ECSF Game 2 recap: Tampa Bay Lightning (5) at Washington Capitals (1)
by Cassie McClellan on May 1, 2011 10:39 PM EDT
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The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals in overtime of Game 2 by a score of 3-2.
What can you say about Vincent Lecavalier that hasn't already been said? Maybe his first time around, he wasn't ready to be captain. But now, he's as much a captain of this team as his idol Steve Yzerman was of his.
His first goal of the night was pretty-pretty-pretty. It was a one-timer from the right faceoff dot five-hole. You've got to love that.
And then his second - which was a far more difficult shot than you might think - was on the door-step and roofed right in to win the game. The set up by Teddy Purcell was perfect. Maybe it wasn't a textbook pretty goal, but it went in and that's all that mattered.
Martin St. Louis led all players (both teams) with eight shots on goal - and scored on top of that. Teddy Purcell, meanwhile, ended the night with two assists. Mattias Ohlund had six blocked shots, while Eric Brewer had four hits. Adam Hall was 70% (7 of 10) in the faceoff circle.
Now that the Lightning are now up 2-0 in the series, remember that there's still a lot of hockey left to be played. And some serious issues to be addressed. Like having only nine shots on goal in the first two periods of play in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
That's definitely not a great statistic. Part of the reason the Lightning have struggled in these playoff games is due to not shooting as much as they had been in the regular season. While the most important statistic are the numbers on the scoreboard, not getting shots on net is a worrying trend.
Sloppy play has resulted in Caps goals as well. The Lightning need to tighten up a bit more or they'll let the Caps back into this series. In theory, winning in four or five games - we can hope! - would benefit the team. They could definitely use a rest - particularly Dwayne Roloson. But the reality is, they're in a groove, and you don't want to break the patter that they're in.
Also, let's not forget what happened the last time these two teams met in playoffs. The Caps won the first two games of that series, and then the Lightning came back and won the next four. We should all hope that the tables haven't been reversed with the Bolts having won the first two games of this series.
Game 3 in Tampa will be on Tuesday, 3 May. Game time is early - 6:30 pm ET. The Raw Charge game thread will be ready for business at 5:30. So if you're not going to the game, come hang out with us!
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woo!
Those first two periods were ugly, but we took it to them in the third. And the penalty kill is still strong. Love the passing of Purcell (and the rest of the set up of Marty’s goal—Teddy was doing some work behind the net) and the shooting of Vinny. Also, is Adam Hall our faceoff specialist? I’ve just noticed that he’s had really nice stats a couple times lately.
They’re going to play with their backs against the wall on Tuesday, and their superior depth will be a huge advantage on Wednesday. We really need to take at least one at home.
by Incipient_Senescence on May 1, 2011 10:44 PM EDT reply actions
Heat the pins and stab them in You have turned me into this Just wish that it was bullet proof
What can I say, but Lecavalier. Textbook example of how one finishes their chances when given them. Great heads up play by Randy Jones finding Purcell deep at the Caps blueline to take advantage of a gawd awful line change.
0/6 on the PP. Bad line changes. Awful execution, sloppiness and undisciplined play killed the Caps. Kudos to your Bolts.
100 pieces of gray hair sprouted from my head tonight … btw, see my profile description.
IIII
y'all played really well for the first two periods
and weren’t the only ones with a bad line change that really hurt. Our PK unit has come up huge so far this postseason though, led of course by the man between the pipes.
Still, this series is far from over. I have to think y’all have the mental edge going into game three with a little bit of desperation, and the short turnaround hurts us more than it hurts y’all, imo. And it wasn’t long ago that Pittsburgh took two straight in Tampa after losing at home. I’m not breathing easy.
by Incipient_Senescence on May 1, 2011 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions
heh
dude, I’m a Tennessee football fan. Look up this year’s LSU and UNC games. I’m not comfortable until the game (or series) is won and the officials have left the building.
But seriously, y’all came out like a house afire in the first two periods tonight. I don’t want to see more of that.
by Incipient_Senescence on May 2, 2011 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Thanks for acknowledging the key to Vinny’s OT goal—Randy Jones. All the talk has been of Teddy’s pass to Vinny, but to me that play was made by Randy Jones realizing the shift change was slow and willing to take a hit to make a play. If Randy hadn’t had situational awareness, Vinny doesn’t score.
Vinny’s first goal may have been prettier, but the passing on his second goal makes it my favorite of the night, though I must admit I’m pretty happy about the puck going off Green’s skate.
good call
that was a really nice play. I’ve been focusing on Teddy mostly because of goal #2, but all three participants in that third goal made great plays.
by Incipient_Senescence on May 2, 2011 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions
One more thing:
We can win without Simon and Pavel. That’s awesome. But if we could get them back, it’d be greatly appreciated.
by Incipient_Senescence on May 2, 2011 12:31 AM EDT reply actions
Blair Jones
I thought he played pretty well considering. Before the game, I predicted 5 minutes of TOI. He ended the game with 5:27 TOI. What I didn’t anticipate is him playing against Ovechkin’s line (though, with last change, why wouldn’t BB try to take advantage of that?).
Still he was pretty good considering the enormity of the stage on which he was playing.
Gonna post this here...not sure how many of you saw it
"Don't look now, but there's one too many people in this room and I think it's you." Groucho Marx
In Prust We Trust
"Kovalev would work with Tortorella like a kitty would work in a microwave.
A lot of smoke and desperate clawing at the door. It wouldn’t work. It would just be a big, hot mess." -Dig Deep
Follow me @8kpower
A good day for America... and the Bolts!!
We got the fucker!! What a crazy day!! ..Too bad the Bolts were most likely already on a plane home.. otherwise they could have went out and joined in the (more)celebrations outside the Capital!! Not often do you see people so happy about the death of someone. Wow! Great job to Obama, SEAL Team Six and the BOLTS!!
A.K.A.- "DetroitALLtheWay09" ...Was time for a new name, to better represent BOTH my teams!! Plus that was my OG name from the '09 Play-Off run.. which didn't end so well. IN YZERMAN WE TRUST!! LET'S DO THIS!!
by Let's JOE WINGS-BOLTS on May 2, 2011 3:23 PM EDT reply actions
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