The Bolts
Tonight the Tampa Bay Lightning once again face the Penguins on the flip side of a back-to-back. Coach Jon Cooper often says he likes it when teams win in Sunrise so that they step into Amalie feeling overconfident, and they won 4-3. Good. Preview is out at 11, with an interview from SBN’s Pensburgh about the post-Cup season so far.
Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov shares some of his secrets in a Russian interview with sovsport.ru. “Of course, I have to portion out my energy so I won’t be exhausted at the end of the game. But it comes with experience. I learn from others.” Thank you Igor Nikonov (@nikonov_igor) for the translation. [Raw Charge]
POLL: Clark J Brooks wants to hear what YOUR favorite that surprised you when the Lightning went back and returned to Expo Hall? “Last Saturday, the Lightning held a reunion event at Expo Hall at the state fairgrounds, the team’s original home “arena” as part of celebrating the team’s 25th anniversary. If you attended this event, or even if you didn’t (who cares?), please share your thoughts about it here.” [Raw Charge]
Tyler Johnson, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Slater Koekkoek spent an evening at Howl-O-Scream. Safe to say they had fun.
#Bolts at @howloscream? What else could you want?
Peep @tjohnny09, @Vladdy18, & #TwitterlessSlater’s night! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/oFzQmapGH6
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) October 21, 2017
Trade Tree: How were the Lightning able to draft their generational star, Vincent Lecavalier? “On March 24th, 1998, The Tampa Bay Lightning acquire Andrei Nazarov and the conditional right to swap 1998 1st round picks in exchange for Bryan Marchment and David Shaw.” [Raw Charge]
It may seem like no surprised to us, but the NHL is fascinated by Vladdy Namestnikov’s hot start. “Since the start of the season, Namestnikov has been lining up with Kucherov and Stamkos and has more than held his own as their linemate. He’s stepped in to take faceoffs when needed and has acted as both set-up specialist and triggerman alongside the Lightning’s top-scoring duo.” [The Hockey News]
The Bolts have started the season with an impressive 6-1-1 record. Some of those wins even coming against the other top teams in the league. Everything going exactly as planned. “But how can you not like what we’re seeing from the Lightning? It has jumped out hungry, as if it wants to squash last year’s disappointing playoff miss right out of the gate. This season could be special.” [Tampa Bay Times]
The Prospects
The Syracuse Crunch dug themselves a hole early and couldn’t quite pull themselves out, losing 3-2 to the Binghamton Devils. “Michael Bournival and Erik Cernak each scored once for the Crunch, while Mat Bodie had an assist. Michael Leighton was pulled after giving up a pair of goals on two shots in the first 3:57, and Connor Ingram made 19 saves in relief.” [Auburn Pub]
Otto Somppi had a hattrick and Brett Howden knotched four points in last nights Major Junior action. “Somppi continued his torrid start to his season with a hat trick Friday night against Cedric Paquette’s former team. Blainville was up 2-0 before Somppi scored twice to tie the game. He later added a shorthanded insurance goal.” [Bolt Prospects] NCAA summary can be found here.
Tampa Bay Lightning depth goalie Nick Riopel is really excited to see his team come back from a three-goal deficit to win.
Justtttttttttt your casual three-goal comeback win over @MonarchsHockey 😎 pic.twitter.com/ALc5KMW8La
— Adirondack Thunder (@ECHLThunder) October 21, 2017
The Game
The Montreal Canadiens set a new record for shots on goal in a period, tallying 30 in the second period. They scored two goals in that period and still lost 6-2. “I don’t have an explanation. All I know is it’s not acceptable. We’ve showed how we can play, but we are not capable, so far, of doing it for 60 minutes.” – Claude Julien. [TSN]
Nine more years, Carey Price, nine more years. [Reddit]
Highlight of the Night: The New Jersey Devils had an entire 45-second shift in the offensive zone WITH ONE LESS PLAYER THAN SAN JOSE. This isn’t some flashy play, or a highlight reel play at all, but it’s damn impressive for such a young team. [Reddit]
