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Quick Strikes: Bye Week Bolts

ICYMI

Worried about being bored during Bye Week? Don’t worry, we got you. Here’s yesterday at Raw Charge:

Crunch back on track with 5-2 win over Rochester

Sunday Funday: The Lightning hug it out

91 Days of Stamkos: Day 42, this day in Stamkos history

The last Lightning Iron Man falls

It’s the Lightning bye week: How are you making time go by?

The Bolts

Lightning faces good and bad of bye week. “We have to be pretty mature about this, how we handle this rest time,” Boyle said. “Be smart about it. We have to stay in shape, make sure we’re ready to go, because every point is paramount for us right now.” [Tampa Bay Times]

NHL Teams That Could be Affected by a Stagnant Salary Cap in 2017-18. “The Lightning, meanwhile, have over $60 million tied up in 14 players, but that doesn’t leave much to re-sign unrestricted free agent goaltender Ben Bishop and restricted free agent forwards Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin.” [Spector’s Hockey]

The League

Watch Gustav Nyquist’s Suspension Worthy High-Stick on Jared Spurgeon. [WIIM]

Fighting in NHL is down, because it’s up to the skilled. “According to hockeyfights.com, there were 469 fights league-wide in Rosehill’s final NHL season and last year there were 344.” [Courier Post]

Hockey prepares Plan B if NHL players don’t go to Olympics. “If the NHL doesn’t send its players to the 2018 Winter Olympics, the hockey tournament in Pyeongchang will look familiar. It will look a lot like the Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994, Albertville in 1992 and Calgary in 1988. Maybe even a little like 1980 in Lake Placid, site of the ‘Miracle On Ice.'” [Boston.com]

Craig’s List: Are NHL ice conditions worsening? “Sportsnet reported earlier this month, that a joint effort by the NHL and the NHLPA (the NHLPA/NHL Playing Environment subcommittee) would allow players to rate the ice conditions via postgame surveys, amid increased complaints from players about ice conditions across the league.” [Fanragsports]

Headlines that are confusing and probably wrong: Maple Leafs relying too heavily on skill during rough patch. “The sight of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner playing together seems to send a shot of excitement through Leafs Nation, but it only comes in the desperate moments when the team badly needs offence.” [Sportsnet]

Firing coach yet another vexing move from dysfunctional Bruins. “Who knows whether interim coach Bruce Cassidy, last behind an NHL bench in what was a calamitous try in coaching Jaromir Jagr in Washington in 2003-04, has the undivided support of Jacobs, his son, club CEO Charlie Jacobs. Neely and GM Don Sweeney?” [NY Post]

Blue Jackets players reportedly ask John Tortorella to ‘be easier’ during struggles. “There was a meeting there the other day, and I think there was just some requests. I know publicly and privately, they’ve just asked him to be a little easier,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Saturday night. [Sportsnet]

Ranking the Detroit defensemen. This is a stats-heavy piece about Detroit, and it’s eye opening. [WIIM]

Devan Dubnyk has been one of the NHL’s best goalies since joining the Wild. “Dubnyk’s performance this season speaks for itself as he currently leads the league in pretty much every meaningful category for goaltenders, including save percentage (.934), even-strength save percentage (.943), goals against average (1.96) and wins (30).” [NBC Sports]

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