Game Whatever: The One With All of the Awards

The official morning period has passed.  How do I know that?  Because people who know that I’m a Tampa Bay Lightning fan no longer start off conversations by saying, “Man, sorry about the Lightning.  Are you OK?” I also feel like I can write about the season with a little bit of objectivity. Let’s face it, it was a tough season for the team and their fans. The injuries, the suspensions, the contract negotiations (or lack thereof), the Matt Carle being Matt Carle made for one long slog of a season. Yet there they were back in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Imagine jumping back to September and someone telling you that the Lightning would have portions of the season where Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palet, Anton Stralman and Steven Stamkos would miss significant time.  They also told you that there was legitimate debate if Jonathan Marchessault should be playing or not. If you heard that, would you think they were one win away from making the Stanley Cup Finals?  I surely wouldn’t.  I would be hoping they would be battling Toronto for the rights to Auston Matthews.

But the Lightning survived the regular season.  They survived the first two rounds of the playoffs and they almost survived the Penguins.  After the big Game 5 win against the Penguins I tweeted this out:

It should not have been this hard....the story of the 2015-16 Tampa Bay Lightning. #AWinisAWin

— Torch Ramrod (@torchramrod) May 21, 2016

There was so much talent on this squad that it was inconceivable that scoring would be the thing that they struggled with.  Yet there we were watching them struggle to 2-1 losses to Colorado in October and Detroit in November.  Or, hey how about that 1-0 OT loss to Chicago during that stretch as well?  Who would have thought that defense would have kept the team in the hunt over the first half of the season?

Yet, somehow they made it to the playoffs and pretty much breezed through the first two rounds thanks to timely goaltending, the individual greatness of Nikita Kucherov and favorable match-ups.  Despite having to rely on a 21-year-old backup goalie against the best team in the Eastern Conference they held their own against Penguins.  So for me the season was a success.  A struggling success, but a success the whole time.

I felt, especially after watching Game 3 live, that they were a team that just ran out of gas at the end of the season. While they managed to scrap out wins in Games 4 and 5 with their backs against the wall, the sluggishness and sloppy play returned with a vengeance in Game 6 and in Game 7 they were just outplayed by a better team.

To wrap up the playoffs in true Hopeful Chase fashion lets hand out some poorly thought out postseason awards:

Post Season MVP:  Nikita Kucherov

Eleven goals in 17 games is going to get him paid. While none of them were game winners, several were game-tying goals which were just as important.  There were times in the Islanders series where it seemed like he couldn’t not score when the puck was on his stick. He displayed some of the selfishness that all good scorers need as he led the team with 51 shots and the chemistry he had enjoyed with Tyler Johnson last season returned.  While the Pens did a decent job of slowing him down, he still had his moments against them.

Post Season LVP: Nikita Nesterov

I know, I know.  How did Matt Carle lose this award?  Let’s not let his regression against the Penguins detract from how well he played in the first two rounds.  He wasn’t just “not bad” he was good.  So that leaves Mr. Nesterov.  At some point you have to wonder if a player is going to be able to cut it at the NHL level.  Nesterov shows flashes of ability, but when the pressure is on he just isn’t reliable.  With the emergence of Slater Koekkoek and Anthony DeAngelo waiting in the wings, Nesterov’s tenure as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning might be drawing to a close.



The “How do you like dem apples” award: Jonathan Drouin

In the most surprising showing of the postseason , the Prodigal Son showed everyone, including his GM, why he was a top draft pick. Even in the Game 6 loss he scored the prettiest goal of the game, cutting across the front of the net, shooting against the flow of play and picking the top corner of the net.  From his feistiness in  Round One to being one of the few Lightning players that could match the Penguins speed in the Conference finals, Drouin showed his entire range of skills.

The “Why didn’t he play more” award:  Vlad Namestnikov

The Russian Bieber played all 17 games in the playoffs, but often found himself on the bench during the later stages of the games.  He picked up 3 points playing mostly on one of the least used lines (things were so jumbled that the concept of first and second lines were lost).  To me, it would have made more sense to see him playing in Val Filppula’s role against the Lightning.  Despite the Finn’s depth hand at face-offs, his lack of speed against the Penguins was quite telling. I’m hoping this turns into another one of Coach Cooper’s long cons, where mysterious line usage in the present pays off in the future.

The “Congratulations on making next year’s team” award:  Slater Koekkoek

Maybe it was the fact that he had fresh legs on a team that was physically worn out by the end of the playoffs, but in Games 6 and 7, he was Tampa’s most noticeable player on the ice when he had the puck. Sure, he had a few turnovers in toward the end of Game 7, but those are bound to happen when you’re pushing for a goal.  His play led to the benching of Matt Carle in Game 7 and most likely will lead to him being penciled in as one of the starting 6 blue liners for the 2016-17 season.

The “You played really, really well, but man I wonder what would have happened if Ben Bishop was healthy” award:  Andrei Vasilevskiy

I don't think we could have expected more from the 21-year-old Russian. He stopped 92.5% of the shots that came his way.  Which is good, but look at the number of shots he faced.  Bishop played 148 more minutes (roughly 2 and ½ games) than Vasy, but only faced 30 more shots.That's phenomenal! The Penguins peppered him all series long and for the most part he was up to the task.  Yet I couldn’t shake the thought that if Bishop was healthy for Game 7 the outcome might have been different.

My favorite save of the postseason.  

The “Hey, he had a pretty good post season too” award: Tyler Johnson

In what was a tough season for the diminutive center, Johnson finished second on the team in post-season scoring as he finished with 17 points and 3 game-winning goals (including one of his back).  That was roughly half of the amount of points that he put up in the regular season. Hopefully he gets to rest this offseason and won’t require any medical work so that he can start off next season with a fresh slate.

The “I don’t want to say anything, but maybe he should have sat a little longer” award: Anton Stralman

I get it, I really do. When you’re patching your defense together with duct tape and Matt Carle, having your second best defenseman back in the lineup makes sense. He just wasn’t the same when he came back from the broken leg.  Whether it was because his hockey instincts were a little rusty or he just wasn’t up to playoff game speed, Stralman just looked out of sorts.  Getting caught in between making a play and defending on the Sidney Crosby overtime goal was indicative of how his series went.

The “Thanks for trying to give us one more great memory” award: Steven Stamkos

Even as we sit one month away from the free agent frenzy, I don’t know if Stamkos is coming back to the team.  In my hopeful mind, the fact that he played shows that he does indeed want to be a Bolt for life. After all if he was planning on taking the first money train to Toronto would he have risked playing in Game 7? No one would have thought less of him if he didn’t play.

And while in the end he didn’t have much of a factor in the game, there was that brief moment in the third period where he found the puck on his stick and a step on the defense.  He wound back, unleashed a howitzer that seemed to actually go through Matt Murray but then, as was the case with every puck it seemed, it trickled wide of the net.  If he scores there, man would that have given the team and their fans a boost of adrenaline.

But wait, didn't I just argue that playing Stralman hurt the team? How was playing Stamkos different? Because it's my column, that's why.  Look, if Coach Cooper had sat Steven Stamkos, one of the premier goal scorers of this generation, in Game 7 after the the doctor's cleared him, he would have regretted it every day of his coaching life. You'd don't go into that game without loading that bullet in the gun.


I think that time will also dull some of the pain of this season and we’ll look back fondly on the emergence of Kucherov as an upper tier talent and Victor Hedman building his legacy as future Norris Trophy winner. The Lightning proved that they weren’t a one-season fluke and that they will be a contender in the East for the next few years.  Hopefully Mr. Yzerman can navigate the difficult waters that lie ahead this offseason and keep that Cup window open for a few more seasons.

Combine their ages and they still aren't as old as Jagr

An Old Friend Stops By With Some Thoughts on Games 1 and 2

I'm not going to lie. Thanks to prime time programming and a busy week at work I've watched a total of about 25 minutes of Games 1 and 2 live.  So, in order to get a feel for how the series has been going, I've recruited friend of the blog and fellow hockey wanderer Jason (aka Link), a Penguins season ticket holder, to help out. While I’m jetting down to Tampa for Game 3, we had a little email conversation to see how he feels about the series so far.

Justin G: So. How’s your heart?  Quite a few overtime games for you and your Penguins so far.  We talked a little before the series started and we were both excited at the match-up.  It hasn’t quite been the goal fest we were expecting, but what are your initial thoughts after two games?

Jason L: The heart rate is doing ok, but going into the third period last night I felt that if the Penguins lost, the series would likely be over.  I am surprised the Penguins haven't been able to get great scoring chances.  Their best chances have come off of rebounds and scrambles in front of the net.  The Penguins best lines have been the Matt Cullen and Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel lines.  Crosby and Malkin continue to struggle 5 on 5 and I think it is only a matter of time until they are paired together. 

The Lightning are really fast.  The Penguins have been skating teams out of the building for the past 4 months but Tampa is just as quick if not quicker.  Their ability to block shots has impressed me as well as their transition game.  I am surprised how poorly they have done in the faceoff circle.  The won Game 1 despite getting destroyed in the circle.  Its one thing to lose a draw but the Penguins have won draw after draw cleanly.  Both team split the faceoffs in game 2 primarily because Tampa started winning draws in the 3rd.  This is an area of concern for the Bolts and it could prevent Tampa from playing their A game against the Pens.

JG: I saw you posted on Facebook in Game 2 that you were a bit worried that Matt Murray looked a little shaky.  Luckily for you the Pens shut down the Lightning and limited their shots.  Is he still your guy moving forward?

JL: I am a Marc Andre Fleury guy.  I think he is vastly underrated throughout the league and this year he is the reason the Penguins weren't twenty points out of a playoff spot before they caught fire.  The question I ask myself is who is your best goaltender?  Matt Murray may be the answer in a few years but right now the answer is Fleury.

best at blowing bubbles maybe

Fleury may be the most athletic goalie in the league while Murray is positionally sound on every play. Unlike the last series where battling traffic was the key to success, in this series the Penguins need a more athletic goalie to counteract the Tampa offense.

Sullivan is in a no win situation.  I feel as if he is waiting for Murray to have a bad game.  Game 2 was Tampa's chance to expose the young netminder but the Lightning failed to generate shots, let along scoring chances, against the Penguins.

JG: Everyone (by that I mean Twitter) thought that Ben Bishop’s leg had detached from his body in Game 1.  Now it looks like not only is it still on his body, but may be healthy enough to go in Game 3.  In his absence young Mr. Vasilevskiy has played quite well.  You’re John Cooper.  What do you do?

JL: I was watching Game 1 from my season ticket location in section 205 and I thought Bishop was done.  Everyone in the arena thought the same.  I have attended close to 500 hockey games and I have never seen a goalie leave on a stretcher.  I am not a big Ben Bishop fan.  In my opinion Ben Bishop is just a really big goalie who plays on a talented team.  Vasilevskiy is the better goalie.  Don't let  age fool you, he has the game that can take the Lightning to the cup.  He just needs the opportunity.

it was a hell of a stop

JG: The match-up game switches as we head to Tampa.  Now that the Lightning have the last line change, who should they put Hedman on?  In other words, as a Pittsburgh fan, which Pens line is the most dangerous?

JL: I would put Hedman against the Kessel-Bonino-Hagelin line.  This has been the Penguins best line in the playoffs by far.  The key to beating the Penguins is making them play a 200 foot game.  The HBK line has been great and creating neutral zone turnovers and using their speed to back off opposing defenseman.  This is going to sound odd, but trust me on this one.  Hedman against the HBK line is a must.

JG: Before his overtime goal, Sidney Crosby had been held goalless in 9 games.  From what I saw, Coach Sullivan tried to shake things up by putting him on a line with Evgeni Malkin.  It almost worked as Malkin fed Crosby for a one-timer that Vasilevsky made a fantastic save on.  What’s up with Sid?

JL: The reason you saw this happen more than once late in the 2nd and during parts of the 3rd period was that Conor Sheary was benched or hurt.  I don't think Sheary has been the same since the Tom Wilson knee on knee hit in Game 1 of the Washington series.  In Game 2, the Penguins had to rotate 11 forwards and when that happens you will see Crosby & Malkin together.

I think this strategy is one the Penguins need to employ a lot more going forward in the series.  As for Crosby I think you saw his best period in a while in the 3rd but a lot of his scoring issues has to deal with the Penguins lack of success on the power play.  The Penguins just haven't been bad on the power play since round one, but they have been dreadful.  When the Penguins power play controls the action the Penguins feed off of it, even when they don't score.  I think it is no coincidence that the Penguins have a tendency to give up goals following uninspired power plays.

JG: You’ve now seen the Lightning in back-to-back playoff games.  Anything strike you as different than regular season Lightning?  Who has been their best player?

JL: Drouin has been their best player.  He was everywhere on the ice in the first two games.  When he had the puck I feared him.  I still think Yzerman/Cooper were nuts for playing him on the 4th line and then sending him to the minors.  Drouin although young is a top NHL talented forward.  If you are not going to play him 15+ minutes a game you are doing him a disservice.

Look at the butt on that. He must work out.

The Lightning are at their best when they use stretch passes against the Penguins.  The Killorn breakaway goal in the first period of Game 1 was evidence of that.  They continued to use this during Game 1 and I think it was a big reason the Penguins defenseman were on their heels.

As a team what impresses me the most if their ability to get into the shooting lanes.  No one talks about the Lightning forwards defensively but they do a great job and clogging the shooting lanes.

JG: How worried are you about the return of Steven Stamkos?  Anton Stralman came back in Game 2 and scored a goal (granted he was also on the ice for the overtime winner, but that’s not important).  Do you think Stamkos makes a difference?

JL: Honestly I was more worried about Stralman than Stamkos.  I think Stamkos will offer the Penguins more chances on the counter attack.  Do I think he could be a threat on the power play? Yes, but I also wonder if he will disrupt the Lightning team chemistry.  Stralman is a Penguins killer and he gives Tampa a big threat on the blueline besides Hedman.  He has scored 4 goals in 5 games against the flightless birds this season and is someone I truly fear as a Penguins fan.

JG: With the exception of the power play goal in Game 1, all of the Lightning goals have been scored in transition.  How is Pittsburgh going to stop that?

JL: I don't think the Penguins can stop the Lightning transition game other than to keep control of the puck.  The Penguins engage their defense and they do it well, but when it doesn't work it leads to chances the other way.  The Lightning are the one team in the league who can make the Penguins pay.

In the second half of Game 2, the Penguins won the battles along the wall and prevented the Bolts from leaving their zone with speed.  This is the key to the series.  If Tampa successfully gets into transition they will win the series.  If they don't, they will raise another banner at the Consol Energy Center.

There ya go.  Many thanks to Mr. Link for taking the time to answer my questions.  Despite his lifelong affiliation with the Steel City he's a good man.  Check him out on Twitter at @Linkes25.

Some Thoughts on Round Three

Buried somewhere in the archives of this website I’m pretty sure there is a prediction where I said the Tampa Bay Lightning would probably bow out in the second round of the playoffs, and that I was O.K. with that.  As with most of my predictions I was wrong.  Guess what, I‘m O.K. with that!.  After a horrible first game, the Lightning came roaring back and dispatched the New York Islanders in four straight games to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

Tampa Bay will look to defend their Eastern Conference title against NHL cover boy Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins.  The Penguins advanced by defeating their fellow Pennsylvanians Philadelphia Flyers (their fellow Atlantic Division rivals, the New York Rangers)in the first round and then handing the Washington Capitals their latest playoff disappointment in the second round.

This is the second time the two teams have met in the post season with the first being during the opening round of  the 2011 playoffs. That was a weird seven game series that featured the Lightning winning Game 5 8-2 and Game 7 1-0. Despite being just five seasons ago only  Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos remain on the team from that series.  Even odder, for the Penguins only Marc Andre Fluery and Chris Kunitz played against the Lightning in 2011.  Both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were injured.

Remember how I rambled on in my last preview about how I had no feeling for how the Islanders were as a team?  Well, that’s not a problem in this round.  The Penguins are offense. Plain and simple they like to score goals.  It helps when you have two of the best players in the league in Crosby and Malkin. Oh and it doesn’t hurt when you add 40-goal scorer and hot dog aficionado Phil Kessel in the off-season. Throw in guys like Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin and it’s easy to see why the Pens sport such a high flying offense.

A lot has been made that the Lightning have “only” played 10 games so far in the playoffs.  Well, the Penguins are right with them having advanced through two round while only playing 11 games.  And, sorry Lightning fans, they faced a little better competition in doing so.  I haven’t looked yet, but I’m assuming a lot of the national pundits are picking the Penguins to win the series.  After all, they were the ones that declared the Pens/Caps series the true Eastern Conference Finals.

So, if the Lightning are underdogs for the first time this postseason, and are finally the road team in a series, how can they win four of their next seven games and advance to the Finals?

1. Create a goaltender controversy

Penguins goaltender Matt Murray has been the surprise star of the playoffs so far. At one point this season he was the 3rd string goalie for Pittsburgh. Now, he’s leading them to a possible Stanley Cup. Since taking over for Jeff Zatkoff he’s gone 7-2 with a 2.05 GAA and .935 save percentage. Those stats mirror his regular season performance where in 13 games he went 9-2 with a 2.00 and .930.  Huh, maybe he’s just a good goalie.

This kid should have a paper route not a chance to go to the Stanley Cup Finals.

However, sitting on the bench is Stanley Cup winning Marc Andre Fleury. The longtime Penguins net minder is finally healthy and ready to play. Everyone, even coaches, loves experience in the playoffs.  Fleury has 98 games of playoff experience compared to Murray’s 9.  If the Lightning can light up Murray in one of the first two games, coach Mike Sullivan could have a difficult choice on his hands.  Hope the kid bounces back or go with a goaltender who has done it in the past, but has been sitting on his hands for the last month.

Having to deal with goaltending questions in the playoffs can be a big distraction (see Detroit series) and when every game matters, if the Lightning can steal one because the “wrong” goalie is playing could swing the tide in the series.

2. Keep the scoring mix going

Coach Cooper loves tinkering with his lines.  Whether it’s before the game or during the game, you know at some point he’s going to switch things up.  While his manipulations didn’t pay off in round one, it did lead to slightly more balanced scoring against the Islanders.  While Nikita Kucherov still seemingly scored at will, Val Filppula, Jason Garrison, media darling Victor Hedman, and Vlad Namestnikov all picked up their first goals of the post season.

If these guys start filling the net with pucks, the Lightning have a chance.

Having the defense start contributing offensively (especially the monster series by Hedman) against the Islanders was one of the best things  to come out of that series. Tampa Bay is at their best when the blue line is playing aggressive and finding ways to get their shots on net. Yes, it does lead to the occasional 2-on-1 break the other way, but that’s why you have a Vezina-finalist goalie in net.

The Lightning are not going to win these games 2-1 or 1-0, they need to score goals.  On paper, there should be more room on the ice for their offense. The Penguins have been giving up over 32 shots per game so far this post season.  That’s a lot of opportunities for the Lightning forwards (and blue liners) to cash in.  They have to focus on getting the puck on net and not trying to be too cute in passing the puck around.

It is likely that Coach Cooper will keep going with his beloved 11-forward/ 7 defensemen lineup, especially on the road.  That gives him a chance to mix-and-match a fourth line throughout the game that could keep the Penguins off balance.  It also lets him protect a couple of the younger defenders that are guarding the blueline.

He might move away from that set up if Steven Stamkos comes back at some point in the series.  In this type of matchup I would rather see another sniper added to the lineup even if it forces him to play Slater Koekkoek or Luke Witkowski more than he would like. And yes, I believe both of those guys have moved passed Nikita Nesterov on the current depth chart.

They need to keep getting contributions from all three of their main lines if they are going to match the firepower that the Penguins bring to the ice.  Heck, if anyone remembers the 2011 matchup, it wasn’t Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier scoring the goals, it was Sean Freaking Bergenheim. So look for the difference makers to be someone along the line of Filppula or Ryan Callahan.

I believe this is the one save MAF made against Bergenheim in the series.

3. Rely too much on Ben Bishop

Let’s face it.  The Penguins are going to get their chances.  They are too good on offense to be shut down.  Plus the Lightning always have those spastic moments where they completely forget how to clear the puck out of their own zone.  When that happens, they have to hope the big man in the net comes through.

Bishop had a great regular season and was basically the only reason they didn’t dig a hole so deep they couldn’t climb out of it.  What he’s done in the post season has been even more impressive.  Eight wins in ten games, two series-clinching shutouts, a .938 save percentage and a 1.89 GAA.  Those numbers aren’t too shabby.

There will be at least one game that he absolutely steals for the Lightning. Something along the lines of a 3-1 win where he stops 45 shots in regulation.  Those type of games can be series-turning, especially if they happen on the road.

Hard to score when the goalie knocks you on your ass.  Photo by Getty Images

They also need him to stop all the stoppable shots.  It seems like a simple concept, but it is extremely important when playing Pittsburgh.  The Penguins are going to score, they are going to score in ways that make you say, “WOW”.  If Bishop can limit them to those types of goals the Lightning have enough offense on their own to win the series. However, if he starts letting in some soft goals, I don’t know if the Lightning can keep up.

4. Special Teams

Don’t take penalties and score when you have the extra man.  This game is easy, isn’t it?  One thing the Penguins haven’t done well is kill penalties.  Their current success rate is 83%.  Not great, but not terrible.  They have, however, taken a lot of penalties.  They’ve been shorthanded 42 times in their 11 games.  If they keep that rate up, the Lightning have to find a way to score when on the power play.  Putting Brian Boyle in front of the net and Jonathan Drouin on the point seems to have worked.

On the other side, the Lightning themselves have been shorthanded 43 times in their 10 games.  Luckily, thanks to Bishop and the less-talented teams they’ve played, they’ve only given up 5 power play goals.  They can’t take 4 penalties a game against the Penguins or they will get lit up.

5. Hide Malkin’s Equipment

If there is one player I fear in this upcoming series it sure isn’t Ian Cole, it’s Evgeni Malkin. He’s been tearing up the Lightning his entire career. He has 19 goals and 23 assists in 31 regular season games against the Bolts (he has yet to face them in the playoffs) and of those 19 goals half are highlight-reel worthy.

Malkin has been O.K. during the playoffs so far.  After missing the end of the season with an injury he has played 10 games in the post season and  scored 3 goals while tallying 6 assists. He is nominally on their 3rd line with Chris Kunitz and Eric Fehr.  However, much like the Lightning, the 3rd line is more of another offensive line than a checking line.

Of course, the big question for the Lightning is going to be who do they match Hedman against? Will it be the Malkin line or the Crosby line? Tampa Bay has “held” Crosby to only 14 goals and 27 assists in 41 games over his career (again, he hasn’t faced them in the playoffs). So it’s kind of a coin flip.

If Anton Stralman does come back, most likely it would be in Coach Cooper’s best interest to match him up with Jason Garrison so that it gives him two above average pairings to send on the ice.  Hedman has played well with Braydon Coburn so far in the post season….of course he could play well with a traffic cone at this point…so perhaps you put that pairing on Malkin and Stralman’s pairing on Crosby.

If Stralman doesn’t come back….well….good luck with that.

Even if you can shut down Malkin and Crosby, you still have to worry about Phil Kessel who is the actual scoring leader on the team.  The Penguins offense is deeper than the Mariana Trench.


In the end I have a feeling that this is going to be a really good series.  You have two teams that would rather score goals than stop them.  Both teams have depth. With the exception of a few elbows, both teams play a pretty clean game.

The big question for the Penguins will be if Matt Murray can continue his outstanding play.

The big question for the Lightning will be if they can contain the Penguin’s scoring depth.

I say that home ice plays a big role and despite the return of Steven Stamkos in Game 5, the Penguins win the series in seven.

A Eulogy in Black and Gold

Instead of the back and forth for the previous games I give you Jay's thoughts only.

Sad Penguin

As a die hard hockey fan, when your team loses in the playoffs, it is 6 months of anticipation down the drain. Since I can remember I make it a priority in my life, not just to watch the Pens, but to see every shift of the 82 regular season games and the playoffs. My job requires me to travel and with that I have been fortunate to see my team play in Buffalo, Ottawa, Montreal, Detroit, Columbus, Minnesota, Chicago, and many other cities. It also means that I will travel to a lot of sports bars on the road to watch the Pens. I can probably tell you every sports bar between Ottawa and western Michigan that has the NHL Package. My wife will tell you that the reason I care about it so much is because it is my passion, and she is right but it is a lot more than that. I have had Penguins season tickets for 12 years and if I am in town, I am at the game right next to my dad.

When I was five my dad took me to my first hockey game in St. Louis at the Old Checkerdome. He still talks about the day in January when he took me to our 4th row seats and how he was amazed that a 5 year old could sit through a 2 1/2 hour game and all I did was watch and ask questions. As he said, "You weren't one of those kids who would get bored, complain, want food every 10 minutes, you just wanted to watch the game." To this day, if I am not at the game with my dad, I call him after the first period of every game. Eighty-two times a year we break down the period, talk about our day, and just catch up. Hockey and the love for our beloved Pens is a bond that we share and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I remember in December, the Pens were beating the Buffalo Sabres on the road for their 12th straight victory. I was watching the game with my wife at a local Italian restaurant in Fox Chapel(she includes the Pens on our date night....even our wedding) and stepped away to call my dad after the first period. Rookie and first game call-up Dustin Jeffrey scored his first goal, the Pens were all over the Sabres. I couldn't wait to call my dad.

I consider myself a pretty honest fan. I am probably a little tougher on my team than most, and I try to look at my team from an unbiased opinion. This conversation was different. I saw something in the Pens that made me feel that they were ready to challenge for the Cup. I saw a balanced team with the best player in the league (Sidney Crosby), a dynamic player in Evgeni Malkin, and a much better defense than we saw in the 2010 squad. They were good! Six weeks later, Crosby and Malkin were hurt, (Malkin would tear his ACL 2 weeks later) and the balance on the team was eroding with injuries.

Maybe this is why the Game 7 loss hurts more than most. I feel like I have been punched in the gut. I didn't expect Pittsburgh to win the series. I picked Tampa. What hurts is as a fan, after witnessing my team sell off their players from 2002-04, I know they had a chance, a good chance to bring Lord Stanley home. Nowadays, you only have so many opportunities to win. In the salary cap era, it is hard to stay on top, and when you have a chance you better take full advantage. This season I thought was supposed to be the year they made a serious run, but they never had the chance. In my Rolodex of a brain, I will always wonder what could have been.

Well now on to Game 7. The Penguins jumped all over the Lightning the way I expected them to come out in Game 5. They won faceoffs, battles for loose pucks, and were peppering Tampa netminder Dwayne Roloson with shots. They left the first period scoreless but it felt like they were losing. The team had a hard time scoring all series, but when you play your best and you still can't cash in, you have to feel deflated. I have to give Roloson a lot of credit. Most analysts said the Penguins advantage in net would be a huge reason why they would win, but Roloson was not only stopping shots, he wasn't allowing rebounds. People, including myself, seem to forget how good he was in the playoffs in 2003 with Minnesota and 2006 with Edmonton. Rolson kept them in the game long enough for the Bolts to find their game in the 2nd.




Tampa came out in the 2nd and looked like the team that played 60 minutes of great hockey in Game 6. They regained the edge in the faceoff circle, used their speed in the neutral zone, stopped turnings pucks over, and created chances by driving to the net. The goal that Sean Bergenheim scored was a replay of his Game 6 goal. You would think the Pens would make an adjustment and know that Moore can make that pass, but they were out of position. Pittsburgh defenseman Matt Niskanen was wandering towards the Squirrel Hill Tunnel (Pittsburgh traffic nightmare) instead of covering the weak side defender and it was costly.

If your a Penguins fan, the theme of this series was the power play. Tampa scored 8 power play goals and Pittsburgh scored 1. The Lightning played with reckless abandon at times as they gave the black and gold chance after chance to get back in games, but with the exception of Tyler Kennedy in Game 4, they couldn't take advantage. As easy as it is to point the finger at the Penguins, you have to give the Lightning credit. They were constantly in the shooting lanes, they took away the front of the net, blocked shots, and they were tougher than the Penguins.




The 3rd period the Penguins took a lot of shots at Tampa, but with the exception of Tyler Kennedy almost putting home a rebound, the Pens were one shot and done. I thought what Tampa did well was make the Pens travel 200 feet to get a scoring chance. The Lightning forced the Pens back into their own end every time they had a chance to clear the puck. Pittsburgh had one final opportunity with the man advantage, but a season that had all the promise in the world had Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz, James Neal, and others out there for the final 90 seconds. This wasn't how I envisioned a series ending back in December, but the reality was and is, the Tampa Bay Lightning are a better, deeper team that the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As a take quick glance to next year, my boys have 10 unrestricted free agents. I don't expect to see Eric Godard, Mike Comrie, Dustin Johnson, Alexei Kovalev, or Chris Conner back. I wouldn't be shocked if Pascal Dupuis, Max Talbot and Mike Rupp are gone. There are a lot of character, hard working guys, who probably won't be back. To win in the NHL you need front line scorers and good role players. When you have that mix you are dangerous. This year the role players were forced to be front line players and that is why we are talking about the Penguins losing in the first round.

Going forward, I think the Lightning have as good a chance as any to beat the Capitals. They have experience, two good offensive lines, and a lethal power play. Tampa has to do a better job of staying out of the penalty box against Washington (they won't go 1-35 on the PP), and they need to be more aggressive on offense. The Penguins posed no threat on offense so Tampa could sit on leads without fear. Against Washington no lead is safe. Tampa needs to be aggressive against the Caps.

My 3 Penguins stars for the series.
3) Max Talbot - He was all over the ice and created offense, especially in Games 3-5.
2) Craig Adams - The man is a shot blocking machine. It is hard to believe we got him off of waivers in 2009. Craig Adams will help a team win the playoffs, I just hope he is with the Pens next year.
1) Marc Andre Fluery - People in Pittsburgh got on Fluery for his performance in Games 5 & 6, but the team around him failed in those games. Fluery was the reason they won game 1,3 and 4. He had all the pressure on him because his offense couldn't produce more than 2 goals and he came up big. People will remember the loss in game 7, but I hope they don't forget how well Fluery played. When the Pens were down 1-0, he made 3 or 4 great saves to keep the game in reach.

It has been fun writing about the playoff series. October seems like a long ways away.

Let's Review Game Sechs (That's enough, Audrey!)

So I plan on watching Game 7 in my bedroom, on a laptop with headphones on. Exciting, eh? My stomach is a wreck already and I have no focus at work. So let's go back to Monday night and re-live some Game 6 action.


JG:
Game Six is in the books and now everyone in our two towns is focused on Game 7. But how did we get to this place? Simply put the “real” Lightning finally showed up. And by that I mean Monday night’s game was the first time in the series that the Bolts actually outworked their opponent. Sure they’ve outscored them in other games, but in Game Six they did all of the little things that win playoff hockey games and they did them better than the Penguins. They blocked shots, broke up passes, won battles along the boards and out-skated the Penguins.

Even though the ice tilted towards Pittsburgh’s advantage with all of the power plays the Lightning were the more energetic team. At one point I sent you a text saying that Kris Letang looked exhausted, that could be said for most of the Pittsburgh skaters at that point. To me it looks like their style of play since January has finally caught up with them. Whereas on the flip side the Lightning looked fresher and seem to be getting the hang of this playoff intensity thing.

You are correct when you say offense is the Achilles’ heel of your squad. Once Tampa went up by 2 in the third it was hard to believe that your flightless birds could muster up the scoring to bring it even. That being said there were three moments that I thought turned the game and decided it in favor of Tampa Bay.

1. Chris Conner’s penalty shot. – I thought he had the right approach. Come in with speed, quick deke and hope it beats Rolosson. Unfortunately, due to the ice or the hockey gods the puck didn’t cooperate. If he scores there the Pens keep the momentum they had built up prior to that call. Instead it seemed to take the wind out of their sails for a bit.
2. The two pad save by Rolosson – Right before Steve Downie put the Bolts ahead for good, Roli made two unbelievable saves on Max Talbot and Pascal Dupuis. The one on Dupuis featured an old-fashioned stack of the pads that you don’t see very often in the age of butterfly goalies.
3. Kris Letang rattles one off the post – Down by two in the waning moments of the game, Letang fired a shot through a screen and past Rolosson. Luckily for the Lightning it hit the post square and bounced to safety. If that puck goes in it is Katy bar the doors time for the rest of the game.

An honorable mention goes to the deflected puck by Victor Hedman on young Mr. Conner’s two-on-one opportunity. The puck nicked Vic’s stick just enough to go wide. All-in-all a rough night for the diminutive Penguin forward.

Instead of players lets go with my three top highlights of the night

1. Dominic Moore’s no-look pass to Bergenheim. It was a thing of beauty because the only two people on the ice that knew it was coming were Moore and Bergenheim. The fact that Fleury almost got a pad on it was a miracle.
2. The aforementioned save by Roli. It was a huge momentum shifter and it led to…
3. Steve Downie’s goal – The enigma that is Tampa’s Little Ball of Fury, Downie showed his good side in Monday night’s game by scoring a goal and helping on two others. And he managed to go a whole game without picking up a misconduct penalty despite being hit in the face with a puck.

It brings us to Game 7. It will be the Lightning’s first Game 7 since they hoisted the cup in 2004 against Calgary. All bets are off. Whatever team forces the most turnovers and creates the most bounces their way will win this game. It will probably be a mucky affair with a lot of neutral zone play and dump-ins. Normally I would say that favors the Pens, but I think they’re out of gas. Bolts win 3-1 with goals from Stamkos (PP), Nate Thompson and St Louis (EN).



JL:
I watched Game 6 at my house. It was the first playoff game i had watched in Plum, PA since Game 6 Montreal. That was the game where my wife thought Jesus Christ's last name was Goligoski. I try not to freighten her with playoff hockey. She was doing some reading for work and I almost put her into cardiac arrest when I yelled when Staal tied the game.

I don't know if Kris Letang is exhausted but i know he sure is frustrated. the blueliner hasn't had a goal in over 30 games and 2 since Crosby went out with his concussion. Chief, I read your thoughts on Letang, I just think the Pens miss Sergei Gonchar more than they relaize.

My thoughts on Game 6. The Lightning were the better team from the drop of the puck. Someone who would just read the box scores would tell me, "Jay, the Pens have outshot the Bolts all 6 games.". My answer to that is simple. they are taking shots from center ice and anywhere they can within 90 feet. The Penguins lead the series in shots, but Tampa leads the series in quality shots and Game 6 was a prime example. The Pens made the most notible chances (Connor 2 on 1 and penalty shot, and the 3 stops on Talbot and Dupuis) but Tampa consistenly created quality chances while creating traffic in front of Fluery every game. The mood in the Burgh is that Fluery is playing poorly, but I would strongly disagree. Since the start of Game 5, Lightning forward are constantly in front of Fluery and the majority of the goals scored are on rebounds. That says more about the Pens not clearing the front of the net than Fluery playing poorly.

I have to give credit to Guy Boucher. The Tampa coach had his team alter their game plan after Game 4 and it has worked. Tampa started getting more traffic in front of Fluery and made it a point tohit the Pittsburgh defenseman. Since Game 4, the Pens defenseman look uncomfortable. Also, you have to give him credit for inserting Marc Andre Bergeron in the lineup. The offensive defenseman can run the 2nd power play unit and his play on defense has been better than expected.

Dan Bylsma on the other hand has not made any lineup changes or adjustments (not even on the power play). In fairness to Disco Dan, i am not sure what else he can do. His two options at forward are Mike Comie and Eric Tangradi. There is a strong sentiment in Pittsburgh that Alexei Kovalev should be stratched. I am a huge Kovalev supporter but have to admit he has been invisible, except for taking 6 penalties in the series. The reason I play Kovalev is that he has the skill to break out and he is better than anyone else you have to replace him.

Here are some Game 7 tidbits from the Pens side of the ledger
* They have never won a Game 7 at home after losing Game 6 (0-5 in franchise history)
* Pittsburgh has a losing record at home in the last two playoffs (4-6)
* The power play is 1-31 in the series and 3-72 against playoff teams
* Since 2007, this group has played in 3 game 7's. In 2009 beat Washington and Detroit, and in 2010 lost at home to Montreal

i thinkwe will see talent beat will tonight at the Consol. The Penguins don't have finishers while Tampa does. 2 early first period goals propell the Lightning to a 6-2 victory.My wife will get her husband back until college football starts.

Ten Goals Divided by 2 Guys Equals Game Five Review

As most websites are previewing Game Six on Monday night, we here at the Hopeless Chase reflect on a dominant Lightning victory from two days ago. Is Jason still at Tully's? Is Just chasing a new profession? Who knows? You will if you read below.



JG:

So I figured I'd take 24 hours to reflect on the epic 8-2 Lightning victory in game 5. There's something relieving about the team you support breaking a game by scoring early (and often). It eliminates a lot of stress that's normally associated with following a play off game, case in point the five years of your life you lost in Game 4.




That being said I wish I'd been able to see more of the game. I was relegated to the dulcet tones of Dave Mishkin and Phil Esposito despite the fact that I was actually in the Tampa Bay Area while the game was being played.

Because I wanted to see what it was like to be a craftsman I volunteered to help out our buddy Saint Leo Mike and his wife with a nice day of house painting. Let's just say I won't be changing jobs anytime soon. My shoulders haven't gotten that great of a workout since, well never.

So I missed seeing what the Lightning did different that allowed them cash in seemingly on every offensive opportunity they had. It wasn't that they shot the puck more (their 26 shots were only slightly higher than their 24 total penalty minutes). They did win more face offs as all of their normal draw takers were over 50% except for young Mr. Stamkos. Nor did it seem they were dominating any aspect of the game other than the scoreboard. As a matter of fact Mishkin pointed out that the Penguins dominated much of the early game despite the Bolts posting a 2 goal game.

They did go 4-7 with the man advantage as they continue to dominate the Penguins on special teams. So that's good. Steven Stamkos finally found the back of the net (twice!) so that's good, too. If he's finally acclimated to the playoff atmosphere he will be the deciding factor in the series.

The Penguins have stayed in this series by grabbing early leads and playing a Devils-style bunker mentality and relying on the stylistic saves of Marc-Andre Fleury. They've been assisted by the inability of Lightning players that aren't named Martin St. Louis to put the biscuit in the basket. So to see names such as Stamkos and Gagne on the score sheet under the goals category is a tremendous relief.

Now can they carry that over to Game Six on Monday? Hopefully. One thing about blowing an opponent in the playoffs is that it is almost easier for the defeated team to bounce back. Ask the Detroit Red Wings how that 5-0 win in Game 5 of the 2009 Finals worked for them against the Penguins. I'll save you the Google search - it didn't. The Penguins won the next two games and the Stanley Cup.

Losing by such a large margin allows the Penguins to brush this game off (something a 3-1 series lead makes easier) and they can focus on getting back to their game plan in Game Six. A game plan that involves them blocking shots, disrupting passes and being general pains in the asses.

As my time draws brief I will only give you the stars of the game:

Stamkos - 2 goals and he's off the schneid. His confidence has to be back and that could spell doom for the Penguins.
Gagne - He got the all important first goal and fourth goal. The Penguins were pressuring the Bolts when it was 3-0 and if they had scored the outcome would have been different. Gagne scored instead, chasing Fleury and the rout was on.
Ted Purcell - he had a couple of assists and some dandy passing with Lecavalier. So yea!

Prediction for Game Six - the Bolts pull out a close one 2-1 setting up a Game Seven in Pittsburgh and the dramatic return of Sidney Crosby.

Your thoughts?


JL:

Wow, what a contrast of emotions between Games 4 and 5. It has been a while since I have seen the Pens get throttled at home in the playoffs (ed note - worst home playoff loss ever). After the second period, while eating a pulled pork sandwich (my pick at the Consol), my dad and I watched countless number of fans exit the building. I have to admit I looked at my dad after the LeCavalier goal and said, "this game is over." Saturday's game went from a scoreless game to 5-0 in what seemed like five minutes. Oh how I miss the days when the Penguins boasted a roster of dangerous scorers. I remember the 1992 power play when had Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchett, Ron Francis, and Larry Murphy.




The 2011 team must rely on Arron Asham, Mike Rupp, and roster full of guys who should be playing 8 minutes a game to fill the net. It just isn't going to happen unless the Pens get some bounces. The current group of Penguins remind me of the 1995 New Jersey Devils.

I have said numerous times before on this blog that the Pens lack of talent would catch up to them in the series, and Tampa may have found their offense in Game 5. Tampa won every battle along the boards, won faceoffs, and physically beat up the Pittsburgh defensemen. For the first time in the series, Tampa was the better team playing 5 on 5.

Most importantly for the Bolts, their top two lines were a force every shift they played during the final two periods. It also doesn't help that their power play is ticking around 40% for the series. Guy Boucher's troops are keeping it simple. Get the puck in the zone, shoot, and crash the net. Steven Stamkos and Simon Gagne scored goals by jamming home rebounds. If the Lightning continue to crash the net, their will be more loose pucks available in Game 6.




There is not much else to say about Game 5 so let's look at game 6.

What the Lightning need to do:
1) Don't Change a Thing
To quote Peter Noone from Herman's Hermits singing Henry VIII.."Second verse same as the first".

2) Get the first goal.
The team that has scored the first goal has won every game and the Pens need the first goal. I think the Lightning have enough firepower to overcome an early deficit, but the Penguins have to change their game if they fall behind by more than 1.

3) Crash the Net
Tampa scored their 2nd and 4th goal by jamming home rebounds. Marc Andre Fluery is very good but he does allow rebounds. The Lightning need to take advantage of this aspect of Fluery's game.

What the Penguins must do:
1) Forget about Game 5!
The beauty of the playoffs is you can lose by 6 or 1 and it is only one game. If the Penguins play like they did the first 37 minutes of Game 4, they will have success tonight.

2) Clear the Crease.
The Bolts consistently crashed the net and their 2nd and 4th goals came from 2nd and 3rd chance rebounds. Fluery has been good in the series, but he does give up rebounds.

3) My Daily Power Play Rant
The Penguins should decline their power plays. They are 1-24 in the series. If this were football I would decline any power play. Actually I think some personnel changes should be made. Pittsburgh should use Mike Rupp in front of the net. Jordan Staal and James Neal are not willing to pay the price to get in front of the net. Also, please move Alexei Kovalev to the point! PLEASE!!!

I think talent will overcome will and Tampa sends this series back to Pittsburgh with a 4-1 victory.

2 Guys x 2 E-Mails = Game 4 Review

Sure it's late, but if you've landed in this spot of the internet looking for timely news, well, sorry.

Justin half-asses 'cause he wrote it when he was still depressed and Jason re-visits Tully's and expounds on his overtime hockey history....

Here we go...

JG:

Well. We had our first nerve-wracking multiple OT game of the series. To tell you the truth, after the first period I didn’t think it would make it to OT. The Pens outplayed the Bolts for the entire first half of the game, dominating in both the faceoff circle and shots on the board. More importantly they continue to dominate in the “small things” department – winning the battle for the puck, blocking shots, breaking up passes, etc. James Neal double OT winner proves the cliché that there is no such thing as a bad shot in the playoffs.

While I’m sure you rocked Tully’s with a mighty roar when you realized the goal was in, I was left depressed on my couch with only a mild expletive to utter. To which my napping girlfriend responded with, “that’s too bad now go to bed”. I have a dreadful feeling that the series is over. Tampa Bay might pull out one more game, but I don’t see them having the gumption to pull out three in a row.

One thing that did give me a bit of hope was that from the St Louis goal that brought them back to 2-1 and on, the Bolts pressured the Penguins defense a lot more in the Pittsburgh zone. For the first time since game two they were causing turnovers and keeping the puck in the zone longer than 6 seconds. If they can do that from the drop of the puck on Saturday they might have a chance.

There’s not much more you can say about Martin St Louis. He is the heart and soul of the Tampa franchise and seems to be the one that is keeping them in this series. I was thinking about how there hadn’t been too many “pretty goals” in this series and then he undressed the Pens D and roofed a shot over Fleury from a near impossible angle. Now if only he wouldn’t miss wide open nets.

Three stars for the Bolts:

Roloson – Sure he has to stop that overtime shot from Neal, but without him in net Pens win 6-2 in regulation
Sean Bergenheim – Game tying goal and he was disruptive throughout the second and third period. Good to see him using his speed to frustrate the Pens
Martin St Louis – the smallest player on the ice has the biggest will to win.

Three duds

Dominic Moore – Probably set a record for the number of times getting kicked out of the face-off circle in one game.
Ted Purcell – Nowhere to be found in this series and this game. The Lightning need their secondary scoring to be more effective
Guy Boucher – If you dress Mattias Ritola, play him more than two and a half minutes. Oh and for Jeebus sake, get Stamkos off the point on the power play.

Prediction for Saturday – Penguins come out flat, get behind early and can’t catch up. Lightning win 4-3.

JG:

Well my Saturday night was once again spent at Tully's in Williamsvile, NY. I was expecting to be in Lansing, Michigan but a last second call from a customer in Hamilton, Ontario made me do a U-turn on the 401 west of London, Ontario. After a quick stop in Hamilton, it was the 403 to the QEW, crossed the border at the Rainbow Bridge and then off to the Fairfield Inn and Suites at the Buffalo airport. A day in the life of the traveling broker but as a lifelong, die hard Penguins fan, the game was never far from my mind the entire day.

I haven't had my team involved in an overtime since last season when Pascal Dupuis ended the 1st round series with the Senators. When your team is in overtime, it is far from a joyous event. Every time your in the offensive zone you get excited that a goal may be forecoming. A trip to the defensive zone makes you feel like you are going to vomit and every shot by an opponent makes you feel like your heart is going to stop. Last night was no exception. The first overtime was non stop play and a tension filled penalty kill late in the 1st overtime. The 2nd overtime ended so unexpectedly when James Neal scored on a shot that I didn't even consider a scoring chance. Game 4 was an excellent example of the thrill and agony that playoff hockey can bring to the diehard fan.

Chief as much joy as I had seeing the puck hit the twine, I have to admit I do feel for you being on the losing end. It is a good thing your not a Flyers fan. I honestly think I would cheer for a team owned by Satan himself than cheer for Philadelphia.

Here are my top 6 Penguins playoff games since 1980
6) Penguins - Devils (1991, 1st Round, Game 2)...down a game to the Devils, Jagr scored a beauty to beat Chris Terrieri and the Pens were on their way to their first cup. I was there!!

5) Pengins - Red Wings (2008, Cup Finals, Game 5)
Detroit was ready to celebrate a Stanley Cup until Max Talbot tied the game with 30 seconds left. In the first 2 overtimes, Marc Andre Fluery played as well as a goalie could play and Petr Sykora won the game with a power play goal in the thrid OT.

4) Penguins - Capitals (1996, 1st Round, game 4)
Back in 1996 most cable systems did not have ESPN2. My cable did not and my sister and I went to Beef O'Brady's in Brandon, Florida. After regulation and three overtimes, Beef's closed and my sis and I were forced to speed to a sports bar 15 minutes away to catch the 4th overtime. With less than a minute left, Petr Nedved scored on the power play to tie the series at 2 games a piece. If you see this shot, it went thru so many bodies, sticks, and legs that Washington goaltender Olaf Kolzig didn't have a chance.

3) Penguins - Flyers (2000, 2nd Round, Game 4)
The Penguins were up 2-1 in the series and the game went 5 overtimes until Keith Primeau scored midway thru the 5th overtime. I got to the game at 6:30 and left at 2:40 in the morning. The most painful game I had ever seen but the 3rd longest game in NHL history.

2) Penguins - Sabers (2001, 2nd Round, Game 7)
This was probably one of the tighest series in Penguins history. The Pens rallied from a 3-2 series deficit and won Game 7 at the HSBC Arena when defenseman Darius Kasparaitis beat Dominck Hasek over the glove and sent Pittsburgh to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1996.

1) Penguins- Rangers (1992, 2nd Round, Game 4)
The Penguins had beat the Capitals in 7 games and took on the President's Trophy winning New York Rangers. The Pens had a 1-0 series lead when Adam Graves slash broke Mario Lemieux's hand. Joey Mullen tore his ACL when Jeff Buekeboom kneed him and Bob Errey hurt his shoulder on a crosscheck. This was one of the only times I can remember pure hatred in this city for another team. People hated the Rangers and death threats were made against Adam Graves. In Game 4, (down 2 games to 1) the shorthanded Pens were down 3-1 with 10 minutes left and had to kill a major penalty. The Penguins killed the penalty and Ron Francis beat Mike Richter with a slapshot from 70 feet away. Seconds later Troy Loney stuffed home a Jagr pass to tie the game and Francis capped off an exhilirating win with a goal early in the 1st overtime. As I was leaving the game, I turned to my sister and said "We're winning the Cup!".

Now on to Game 4. The Penguins owned the first 37 minutes of the game. The Pens got to every loose puck, blocked shots, won faceoffs and controlled the tempo of the game. As good as the Pittsburgh defense played, their overall defensive play is because their forwards backchecked better than I have seen in a long time. Guys like Max Talbot, Craig Adams, Chris Conner, Mark Letestu, among others consistently hustled back into the Lightning zone and prevented Tampa from using their speed to gain the blue line.

As a playoff series unfolds, you see teams alter their attack. The Penguins are shooting the puck on Tampa goaltender Dwayne Rolsson from the red line in. It is evident that puckhandling is not a strong suit of the 41 year old netminder and the Penguins are exploiting this. The power play (FINALLY got a goal) is starting to use some speed in gaining the offensive zone and found a way to get quality shots on goal.

The game changed on the St. Louis goal late in the 2nd.. The man may be only 65 inches tall, but he is carrying the team on his shoulders. He scored an amazing goal late in the 2nd and was everywhere on the ice in the 3rd. In the third the Bolts finally pressured the Penguins and created turnovers. For the first time in the past two games, Tampa was able to create offense at center red and not being their own cage. Once they got in the offensive zone, they got shots from the point, and got traffic to the net which led to the Sean Gergemheim goal with 3 minutes left. This is the Lightning team I expected to see all series.

After the Bergemheim goal late in the 3rd, the Penguins immediately went back on the attack. Pittsburgh did what they had done early in the game. The flightless birds controlled overtime and ended the evening with the Neal goal.

If you are Don Bylsma you wouldn't change a thing. Pittsburgh doesn't have the offensive skill to open the game up and they need to stick with the formula that got them 3 goals in 4 games. If were Guy Boucher I would try to open up the game. Tampa has superior skill to the Penguins and they need to use it. The Bolts haven't been able to solve the Pens backchecking. My gameplan would be to open up the game and activate my defense and have them look to create offense. This would back off the Penguins backchecking and give the forwards more space enetering the offensive zone. The only offensive play a Lightning defenseman has made all series is the Eric Brewer goal in Game 2, and that was a fluke pinch by Kris Letang on a 4 on 4.

3 Penguins stars of the Game
* Tyler Kennedy - another solid game for the right winger. He is continuing this stellar play after his 1st 20 goal season.
* Craig Adams - he is a human shotblocking machine. He plays over 75 games a year, is a smart defensive player and wins faceoffs. Adams is an unsung hero on the Pens.
* Brooks Orpik - most people look at his hitting, but his skating is slowing the Tampa offense down.

Penguins missing in action
* Alexei Kovalev - the man has hands of gold but legs of a 38 year old who has lost a step
* Mark Letestu - his quietest game of the series...he didn't play poorly, but wasn't noticeable. Maybe part of this is he played on the same line as Kovalev.

The Penguins have had a hard time closing teams out at home. Last year they lost to Ottawa in 3 overtimes on a Matt Carkner goal and lost to Montreal in Game 7 at the final game at the Mellon Arena. I think the trend continues as the Ligthning win 2-1 game in overtime.

Game Three Review - The Tully's Edition!

This one is a bit late, but hey better late then never! Sorry about the typos. I'm posting this before I go to work and don't have a chance to edit. In this edition we learn where Jason sites in the New Igloo and his quick review of an East Syracuse sports bar......


JG:

Well, to start off with I think this was the best played game of the series by both teams. It looks like they are settling in and starting to figure each other out a bit. The keys to winning has been scoring the first goal, having a lead going into the third and then frustrating the opposing team. The Lightning played their best 2nd period of the series, but still struggled to get into a flow offensively. Too many one rush and done attacks (which reminds me of the old arcade game Rush n’ Attack, but I digress).

Stamkos and Hedman look like they haven’t ramped up to the playoff intensity. It looks like they are playing at regular season speed out there. Marty St Louis continues to be the MVP for this team and continues to show why the number 26 will be the first number retired by the organization. Lecavalier had another strong game, he’s doing what Malone hasn’t been able to do. Which is get in front of the net and cause some chaos.

I think we’ll see our first roster changes in game four as Mr. Downie and Mr. Kunitz could be enjoying some beach…er bench time courtesy of the NHL. Downie was way too amped up in the first period and left his feet to hit Lovejoy. Kunitz, well that was as blatant an elbow as you can have.

The Lightning took a while to settle down and by the time they did, the damage was done. I think they were the better team after they were down 2-0, but by then the Pens were content to go into “New Jersey Devils” mode and wait back to shut down their attack. They should be a little more even in Game 4, but it’s a shame they wasted the opportunity to keep home ice advantage in the series.

Other than the first goal I thought Roloson had his best game – the stop on Neal was highway robbery. Fleury was strong when he had to be, but the Pens did another phenomenal job of blocking shots at the point. The faceoff stats were pretty much even (36/35 in favor of the Pens) but I thought Pittsburgh won the more important draws (i.e. offensive zone face-offs). For instance Jordan Staal was at 44% overall, but 60% in the Lightning zone.



JL:

Well Game 3 took me away from my home away from home, section 205, row F seat 1 and to the fine establishment of Tully's in Williamsville, NY (outside of Buffalo). First of all, it was cool to watch the Pens-Bolts and the Sabers-Flyers game at the same time. second, if you find yourself in Western NY, get the Tully's tenders. They rock.

As for Game 3, it is always good to get the first goal, but it was a goal Rolsson should have stopped. Chris Conner set a small screen in front of the Tampa netminder as Max Talbot shot the puck, but it was a shot he should have stopped in his sleep. The 2nd goal, less thana minute later, was a great individual play by Mike Rupp. He faked Victor Hedmen out of his jock at the blue line, then threw a great backhand pass over to Aaron Asham for an easy goal. He first thought, "That was Mike Rupp??"

After the 2nd goal, Lightning coach Guy Boucher called a timeout and for the rest of the game I thout the Lightning were the better team. Chief, I agree with you that the Pens sat back and tried to win the game by scoring only 2 goals. Welcome to the new style of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey. Get a lead and hold on for dear life. I guess it is a good strategy when your goalie plays as well as Marc Andre Fluery. The man stood on his head all game and is the reason Tampa scored 2 goals and not 6.

The Penguins power play continues to amaze me that they are so inept and their penalty killing does not have an answer to stop the Tampa man advantage. The Lightning enter the zone with ease and they look like a team that expects to convert on the man advantage. Martin St. Louis may be the most under-appreciated player in the NHL. The man just flat out produces. I do have to mention and agree that Rolsson played great after the first goal...what a stop on Chris Conner late in the game. Should be the play of the night.

If you saw the game you saw the hits thrown Chris Kunitz and Steve Downie. Kunitz hit against Ggane resembled the Matt Cooke hit and Downie tried to jump over the boards to hit Ben Lovejoy. Ithi Downie gets a game and Kunitz gets 3. If this happens, it is a bigger loss to the Pens. They need Kunitz in the lineup and to produce. Downie is a productive player but the Bolts have enough firepower to get thru a few games without him.

Penguins 3 stars
Marc Andre Fluery - He had another great game and kept the Lightning at bay as tried to ge the go ahead goal.
Mike Rupp- On a team that doesn't have much offensively, you need a guy to step up and make a grat play and he definately did
Max Talbot - Tyler Kennedy deserved consideration, but Talbot got the big first goal and more importantly was out there against the Tampa big buns as they tried to tie the game. I haven't seen Talbot play this well since the 2009 playoffs.

Pens players that need to step it up
Paul Martin - has passed poorly all series, has missed checks, and looks lost on the 2nd PP unit.
Chris Kunitz - the only thing he did was throw an elbow at Simon Gagne....ladies and gents, welcomeMike Comrie to the Pens lineup.
James Neal - he created some opportunities but he needs to finish one chance
Alex Kovalev- if he wasn't crushed into Rolsson, i wouldn't have known that he played


JG:

Tully’s appreciates the fine words, I’m sure.

Well the ban-hammer has come down and both Downie and Kunitz will be sitting for one game per the NHL. Possible replacements? I’m thinking the Lightning roll with 7 defensemen with Randy Jones suiting up and maybe a Mr. Hilary Duff himself gets 5 minutes of ice time. Bigger loss for the Pens I think simply because the Bolts have more depth to play from.

I’m developing a strong dislike for Aaron Asham, by the way. Only the Lightning should have gritty, 4th line grinders that chip in the occasional goal. That’s the way the playoffs go, the team that wins a series is usually the one getting secondary scoring from the grinders. Just for knowledge’s sake – Dominic Moore had 20 minutes of ice time in the game.

St Louis has 52 points in 48 career playoff games including 7 game winning goals in the playoffs. The Lightning as an organization only have 27 playoff wins. So he is definitely a producer when it counts.

Three starts for the Lightning last night

Dwayne Rolosson – his stops on Conner and Neal kept the Bolts within striking distance.
Vincent Lecavalier – Showing he’s the captain for a reason
Marty St Louis – Mr. Lightning adds to his legend

Three non-stars

Steven Stamkos – He picked up an assist, but still has been ineffective at best. He has to show that he can make the leap to the next level to be considered a true star in the league
Victor Hedman – He looks like his confidence is shot right now.
Steve Downie – Two bad penalties (even if one was negated by the goal) and now he costs his team by getting suspended.


I look for Game 4 to be a carbon copy of Game 3. The Lightning pushing the action with the Pens countering. The Bolts figure out how to beat Fleury at even strength and on the power play for a 4-2 win.

How about the announcement that Game 5 will start at noon on Saturday? Enjoy a nice latte with your hockey, bub!


JL:

Tully's is the best bar in the Buffalo suburbs that really caters to hockey fans. chiefer if you make your way up here, we'll go and watch some pucks.

My thoughts on tonight are that Eric Tangradi, not Mike Comrie, will be in the lineup tonight. Tangradi has played 1 games since his concussion back in February and looked decent against Atlanta in the season finale. Comrie has played a few games late in the season and wasn't noticeable. Mr. Hilary Duff's only goal this year was an empty netter. Tangradi will give them some size and toughness and has a big upside. Considering the Pens top line is now their 4th line, I expect Tangradi to play on the wing with Staal and Kennedy.

I have a good feeling about tonight. The Pens will get a power play goal. I know i am going out on a limb but I think they will get 1 and possible 2 goals on the man advantage. Fluery will face over 40 shots and the Pens will win 4-3 heading back to Pittsburgh. I don't base this prediction on knowledge but just a hunch that the Pens will find their groove on the PP.

Two Working Guys Break Down Game One

I’ve decided to do something a little different for the playoffs. Instead of a recap with stats and major turning points of the game I decided to break it down with my buddy and hockey mentor Jason. He’s a true Penguins fan from birth and perhaps the biggest influence on my hockey career.

So here is a quick point, counter-point in response to Thursday night’s action. Just so you know he was actually at the Consol center while I was reduced to listening to the game on radio.

Justin G:

OK let me kick this off by congratulating the Penguins for winning their first playoff game in their new building. No Igloo curse here, apparently. That being said, if it’s possible for a goaltender to steal a victory in a home game, then MAF did that last night. His play in the first period altered the outcome of that game, most notably the stop on Malone that Mishkin mistakenly called a goal and made me look like a crazy person on the train because I gave a fist pump and a mild “yessss”. The Lightning better score early in game 2 or it might be over quick.

That being said, I liked the way the Lightning played for the first half of the game. Unfortunately spending nine and a half minutes on the penalty kill tends to kill any momentum that a team builds up. Friday they better limit the ticky-tack penalties and keep the pressure on. Stamkos (who might be feeling the effects of getting rocked on the first shift of the game) only had one shot on net. That’s not going to fly. St Louis only had two….rumor is he lost as many teeth when he ate a stick blade in the second period.

Roloson was serviceable, but overplayed Asham’s goal. The bolts caught a couple of rnlucky bounces, but can’t get discouraged going into game two.

Your thoughts?

Jason L:

I liked what Tampa did in the first period. They kept it simple. They got the puck to the point and crashed the net. This allowed them to do two things, get traffic in front of Fleury but it also did not allow the Penguins defense to start their breakout. That being said, I totally agree that Fleury stole the show the first 25 minutes of the game. The save on St. Louis and Malone were huge, but after a scoreless first period the stop on Lecavalier was a game changer. If Tampa scores early in the 2nd, it would have been a different game.

The game changed when the Penguins got the puck behind the Lightning defense and started to fore-check. The glaring weakness on the Lightning is their lack of depth on the blue line and in the last 35 minutes of the game the Penguins exploited this. Every line Pittsburgh threw on the ice did the same thing, they hit the Tampa defenseman and hit Stamkos every time he touched the puck.

What did surprise me is Tampa's lack of success in the faceoff circle. The Penguins have been one of the worst faceoff teams in the league after Crosby's injury, but to consistently lose draws to Max Talbot and Jordan Staal in inexcusable. Nate Thompson and Adam Hall have to do a much better job or Tampa will put itself behind the eight ball. I was also a little surprised that the Lightning looked slow. As the game went along, the Penguins looked like the faster team. I didn't expect that coming into the series and I don't expect this in Game 2.

The Penguins power play continues to be a problem. With the exception of their first power play in the 2nd period, the Lightning penalty killers dominated the Penguins on the man advantage. The Bolts pressured Kris Letang and when they did he turned the puck over. In my opinion I think the Penguins might be better served using Kovalev on the point. He is the best passer on the team and can take some pressure off of Letang.

Chief (ed.note - college nickname), I do disagree with Roloson. I thought he played very well. He stood on his head in the 2nd period and the right pad stop on Letestu in the 3rd period was brilliant. He did look shaky at times in the first 10 minutes as he mishandled two weak wrist shots from about 45 feet away, but that could be playoff nerves. Roloson couldn't do anything on the Kovalev goal but he did misplay the Asham goal. Overall, one hiccup when you see 38 shots (a lot of quality chances) is a very good performance.

If I am Guy Boucher I tell my guys to play the way they did in the first period. Get the puck and get to the net. Tampa will have success in this series if they get in Fleury's face.
If I am Dan Bylsma I tell my troops to fore-check like crazy, hit Stamkos and Hedman whenever possible, and converting on the power play once a month would be beneficial.

JG

I guess it’s the difference between seeing the game and listening to it on radio. Mishkin made it sound like Roloson was giving up a lot of rebounds, which is something that has plagued the bolts in the past. They need to block more shots in front of him, something the Penguins excel at, because if they’re giving up 40 shots a game they will not win this series.

The game last night was a carbon copy of the second half of the season. If they don’t score early, they get out of their game plan and stop pressing the puck which leads to more time spent in their own zone. You’re correct on the Pens needing to fore-check more, if there is a major weakness in Tampa’s game it’s getting the puck out of their zone. There were a couple of moments last night where they were 5 feet from the blue line and still couldn’t clear it.

I think it’s a bit of a unspoken about fact that if your physical with Stamkos early you can knock him off his game. He’s made great strides over the last couple of seasons, but he is still learning this game and finding that will to bounce back might be the next evolution of his game.

Lot of lightning fans were moaning about the officiating, but from what I could tell most of the Lightning penalties were earned. The questionable non call on St Louis will be debated over the next 24 hours (especially since he underwent a double root canal today), but it’s a tough call. He was falling to the ice and just happened to connect his face with the Penguin player’s stick.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see St Louis back on Stamkos’ line in game two as Boucher looks to spark them a bit. He’s been able to push the right buttons all season long, so let’s see what they have in the tank.

For what it’s worth here were the faceoff numbers according to NHL.com

Lightning:
Lecavalier – 38%
Hall – 63%
Moore – 67%
Thompson – 20%
Stamkos – 46%

Penguins:
Letestu – 46%
Stall – 50%
Talbot – 53%

JL:

I saw St. Louis get hit in the face....I think I was the only one because it didn't get any kind of reaction. The biggest issue the Bolts has with their early penalties was retaliating. Sean Bergenheim tripped Orpik after a small altercation and took a stupid penalty. Hey, I understand that tempers can get the best of you, but in the playoffs you can't afford to take retaliation penalties.

I am shocked to see Talbot at 53%. As someone who watches every Penguins game, I wonder who is keeping those stats. The Pens best line was Max Talbot, Pascal Dupuis, and Chris Conner. I don't expect the Pens to make any line changes. If the Pens would struggle to get the puck in the net, it wouldn't shock me if Mike Comrie saw some action late in the series or possible Eric Tangradi.

If the Lightning want to win their series, they can't start their offense every shift from 200 feet behind their own net. The Penguins created tons of turnovers in the neutral zone and that led to their fore-check being so successful. It will be interesting to see what happens if the Lightning fall behind 2-0 in Game 2. Does Boucher change lines or stay the course?

JG:

I thought the Pens played pretty much the perfect game to win the series so no need to shake things up. Game two Boucher starts with the same lines, but if they struggle to score early he shifts St Louis to Stamkos’ line.

I see the Lightning bounce back for a 3-2 OT win in game two. Your prediction?

JL:

I agree I think you will see a different Lightning team. My prediction is they get a few power plays goals early (always seems to happen when a team hardly gets a PP chance the game before) and roll to a 3-1 win. These teams are too close to see a short series.

I will say this, if the Pens jump out early, I wonder how the Bolts will react.

Well folks, what did you think? Should we keep this going or did it bore you to tears? What did you think of game one?