eventually

Three Stars: 3. Nikolaj Ehlers 2. Ondrej Palat 1. Victor Hedman

Worst Play: Ben Bishop whiffing on the clear which led to the shorthanded goal by Blake Wheeler.

Thoughts:

The Lightning have a young fast team. The Jets have a young fast team. That led to this being quite the entertaining match up. As the road trip winds through the Central Division the Lightning seem to be finding their game. It was nice to see them swarm Winnipeg in the offensive zone, stalling their breakouts and generating turnovers.

When Tampa is active in the offensive and neutral zone it helps their offense so much. For the first time this year they seemed to be playing that kind of game. Even without the big man Brian Boyle, the 4^th line played another great game. Vlad Namestnikov, Cedric Paquette and Erik Condra were put together and they generated some offense with Paquette and Namestnikov picking up important goals (Vladdy's was extra special huge as he scored 20 seconds after Drew Stafford had tied the game).

I think it's time we stop referring to them at the “4^th line”. That has such negative connotations. For years we've come to believe that forth lines are thrown on the ice for 10 minutes a game solely to protect the puck and not give up goals. No matter what combination has played on that line – they've contributed on the scoreboard.

• Brian Boyle: 2 goals, 2 assists
• Erik Condra: 2 goals, 2assists
• Vlad Namestnikov: 3 goals, 1 assist
• JT Brown: EVEN JT BROWN IS SCORING!

Your Number 1 source for JT Brown Highlights (on the ice or on his head)

They've been picking up the slack while “The Triplets” find their game. It's getting harder and harder for other teams (not named the Blackhawks) to keep the Lightning off of the scoreboard. Once the Johnson line figures things out, and they seem to be headed in that direction, Tampa will be able to roll four lines that can score. Depth is nice.

Overall it was a nice back-and-forth game between two young teams. There were a few defensive lapses that lead to goals (Strafford's and Nikolaj Ehlers – who played on a line with Jonathan Drouin in juniors, that must have been fun to watch), but the win was vintage 2014-15 Lightning. Having a solid offense can always bail out mistakes on defense, at least in the regular season.

Jo or Johnny:

The scoreless streak hit 3 games and he finished with a -2 (Thanks Ben Bishop!). Winnipeg did a pretty good job of keeping this line off of the score sheet overall. Through 8 games he is still sitting at 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists). Taking on Detroit, Johnny Gaudeau had his second consecutive 2 assist night. On a regressing Flames team he is emerging as a bright spot. Through Friday's games he had 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists) and is starting to put some distance between the two.

Game 7 Recap - No Joy (but a point) in Nashville

Game: 7

Opponent: at Nashville

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Why Not?: work

Did I watch on replay?: Yup

Three Stars: 3. Erik Condra 2. Erik Condra 1. Jimmy Neal

Worst Play: Ben Bishop whiffing on covering the puck on the first Nashville goal

Thoughts:

Sometimes you just end up on the losing end of an entertaining game. Such was the case Tuesday night when the Lightning traveled to Nashville (no wins for the Bolts since 2008!). Despite the 5-4 shoot-out loss they did walk away with some positives along with their Bettman point.

For the first time all year there were long stretches where they looked like the Lightning of last year. Crisp passing, speed in the neutral zone and shots from the point getting through to goal. They did get a few lucky breaks with the pucks bouncing the right way in the second period, but luck is often a byproduct of hard work and the Lightning were working hard all night.

Unfortunately for them, Nashville was with them step for step. Their first line of Mike Fisher, Filip Forsberg and James Neal was sharp. I'm pretty sure Neal ended up with 45 shots on net by the end of the game.

Erik Condra found himself back in the lineup and it looks like he didn't want to spend any more time in the press box. He rang a shot off the post in the first period and then briefly gave the Lightning the lead in the 3^rd with a quick snapshot off a beautiful feed from Brian Boyle. It will be interesting to see how Coach Cooper juggles his extra forward to keep Condra, Cedric Paquette and J.T. Brown fresh.

The overtime period wasn't quite as chaotic as opening night. There was a lot more circling with the puck and focus on puck possession. Still several opportunities presented themselves, including an Anton Stralman breakaway.

For all the talent they have, the shootout remains a bit of an Achilles Heel for the team. Ryan Callahan, Jonathan Drouin and MY BOY NIKITA KUCHEROV all were denied in the skills session. With all of the breakaways the Boyle has had on the season, I'm a bit surprised he wasn't in the line up.

Jo or Johnny:

Jonathan Drouin found himself back on the top line with Stamkos and Callahan and it looked like the benching paid off. He was extremely strong on the puck in the offensive zone and responsible in the defensive zone. In the overtime he used his hands to pick the pocket of a Nashville player leading to a good chance for the Lightning. He was held pointless (although he set a nice screen on Callahan's goal) and remains at 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists).

The Flames got shellacked by Washington on Tuesday, but Johnny Hockey did assist on both of Calgary's goals. With a game in hand, he takes the lead with 7 points (1 goal, six assists).

Game 6 - Bishop Bails out Lightning against Buffalo

Game: 6

Opponent: Buffalo

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Why Not?: Cubs playoff/Date with the Duchess

Did I watch on replay?: Yup

Three Stars: 3. Ramus Ristolainen 2. Alex Killorn 1. Ben Bishop

Worst Play: The entire first period

Thoughts:

The biggest question coming into the game involved how the Lightning would play with two of their defensemen on the sidelines. Victor Hedman (skull bounced off the glass) is the heart and soul of the defense while Nikita Nesterov (suspended) is proving to be an offensive spark. Luckily for Tampa Bay, their replacements (Slater Koekkoek and Andrej Sustr) played pretty well. And when they didn't they had Ben Bishop to bail them out.

Bishop bounced back from two straight losses with his strongest outing of the season. Unlike in Dallas, the rebounds were limited and the ones that he did allow didn't drift out into dangerous areas. The Lightning needed him to be on his game as they were outplayed for all of the first period and portions of the third by the Sabres. Despite the lackluster/uninterested/lackadaisical/uninspired play the Lightning managed to pull of the 2-1 win with goals by Vlad Namestnikov and Alex Killorn (on the power play!).

Along with the strong play by Bishop, the special teams were actually one of the areas the Lightning were successful. They didn't score until their fourth power play, but at least the first three didn't kill the little momentum they had built up during the game. On the other side, whatever tweaks they made to the penalty kill paid off as they kept Buffalo off of the scoreboard while they had the man advantage.

With the win, Bishop surpasses Nikolai Khabibulin as the goaltender with the most wins in franchise history with 84.  I guess that makes Bishop the best goalie in Tampa history, right?  Or the goalie that's had the best teammates?  Whatever it means, congratulations to Big Ben.

While the defense was the question going into the game, after the game, the offense was the story coming out. After watching his team generate just 3 shots in the first period and score their only goal on a breakaway in the second, Coach Cooper through his player's name in the blender and mixed up the lines. The third period saw Stamkos skating with Valterri Filppula and Ondrej Palat while Alex Killorn moved up to a line with Tyler Johnson and Ryan Callahan. The third Triplet, Nikita Kucherov found himself paired with Vlad Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette.

Noticeably absent from those line combinations was Johnathan Drouin. The second year winger did not enjoy his best game of the season. He looked a little tired and out of step for most of the game committing several turnovers and taking a bad penalty in the second period. Perhaps a little time on the bench will be a wake up call for him.

The Lightning have a few days off before staring a road trip that takes them through the Central Division with games against Nashville, Winnipeg, Chicago and St. Louis. This will not be an easy trip as three of the four teams sport winning records and the one that doesn't is the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Lightning cannot afford to play the 40 minute hockey games that they have been prone to through the first two weeks of the season.

Jo or Johnny:

The Flames are starting to actually play games so Gaudreau's games played are starting to catch up. Unfortunately he's not scoring as he's been shut out the last two times on the ice. Through five he has 5 points (1 goal and 4 assists). Jonathan Drouin saw his 3-game point streak snapped as he logged only 12 minutes of ice time – his lowest total of the season. He still leads Gaudreau by one point (1 goal and 5 assists).

Game 5 - Stamkos Scores Twice, But Stars Score More

Game: 5

Opponent: Dallas

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Why Not?: Work

Did I watch on replay?: Yup

Three Stars: 3. Brian Boyle 2. Jonathan Drouin 1. Jason Spezza

Worst Play:

Fifteen minutes into the second period and the Lightning were looking pretty good. They were in a stretch were they were dominating play and racking up shots. Victor Hedman had the puck along the boards and looked down for a few seconds before making his pass. It was just long enough for Jamie Benn to put his shoulder into Hedman's chest. Unfortunately that led to the big Swede's head snapping into the glass. He did not return.

Thoughts:

It's weird. When you see a team give up five goals you think they had a bad game. I won't say that Thursday night's 5-3 loss to the Stars was a great game, but the Lightning didn't play horribly. They got off to a great start with Steven Stamkos scoring two minutes into the game and Tyler Johnson ringing one off the post a few minutes later. Throughout most of the game they dictated play at even strength.

However, their special teams let them down again. They had two power plays and weren't able to get a shot off on either one of them. Heck on the second power play they didn't even get in position to attempt a shot. The good news on the penalty kill is that they actually spent two minutes shorthanded without giving up a goal. Unfortunately they were trying to kill a five-minute major and the Stars scored about halfway through it.

Ben Bishop didn't have his strongest game in net. For the first time all season he seemed to be fighting the puck and leaving rebounds around his net. On the other end Kari Lehtonen came through when his team needed him most – stopping all fifteen shots the Lightning threw at him in the second period. He let in a couple of soft ones in the third that allowed Tampa to get back into the game, but came up with a game-saving stop on Ryan Callahan right at the goal line.

If Hedman is out of any significant time it will be interesting to see what the organization does. Do they roll with Andrej Sustr and Nikita Nesterov in the line up or do they make their first call up from Syracuse?

Speaking of Nesterov – I have no problem with the refs giving him the boot in the game. Yes McKenzie was turning as Nesterov approached him, but even if he wasn't, it would have been a dangerous his along the boards. Brian Boyle picked up the third star with his strong play as an emergency defenseman for a period and a half. I'm sure you'll see some Boyle > Sustr comments on Twitter over the next few days.

The Lightning have dropped their last two games to potential playoff bound teams. Not quite a long enough stretch to panic, but they do need to make a good showing against Nashville next Tuesday. The good news is that the team has a pretty light schedule over the next week (Buffalo on Saturday, Nashville and then the Jets on Friday). Hopefully that will give their walking wounded a chance to heal up a bit and some practice time to fix whatever is broken on the penalty kill.

Jo or Johnny:

Johnathan Drouin had a heck of a game against Dallas. He set up both of Stamkos' goals and was a force in the offensive zone all night long. He is really gaining confidence on the ice. The two helpers put him at a team-leading 6 points (1 goal and 5 assists). Meanwhile in Alberta, Johnny Hockey has still only played 3 games so he still sits at 5 points (1 goal and 4 assists).

Game 4 - Can't Win Em All

Game: 4

Opponent: at Detroit

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Why Not?: NHL.com's weird blackout rules

Did I watch on replay?: Only the condensed version.

Three Stars: I'll take a pass on this one.

Worst Play: Again, I should pass, but I did see Matt Carle in the penalty box, so I'll go with that.

Thoughts:

So I haven't watched this entire game yet, but from what I've seen and read the 3-1 loss wasn't a horrible result. The Lightning were playing their third game in four nights and were on the second part of back-to-back road games.

They played pretty solid, but just couldn't get on the board early (highlighted by Steven Stamkos ringing a shot off the post in the second period). Sometimes the other team just plays better. Luckily for the Lightning it doesn't happen that often. If they grab four of six points on all of their three game road trips this year then it's going to be a good year.

That being said, I was kind of disappointed that they faced Detroit a little shorthanded. The Red Wings were the first team they played that had true playoff aspirations so you could say that they were the first “good” team that they faced this season. They would be a good measuring stick for the Lightning.

Do we know how good the Lightning are, yet? They've disposed of three teams that had not won a game until a couple of days ago. Their penalty kill is a disparaging 58.3% and they are winning less than 50% of their face-offs. They are 3-1 on the season, but there are some underlying trends that need to be fixed soon.

Jo or Johnny:

Johnny Hockey is still a game behind, but he's riding a three game point streak. He sits at 5 points with 1 goal and 4 helpers. Jo Drouin has a modest two game streak to bring his total up to 4 points (1 goal and 3 helpers). Against Detroit he picked up his assist on a nice one-time pass to Ryan Callahan who banged it home.

Game 3 - It's Brian Boyle's World, We're All Merely Paying Rent

Game: 3

Opponent: at Boston

Did I watch Live?: Most of it

What Do You Mean Most of it? : I missed the first five minutes because I was still watching game 2.

Slacker: Thanks

Three Stars: 3. Steven Stamkos 2. Brian Boyle 1. Torey Krug

Worst Play: Matt Carle's high-sticking penalty at 11.01 of the second. Carle was battling in the corner, a Bruins player's stick got under his and lifted it up. Unfortunately the blade of Carle's stick caught Matt Belesky in the face and the ref's arm went up. Kind of unfortunate for Carle. Even more unfortunate the Bruins scored on the ensuing power play and tied the score.

Thoughts:

It's a little early in the season to try and find season long trends in a hockey team. The Lightning through three games have showed a certain tendency and it's not a good one. Tampa Bay started slow against Buffalo and Philadelphia but were able to get on the board first.

However, early on Monday, in their own personal hell that is the TD Garden in Boston they found themselves two goals behind less than halfway into the first period. The same TD Garden where they had not won in the regular season since March of 2010. Had they dug themselves too deep of a hole against a desperate Boston team looking for their first win?

Apparently not. Four minutes later the fourth line came through with a nifty goal. Vladimir Namestnikov brought the puck across the line, dropped it off to Victor Hedman who found an open Brian Boyle between the slots. Like the sniper he is Boyle snapped a shot over Tuukka Rask's shoulder for the first Lightning goal.

Momentum swung the Lightning's way and they scored five of the next six goals. Boyle would add a second goal in the second period as he broke up a Bruins pass with his skate and scored on a breakaway. It wasn't like he got open with his blazing speed. Instead he used his size to shake David Pastrnak off the way a hurricane shakes off a palm tree and then slid a little backhander under Rask's pads.

Steven Stamkos would score his first goal of his season, which was also the 500^th point of his career, on a signature one-timer from the left circle. In the third, Jonathan Drouin scored his first goal of the season with a hesitating slap/wrist shot that completely fooled Rask. Valterri Filppula used his skate to deflect in a pass from Alex Killorn to cap off the scoring. Filppula has two points on the season, he hasn't used his stick for either one.

Three games in and three slow starts. Hopefully that ends on Tuesday against Detroit. The Red Wings have scored 8 goals in their first two games this season. They also have a bit of a chip on their shoulder after the Lightning bounced them from the playoffs this season.

Jo or Johnny:

Johnny Hockey had the day off so Jonathan Drouin was able to chip away at this lead with his first goal of the season. Gaudreau leads 4-3 with a game in hand.

Game Recap 2 - Steven Stamkos Scores in Buffalo (and the sun rises in the east)

Game: 2

Opponent: At Buffalo

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Why Not?: Beer and Bacon Classic at Soldier Field

Did I watch on replay?: Yup.

Three Stars: 3. Valteri Filppula 2. JT Brown 1. Steven Stamkos

Worst Player: Andrej Sustr (sorry, but when you trip over your own skates on your first shift it's going to be a tough day.)

Thoughts:

The first period was a little ho hum. Buffalo dominated the first few minutes with the Lightning getting few chances in the offensive zone. A lot of the same sloppy play from the game against Philadelphia prevented Tampa Bay from getting into an offensive groove. Through two games it appears teams are focusing on shutting down the cross-ice passes that generates a lot of their offense.

The Lightning broke the scoreless tie when newcomer Erik Condra flung a wrist shot from the point that somehow evaded all of the bodies in front and ended up in the back of the net. At this point (and thanks to a power play) the Lightning were pretty much controlling the action.

However, this isn't a Buffalo team that is tanking for a top draft choice. They fought back and Nick Deslauries slid a puck past Ben Bishop with about 5 minutes left in the period. I'm pretty sure that Coach Cooper has put Matt Carle and Andrej Sustr (the defensive pair on the ice when the goal was scored) together just to piss me off.

In the end, the Lightning were just a little too talented for the up-and-coming Buffalo team. MY BOY NIKITA KUCHEROV added a goal on the final minute of the 2^nd period. Steven Stamkos got on the scoreboard in the 3^rd as did JT Brown. Buffalo has a lot of great young talent on the team, but they seem to be about a year away from putting it all together.

The Lightning were able to ease into the year playing two teams that aren't likely to make the playoffs. Their mistakes haven't been magnified yet. Hopefully they can iron out some of the wrinkles before they play some of their tougher competition.

Jo or Johnny:

Jonathan Drouin's modest one game point streak came to an end. He did come close to an assist when he set up Valteri Filppula on a power play at the end of the 2^nd period. Filpulla's shot rang off the post. Johnny Hockey did score a game winning goal while adding two assists in his contest. So through 2 games Johnny Hockey has a 4-2 edge.

Game 1 Recap - Mr. Garrison - Overtime Hero

A new feature for The Hopeful Chase where I will offer my thoughts on all 82 regular season games. I am attempting to watch all of the games either live or the next day.  We'll see how it turns out.

Game: 1

Opponent: Philadelphia Flyers

Result: 3-2 win (OT)

Did I watch Live?: Why yes I did!

Three Stars: 3. Jonathan Drouin 2. Ben Bishop 1. Jason Garrison

Worst Player: Andrej Sustr

Thoughts:

Pretty sure the main talking point of this game is going to be the overtime. After a rather sluggish 60 minutes of regulation time left the game knotted at 2, the Lightning and the Flyers engaged in the first 3 on 3 overtime in regular season history. And that shit was bananas! Up and down the ice, breakaways, dynamite saves, penalty shots and pretty much chaos – all in under two-and-a-half minutes.

In the end it wasn't one of The Triplets or Steven Stamkos that won the game in overtime, it was Jason Garrison. On a breakaway. A breakaway that was set up nicely by Valteri Filppula's soccer-style skate pass and juuuust a bit of interference by Alex Killorn that allowed Garrison to get clear.

There was a lot of positive to take out of the game along with the outcome. Ben Bishop looked solid (it's always nice when it doesn't take your goalie 10 seconds to stand up after a save). The Drouin/Stamkos/Callahan line was productive. Brian Boyle's crash line brought a lot of energy to the game. I thought, despite not getting on the scoreboard JT Brown looked pretty good.

The Triplets themselves were ok. Perhaps we've become used to them always connecting on passes so on a night where several attempts went wayward it just looked weird. That being said, they did have their chances. They were a bit unlucky that the Philadelphia goaltender, Steve Mason, saved his best for them.

As for Mr. Sustr, he didn't have a horrible game, but there were times on the ice where he was noticeably caught out of position or between actions. I try and remind myself that he is only 24 and only has a 138 games of professional experience total. However, I really wonder how long his leash will be this year with Nikita Nesterov on the roster and Slater Koekkoek just a phone call away.

Overall, they were a bit sloppy in the first half of the game, but really started to come together as the night progressed. The “W”is in the books and it's onward to Buffalo Saturday night.

Jo or Johnny: Through one game – Drouin leads 2 points to 1.