Game 45: Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning
by Clark J Brooks on Jan 17, 2012 11:42 PM EST
in '11-'12 game recaps
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PrintThe Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Boston Bruins 5-3 in front of a sell-out crowd of 19,204 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum Tuesday night.
The routine the last few games has featured the Lightning falling behind early, due to being called for a penalty in the first two minutes, fighting valiantly but ultimately coming up just short. And tonight, more dependable than a delivery from Dominos, Bruno Gervais found himself in the box on a high sticking call at 1:58, which allowed the Bruins to go right down and...
Wait...what now?
"It was nice to get that kill, and kill their momentum and not let them get anything from that. Luckily, we built some momentum off of that" - Steven Stamkos
"You gotta be sharp in all areas at the start. You gotta be ready to kill penalties, you gotta be ready for the power play. Just being ready in general." - Dominic Moore
If the Lightning were mouthing the words "here we go again", at least nobody heard them saying it aloud.
"If I'm asking my players to put things behind, we have to put things behind too, as leaders. And right away, we said, ' yes, we're gonna kill this one, and we're gonna fight it off and we're gonna block shots'. So we kept on talking about what we're gonna do, not what can happen against us, but what we're gonna do. And we did it and our goaltender was part of it too. So it's all about the actions. Your words become your actions and your actions become your character and your character becomes your habits. And so it's important that we take care of our words." - head coach Guy BoucherAfter successfully weathering that early test, and maybe enjoying a well-earned sigh of relief, the Lightning continued the agressive and energetic attack they had from the opening puck drop. Vincent Lecavalier got the Bolts off on the right foot, scoring a nifty backhander, with his back to the goal, on assists from Matt Gilroy and Martin St. Louis at the 7:11 mark.
The score was 1-0 Lightning at the end of the first period, with the Lightning outshooting Boston 11-6.
Boston tied it at 4:28 of the second when Nathan Horton scored unassisted.
About 10 minutes passed, during which the Lightning's hard work produced a number of scoring opportunities. It finally paid off when Tom Pyatt scored on assists from Steve Downie and Gilroy at 14:11.
At 16:48, the Bruins tied it again with a goal scored on a rebound by Horton with helpers from Andrew Ference and David Krejci.
The period ended in a two-all tie, with Boston testing goalie Mathieu Garon with 11 shots, trimming the game deficit in that category to 21-17, Tampa Bay.
In the third period, Nate Thompson intercepted a pass along the side boards and got it to Dominic Moore who fed Ryan Malone to take the lead yet again at 4:58.
And, in keeping with the theme, Boston's Daniel Paille tied it yet again, this time on a shorthanded breakaway at 10:53
Bearing down as the clock ticked away the seconds, Dominic Moore beat Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas glove side and high with a heavy slapshot to put the Lightning on top again with 3:45 left to play in regulation. Downie and Malone chipped in with the helpers.
Boston pulled Thomas with 1:05 remaining. Play stopped with 26.4 seconds left and the Bruins called time out. After Lecavalier won the ensuing face-off, Stamkos sealed the deal with an empty netter with 20.2 on the clock.
The Lightning will head out west for a pair of back-to-back road games, Friday at the Dallas Stars and Saturday against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Game notes:
- The Lightning won for the first time in 2012, snapping a seven game losing streak. They haven't lost eight in a row since going 0-7-2 to finish the 2008-09 season.
- Behold the offensive prowess of...Matt Gilroy? He now has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his last 12 games and points in consecutive games for the first time this season. His last point streak was in December of 2010 when he scored in two straight for the New York Rangers.
- Gilroy is now second among Lightning defenders with 13 points, trailing Marc-Andre Bergeron's 24.
- Pyatt's goal was his fifth of the season, which is three more than he's tallied in either of his previous two NHL seasons. He now has seven points on the season, which matches his career-high, set last year while with the Montreal Canadiens.
- The Lightning recognized Bill Richards as a Lightning Community Hero during the first period of tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins. Richards, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will divide the money among his charities of choice, Feeding America, St. Anne’s Food Pantry and Mary & Martha House. As a result of tonight’s donation, the Lightning Community Heroes program has now reached the $1,000,000 plateau to date. Richards, a Lightning Season Ticket Member for more than 10 years, exemplifies how a retired individual can take his skills, background and passion to makes things better for those less fortunate. At 84 years old, Richards refuses to let his age slow him down when it comes to serving the community. Among the various capacities in which Richards serves is volunteering to feed the homeless, collecting clothes at various donation centers and making the most of limited resources to ensure that no individual goes without food or shelter. In the early 1990s, Richards established the Food Pantry at St. Anne’s Church in Ruskin. It wasn’t until after the first few days before Richards realized the unexpected, yet widespread epidemic of homelessness in the Bay Area. From that moment forward, Richards vowed never to leave the facility grounds until every visitor had received food, clothing, shelter or other aid. His passion for helping never ceases to appear as he always follows through until a solution is put in place.
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With Performance Comes Expectations
Last night was terrific. This team played on rails and for the most part answered every bell and challenge.
What this also creates is the understanding that this team can compete with any in this league if only they will do just that….compete. If they come out ready to play they can achieve what some say can’t be done (come back from > 10pts down from the final playoff spot). It also says that performances like the past couple weeks are not due to bad luck or bad schedules or injuries…its a lack of performance.
As quoted above Guy said this “Your words become your actions and your actions become your character and your character becomes your habits. And so it’s important that we take care of our words.” – head coach Guy Boucher
I couldn’t agree more and it needs to start with him. I will hold him to this statement. Focus on performance and this team can turn it all around, focus on what can’t be controlled and the team will be controlled and eliminated.
The team can turn it all around where? They’re not making playoffs. They’re already too far out. All that’s left is the mathematical elimination part of things.
"You don't have enough talent to win on talent alone." -Herb Brooks
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community. Follow me on Twitter: @dagmar27.
by Cassie McClellan on Jan 18, 2012 9:13 AM EST up reply actions
So, the team’s banged up, and filled with recent or current AHL players. Where was this level of “compete” and “fight” in the previous games this year? Injuries should no longer be an excuse—last night proved the team can play despite the injuries.
Another question: why does Boucher insist on having 5 forwards on the PP? Marty couldn’t have helped Paille any more than he did for Paille’s 2nd SHG this year. Terrible play by Marty—though it’s the only bad play I remember seeing him make.
"Freedom is the freedom to say two plus two equals four. If that is granted all else will follow."
- Smith in Orwell's 1984
It was with 5 forwards on ice that they finally scored on the PP and showed some improvement in that area. But that’s was a really bad play by Marty. We don’t have a PP QB.
Following the Lightning from Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
Let's. Go. BOLTS!
by Rafael Amarante on Jan 18, 2012 9:14 AM EST up reply actions
in fact, both of our power play goals this week have come with 5 forwards
If I cared more about my UNC side, I'd call myself "Tar Volon," and that'd be awesome.
Bolts, Canes, Preds (now in different conferences!). Canes mini-STH. Southern hockey solidarity
Rocky Top Talk
by Incipient_Senescence on Jan 18, 2012 9:26 AM EST up reply actions
But my point is perhaps put more simply this way:
Perhaps using 5 forwards on the PP is why the Lightning are 2nd in the NHL in SHGA.
"Freedom is the freedom to say two plus two equals four. If that is granted all else will follow."
- Smith in Orwell's 1984
But the 5 forward unit is pretty recent. This was the first SHG against this kind of formation.
Following the Lightning from Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
Let's. Go. BOLTS!
by Rafael Amarante on Jan 18, 2012 11:13 AM EST up reply actions
I’m not so sure, but don’t have the time/desire to pour over the video for all 7 SHGA to see personally.
"Freedom is the freedom to say two plus two equals four. If that is granted all else will follow."
- Smith in Orwell's 1984
I don’t think the 5 forward unit was used (at least not that many times) before MAB went down with injury. But I’ve been wrong.
Following the Lightning from Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
Let's. Go. BOLTS!
by Rafael Amarante on Jan 18, 2012 11:22 AM EST up reply actions
pretty sure this is true
if it was, Erlendsson never wrote about it until last week
If I cared more about my UNC side, I'd call myself "Tar Volon," and that'd be awesome.
Bolts, Canes, Preds (now in different conferences!). Canes mini-STH. Southern hockey solidarity
Rocky Top Talk
by Incipient_Senescence on Jan 18, 2012 12:30 PM EST up reply actions
the season we're 2nd in the league in SHGA
is because our puckhandling/passing on the blueline is sloppy. Nothing more, nothing less. You can blame Gilroy, Stamkos, St Louis, and anyone else who’s been directly responsible for giving up a shorthanded breakaway.
If I cared more about my UNC side, I'd call myself "Tar Volon," and that'd be awesome.
Bolts, Canes, Preds (now in different conferences!). Canes mini-STH. Southern hockey solidarity
Rocky Top Talk
by Incipient_Senescence on Jan 18, 2012 12:31 PM EST up reply actions
Best game in a while and I miss the 2nd and 3rd periods. Beautiful.
Great win, Bolts. Keep the effort.
Following the Lightning from Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
Let's. Go. BOLTS!
by Rafael Amarante on Jan 18, 2012 9:15 AM EST reply actions
IMO the problem
with our power play is we don’t have anyone parking themselves right in front of the goaltender. Malone is typically playing off the side of the net. You can’t collapse the box when youre not parking someone right in the goalies lap. It will also open up the perimeter for Stamkos, Marty and Vinnie.
I have no problem with using 5 forwards, especially with MAB out, but they all cant be outside the defensive box. One or two need to crash the net. Teams do it to us constantly.
I’m also going to tip my hat yet again to my new boy Pierre Cedric who took it to the big bad bruins and went after them with the body. Downie also. If only Kubina could use some of his 250lbs and throw his weight around a bit..
I also loved when Nate dumped McQuaid in front of his own net after the whistle. Even the refs were smiling about that one. If everyone played with Thompson’s consistent drive and determination I think we would be okay. Nate is easily the most underpaid player on this team.
Also agree. Also add Dana to the mix.
Labrie has been great. I mean, 5 hits in 3 and a half minutes? That’s a guy that knows his role and is executing it.
Following the Lightning from Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
Let's. Go. BOLTS!
by Rafael Amarante on Jan 18, 2012 11:18 AM EST up reply actions
Um. Wow.
Am I the only one thinking, “settle down, people?” This was ONE GAME. It wasn’t the season any more than the past seven were the whole season. It shouldn’t create any expectations that weren’t already there. Of course they can beat any given team. This is the freakin’ NHL. That’s true all over the place.
To my mind, it has never been that this is a bad group of players. This is a roster that ought to be able to get it done. When you have the league’s leading scorer and one of the league’s leading scoring duos, you ought to be putting up the goals. If you’re going to be letting in 3 goals a night, you have to score 4, but this is a team that ought to be able to do that. They just haven’t.
And I’m not getting at the issue of effort, either. It’s not that they’ve been consistently ferocious, but there have been a number of games where a great deal of effort was expended for little or no reward. I know that’s an unpopular opinion in some corners, but I calls ‘em like I sees ’em. Bad luck has played a part. Injuries have played a part. You may not want to hear it, but it’s true. Players are forced to play at levels and in roles they aren’t familiar with. Players are forced to take on extra TOI and tougher competition. They are having to change their game. It does affect the outcome.
There’s still a lot of fight left in this team, thank God. They are frustrated. They feel unlucky. But the question is less “can they put forth the effort?” (we know they can) than it is “can they face the crappy luck without letting it defeat them?”
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
"You don’t motivate people; you activate something in them that already exists." -Guy Boucher
by CAustin on Jan 18, 2012 10:03 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Well said.
I love Casey Fossum. Now try and take me seriously.
Follow @steveslow
by Steve Slowinski on Jan 18, 2012 10:13 AM EST up reply actions
That was my point—where’s the effort been this year, if the team can win against the Cup Champs with a banged up roster?
Sure, the Bruins looked flat—but I see last night as a sad indictator of what could have been this year had they played with relentlessness rather than the lack of it that Boucher bemoans consistently.
"Freedom is the freedom to say two plus two equals four. If that is granted all else will follow."
- Smith in Orwell's 1984
but everybody can beat the Stanley Cup champs with a banged up roster
this conversation is exactly the one they were having on Canes Country when they beat the Bruins twice in mid-October. And then when they beat the Penguins in mid-November. And then when they beat the Canucks in mid-December.
Bad teams beat good teams ALL THE TIME. And their fans invariably start talking about what would happen if they played like that every day. But they don’t play like that every day. That’s why they’re bad. Yeah, if Dominic Moore and Tom Pyatt scored had two points every day, that’d really help with secondary scoring. But they’d also be a lot better hockey players than they in fact are (not that I dislike Pyatt and Moore—I think they’re both valuable assets. But they’re not that kind of scoring threats)
If I cared more about my UNC side, I'd call myself "Tar Volon," and that'd be awesome.
Bolts, Canes, Preds (now in different conferences!). Canes mini-STH. Southern hockey solidarity
Rocky Top Talk
by Incipient_Senescence on Jan 18, 2012 12:38 PM EST up reply actions
and if you don't like the Carolina comparison
the Tennessee basketball team has played three consecutive games against top 15 teams (all projected to beat the Vols by double digits). We won one by 11, lost one by 4, lost one by 3. Start thinking we might have a pretty good team, the way we’re hanging tough with the big boys. Tonight we play one of the worst teams in the league and lose.
Every sport. Bad teams beat good teams, and they start thinking they’re a good team. And then they completely choke against an even worse team. And it’s not because of lack of effort. It’s just because bad teams are bad because they aren’t build of consistent producers. And everybody’s just as likely to have a bad night at the same time as to have a good night at the same time
If I cared more about my UNC side, I'd call myself "Tar Volon," and that'd be awesome.
Bolts, Canes, Preds (now in different conferences!). Canes mini-STH. Southern hockey solidarity
Rocky Top Talk
by Incipient_Senescence on Jan 18, 2012 10:56 PM EST up reply actions
Well said indeed.
I didn’t create any expectations for this season. It was a great win and a great effort, and it’s nice to see the boys get rewarded for it, but that’s all. Let’s see what happens in Dallas. Hope for another nice performance.
Following the Lightning from Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
Let's. Go. BOLTS!
by Rafael Amarante on Jan 18, 2012 11:26 AM EST up reply actions
Good game
Good win, yeah, Boston looked at times flat, so did the Bolts. That shortie was horrible (well any shorthanded goal against is horrible). But the team did not fold like a cheap tent in a windstorm at that point.
Yeah, only one game. And they are still in a deep hole. But one game at a time. I’m not ready to put up the white flag regarding the playoffs quite yet, but realistically maybe the best we see is a run like the Devils had last year (?) when they looked so bad, got hot at the end, and just missed.
I still want to see Tokarski up, especially rather than Roli. Cut bait, Roli’s no long term cog, and they have to see what DT can do. Garon has “earned” the “#1” spot for now…
Bringing up Tokarski won’t change anything, and it may hurt his development in the long run. I’m sure they’ll bring him up towards the end of the season, just to see where he’s at. But he’s not going to fix anything.
"You don't have enough talent to win on talent alone." -Herb Brooks
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community. Follow me on Twitter: @dagmar27.
by Cassie McClellan on Jan 18, 2012 11:45 AM EST up reply actions
The ladies have it right.
Tik is better off in the long-term by getting as much playing time as he can get. He’s simply not going to get to play in Tampa for more than a game or two at the end of the season. If he’s called up as the permanent #2 (discarding the question of what do you do with Roli), all he’s going to do is ride the bench—and he doesn’t learn anything that way.
"Freedom is the freedom to say two plus two equals four. If that is granted all else will follow."
- Smith in Orwell's 1984
Well, he does. He learns by watching the vets, he learns by talking to them, he learns to deal with the schedule, he learns to be patient and to be prepared, he learns a little bit what it’s like to face NHL shooters (he’s 5’11’’, so this is an issue.) One reason you put the kiddos in backup situations for a couple of years is that they learn a lot that way.
But Tik’s not about to take this team from under .500 to over .750, which is what it would take to get into the playoffs with 37 games left and 40 points on the season. Ain’t a goalie in the world that could do that.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
"You don’t motivate people; you activate something in them that already exists." -Guy Boucher
So if your argument
is that there is not a goalie in this world that could achieve a .750 win percentage for the bolts, and the young goalies do benefit in a backup role at the pro level, why would you delay in bringing up the young goalie to learn at the pro level rather than sticking with a goalie that unfortunately is past his prime, other than the fact you are committed to paying him 3.5 million dollars. Or did I just answer my own question.
(A) Yes, the team has to pay Roli no matter what.
(B) They also would have to pay Tik more.
© Just because you can learn something in one situation doesn’t mean you can’t learn something in another situation. Norfolk is 3rd in points in the AHL, They are in a very good position to push for the playoffs.
(D) Why not wait and allow him to learn about being a starter for a full season, about pushing for a playoff spot, or even about going for a championship? The only reason to bring him up RIGHT NOW is to make the fans feel better.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
"You don’t motivate people; you activate something in them that already exists." -Guy Boucher
Yzerman has said that there are no better goalies available than Roloson & Garon right now.
"You don't have enough talent to win on talent alone." -Herb Brooks
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community. Follow me on Twitter: @dagmar27.
by Cassie McClellan on Jan 18, 2012 1:03 PM EST up reply actions
He does that through training camp and through the call-up for the playoffs last year, too. He’s better served staying in Norfolk except for a two-game (or so) call-up to see how he’s doing versus NHL shooters.
"Freedom is the freedom to say two plus two equals four. If that is granted all else will follow."
- Smith in Orwell's 1984
I agree wholeheartedly with your broader point. I’m only being prissy about the very last phrase—that young goalies don’t learn anything while sitting on the bench.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
"You don’t motivate people; you activate something in them that already exists." -Guy Boucher
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