“Your moment in ‘wow Jagr is old!’ His total career points – 1905. The entire Lightning starting lineup tonight – 1651.” — JustinG
After a game in which he scored his first NHL goal (short-handed, no less), Yanni Gourde gets a surprise from his @TBLightning teammates. pic.twitter.com/toIGWwqudY
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) March 12, 2017
The Bolts
Panthers at Lightning Recap: The Bolts battle their way to a 3-2 victory. “With the win, the Lightning remained five points back of Boston for the third spot in the Atlantic and three points behind the Maple Leafs for the last wild card spot. They are back on the ice Monday, taking on the Rangers at Madison Square Gardens.” [Raw Charge]
Crunch squeeze out a point against St. John’s with shorthanded lineup. “The Syracuse Crunch overcame a one-goal deficit in the third period but fell in overtime, 3-2, to the St. John’s IceCaps at War Memorial Arena on Saturday.” [Lightning Insider, free content]
Adam Wilcox prevails in his return to Syracuse, Crunch lose 3-2. “Syracuse dropped a heart-breaker on Friday night when the T-birds visited the War Memorial for the very first time.” [Raw Charge]
Good Gourde, Lightning find another way to win despite depleted lineup. “But it’s been efforts like the one from Gourde, playing just his seventh career NHL game, that has provided a lift for the Lightning.” [Lightning Insider, subscription content]
Keith Yandle vs Gabriel Dumont from Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning Mar 11, 2017 https://t.co/jrqspupNx1
— hockeyfights (@hockeyfights) March 12, 2017
Lightning tops Panthers. “Palat capped off a monster performance with the go-ahead goal with about two minutes to go in a 3-2 victory over the Panthers at Amalie Arena. Palat had a game-high seven shots, helping lift the Lightning, on a 10-2-3 run, within three points of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.” [Tampa Bay Times]
Wounded Lightning deal Panthers a crushing 3-2 loss. “The Panthers have lost five straight and eight of nine to tumble down the standings. They’re now four points behind the Lightning, who are three behind Toronto for the second wild-card berth.” [Sun-Sentinel]
Lightning hand Panthers fifth straight loss. “It’s always nice. I’m happy it went in,” Palat said. “But I’m just playing hard, playing my game and just waiting for one to go in, and today I get that lucky bounce on a tip so I’m happy. I got the puck, dumped it in, it went to Sustr, he shot it so I just got tip it, and it went in.” [NHL]
Outwork ’em all, Yanni.
What a BEAUTY for your first. Congrats, @YanniGourde! ⚡ #FLAvsTBL pic.twitter.com/D1b4DYn10k
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 12, 2017
The League
Predicting the future of the Maple Leafs. “Guessing how many wins the Leafs will get in the rest of the season is a tricky business.” [PPP]
MAPLE LEAFS, LIGHTNING BOTH WIN TO PUT FLYERS IN BIGGER HOLE. Good. [CSN Philly]
The art of blocking shots in the NHL takes guts and brains. “It’s just a matter of having the right timing for when he’s going to shoot,” he said. “You don’t want to be sliding through or the guy’s going to pump and walk right past you.” [Post-Gazette]
Proper nutrition key to survival during grueling NHL season. “During Ryan Hartman’s first season in Rockford, the team had a nutritionist take him and a bunch of other first-year pros on a field trip to the grocery store for some remedial food training.” [Chicago Sun Times]
NHL points system is a topic for debate. “Some support exists for a ‘3-2-1’ system, in which clubs would receive three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win and one point for an OT loss.” [St. Louis Today]
