The Bolts
The Tampa Bay Lightning are not stangers to dynamic duos. Where do Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos stack up with Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, or MSL and Stammer, how about the triplets? “Fun? They’re having a blast. And why not? The linemates are dominating the league, lifting the Lightning to a franchise-best 9-1-1 start heading into tonight’s game against the Ducks.” [Tampa Bay Times]
There are many costumes and plenty of NHL stars to pick from. He went with @RealStamkos91 !! Great choice. #hisfavplayer #rolemodel pic.twitter.com/BG4HwcVh4Z
— Martin St.Louis (@mstlouis_26) October 28, 2017
Andrei Vasilevskiy quietly accomplished a pretty impressive feat considering where he is in his still young career. “Vasy’s win on Thursday was the 50th of his career. For a young goaltender who served as a backup for the first two and a half seasons of his NHL career, that’s not bad. It’s not, however, the most wins in a Lightning goalie’s first 100 games.” [Raw Charge]
Poll: Who are the worst visiting fans when you have intereacted with at Amalie Arena? “I’m anti-Boston when it comes to anything. The only good thing to come out of Boston the last 100 years is Dunkin Donuts. It’s the accent, the attitude of people from there, and ESPN’s infatuation that made me hate the place. They’re wicked annoying.” – t.cann112 (comments) [Raw Charge]
Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has made a lot of big bets with his money, and he’s come out on top very often. Barrons.com did a Q&A with Vinik that can be found here. [Barrons]
“The financial crisis produced an opportunity. In 2010, he quit the money-management business and bought the Tampa Bay Lightning, then in distress, as well as a swath of cheap Tampa real estate not far from the arena in which the team plays. Since then, the Lightning has been rejuvenated, both financially and on the ice. Attendance has boomed, and the team advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2015, before losing in the finals. At the same time, Vinik has embarked on a $3 billion redevelopment aimed at revitalizing a big chunk of downtown Tampa.”
The Prospects
Last night, the Syracuse Crunch fell to the Toronto Marlies by a score of 4-2. “After Mitchell Stephens opened scoring within the first minute of play, the Marlies netted three consecutive markers to take over and maintain control of the game. The loss moves the Crunch to 2-5-1-0 on the season.” [Syracuse]
On a positive note, Alexander Volkov pulled the Crunch to within one goal when he sccored his first professional hockey goal in North America. Congrats, Alex!
Volkov potted his first pro goal to bring the #SyrCrunch within one in the second period.
Intermission report presented by @gannonpest. pic.twitter.com/AfQoUCKbRY
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) October 28, 2017
Alex and Brandon were unable to find time to record a podcast this week, so they had a conversation about the Crunch in a post. Think of it as a transcripted podccast! “And wasn’t it great that the “jump” you spoke of was sparked by Michael Bournival? With all of the uncertainty heading into this year as far as his health goes, it was awesome to see him get that first goal and put the Crunch on the board.” [Raw Charge]
One penalty. Two shorties. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/XclH9mI8sc
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) October 21, 2017
The Game
Former Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison has been put on waivers by the Vegas Golden Knights. We will know at noon eastern whether Jason gets claimed or passes throught waivers. If he clears, it does not mean he will be sent to the AHL (in this case, Chicago Wolves) automatically, but it means that he can be. “Garrison has one year remaining on a deal that carries a $4.6-million cap hit.” [Sportsnet]
Garrison (LV) on waivers today
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 27, 2017
JustinG. reviewed Craig Custance’s first book: Behind the Bench: Inside the Minds of Hockey’s Greatest Coaches (2017, Triumph Books) in advance of Craig appearing on Charged Up: A Raw Charge Podcast. [Raw Charge]
Custance included enough behind-the-scenes stories (let’s face it everyone loves stories) that the casual hockey fan will thoroughly enjoy reading the book. Who doesn’t want to know which player Ron Wilson refers to as “impossible to talk to” (take a guess), or what Joel Quenneville did for Pavol Demitra that cost his owners a sizable chunk of money?
The Vegas Golden Knights are 8-1-0. I repeat, Vegas is 8-1-0 after Oskar so-you-think-you-can Dansk recorded his first NHL shutout in his third NHL game this season. This team is so silly, I don’t think anyone has successfully been able to explain them at all this season. “The team wore road whites in a matinee celebration of Nevada Day as the Knights got goals from David Perron, Oscar Lindberg, Cody Eakin, James Neal, Jonathan Marchessault, Erik Haula and William Carrier.” [Knights on Ice]
Highlight of the Night: Jesper Bratt deked Mike Condon so hard Mike believes that he’s Montreal’s starting goalie again, which wouldn’t be a bad upgrade right now, if you ask Habs fans.
