The Bolts
The Lightning put a whoopin’ on the Maple Leafs last night controlling the game from the opening faceoff to the final whistle and winning 6-2. But they did it differently than they normally do. Check out Hardev’s recap for all the goals.
It wasn’t a super fancy performance by any means. To their credit, the Leafs did a good job of stopping Tampa Bay’s star players from getting any momentum offensively and kept them from getting to the front of the net with the puck. Instead, the Lightning improvised and used point shots leading to deflections to get most of their business done. With the generally weak defense corps of the Leafs playing without two of their better guys (Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott) the Lightning were able to exploit battles and weak areas in front of the net for chances.
The Bolts will now get two full days off before their next game in Detroit on Thursday. The Lightning just beat Detroit 3-2 on Saturday so the two teams should be familiar with one another.
When the two teams meet, the Lightning will continue chasing team history. They have a chance to set the record for wins in a season. Even with the obvious caveat of the change in overtime rules, that would still be an impressive accomplishment. With their win last night, update these numbers to 110 points in 70 games.
They need 10 wins in their final 13 games to tie the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for most victories (62) in one season. With 108 points through 69 games, they would need to go 12-0-1 to break the 1976-77 Canadiens record of 132 points in a season.
The Prospects
Cory Conacher is now the leading scorer in the history of the Lighting’s affiliation with the Crunch and 7th all time in Syracuse history. He’s signed for another season and if he continues to score at this pace, could find himself near the top of the record books in Syracuse by the end of that season.
With 158 points, @conhockey19 is the all-time leading #SyrCrunch scorer since the @TBLightning affiliation.
He currently ranks seventh in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/6gf5ZhuD5S
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) March 11, 2019
Alex Barre Boulet accomplished a similar feat setting the rookie scoring record during the Crunch’s Lightning affiliation. He currently sits sixth with time to gain on the five players ahead of him.
Daniel Walcott has been an important part of the organization as a leader during his time in Syracuse. That leadership extends off the ice as he mentors a local youngster. Good man, Daniel Walcott.
This season, @WallyD19 joined @BBBSA through @PeaceIncSyr to serve as a mentor and role model for his local Little, Jeremiah.
Visit https://t.co/W0FVq5SNdG to learn more about how you can join the program. pic.twitter.com/6q61K6nxn1
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) March 11, 2019
Get caught up on how things are going with Orlando. Connor Ingram’s demotion was big news and Tracey has all the info on how he played in his three games with the Solar Bears this weekend.
The biggest—and most surprising—move was the reassignment of goaltender Connor Ingram from Syracuse to Orlando on Wednesday, with Martin Ouellette staying on the Crunch roster to back up Eddie Pasquale. It is still unclear as to why this move was made, especially considering Ingram’s accomplishments to date this season. He is currently leading the AHL in shutouts with six, is tied for second in the league in GAA and save percentage, and was named an AHL All-Star in January.
The Game
High school hockey in Minnesota is great for lots of reasons. And one of them is the amazing display of hair that happens every season.
Just when you thought offside reviews couldn’t get any dumber.
Cant challenge it
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 12, 2019
Deadspin dove pretty deep into the Islanders arena situation. I think this part sums it up nicely.
“Why would they not just renovate the Coliseum instead of building a brand new building?”
The answer, it appears, is just stupidity—or, at the very least, shortsightedness, leading to a cascade of decisions that left the team’s owners more boxed in at every turn.
Teams trying to get the public to build them new arenas remains one of the biggest scams in sports. We’ve been dealing with if for years now with the Rays in Tampa. The Isles seem to be making some progress at a new site and for their fans’ sake, hopefully it gets done without passing the cost along to taxpayers who won’t see any of the profit when the team is inevitably sold in the future.
