The Bolts
The Tampa Bay Lightning have broken yet another record this season, the 2017-18 club now owns top spot on the franchise’s record for goals in a season with 265. [NHL dot com]
[Tampa Bay’s 7-6 victory over the New York Islanders was the] game where head coach Jon Cooper tied John Tortorella for most wins in Lightning coaching history and Andrei Vasilevskiy matched Nikolai Khabibulin’s mark for second-most goalie wins for the franchise all-time, the Bolts registered their 265th goal of the season when J.T. Miller tapped in Nikita Kucherov’s picture-perfect pass at the back post on a power play, a marker that would eventually prove to be the game-winner.
The @TBLightning hung on for their 51st win of 2017-18 to establish a franchise record for most in a season, eclipsing the mark of 50 set in 2014-15. #NHLStats #TBLvsNYI pic.twitter.com/O4zwC1X2V4
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 23, 2018
Except we’ll actually WIN the Cup, right. RIGHT?!
Miller said this #Bolts team reminds him of the New York 2014-15 squad he played for that won the Presidents Trophy. “Scored a lot of goals that year, fast team, played well defensively and obviously had a good run. I’m looking forward to the potential we have here.”
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) March 23, 2018
Not bad, Coach.
Tonight’s win is No. 239 for Coach Coop, tying him with John Tortorella for most wins all-time by a coach in #TBLightning franchise history. #TBLvsNYI pic.twitter.com/ly6BaiITMB
— x – Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 23, 2018
Taylor Hall and the New Jersey Devils are fightning for their chance to get owned by Tampa in the first round of the playoffs. Tonight’s game is yet another potential playoff preview. [Tampa Bay Times]
The Devils and their roster stuffed with speed and youth haven’t made the playoffs in six years. The drought for Taylor Hall is longer. Eight years after being taken with the top pick in the draft, the Devils forward is still waiting for his first taste of the postseason. New Jersey is three points clear of ninth-place Florida with just over two weeks to go in the regular season.
Two No. 1 overall picks making it happen in @EASPORTSNHL OT! #NHL18 pic.twitter.com/5z8yET94Mf
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 24, 2018
Raw Charge Poll: How are you feeling? [Raw Charge]
Having met what is now considered the minimum standard of excellence at such a relatively early date takes some pressure off. There’s still much to play for in what’s left of the current regular season: a division title and the relatively perceived advantages that come with that chief among them.
Happy #Nationalpuppyday to my not so little puppy anymore ! pic.twitter.com/fWOfJaTTWN
— Yanni Gourde (@YanniGourde) March 24, 2018
I may be ruining the poll, but who cares! Puppies!!
In our opinion, we think every day should be #NationalPuppyDay! #BarksAndBolts pic.twitter.com/2dioNwXicO
— Lightning Foundation (@LightningFDN) March 23, 2018
The Prospects
Kristers Gudlevskis returned to Syaracuse, not as a member of the Crunch but as an employee of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. @Allovimo summarized his four years in SYR ina beautiful, fun,
Gudlevskis played the better part of four seasons with the Crunch, totaling 74-47-19-10 with a .902 save percentage in the 150 games played there. He hit with a splash in 2013-14, fresh off that legendary Olympic quarterfinal game between Canada and Latvia, and surprised most in TampaCuse land with how ready he was to to contribute to Syracuse. He was the first player ever to appear in the ECHL, AHL, NHL, and Olympics in the same season.
Related
Kristers Gudlevskis and the magic Olympic moment
*Record scratch*
HOLD UP.
WAIT A MINUTE.
SOMETHING AIN’T RIGHT. pic.twitter.com/bLn70mkCO4— x – Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) March 23, 2018
Former Sound Tiger Carter Verhaeghe scored twice for the Crunch, pushing them towards a 4-1 victory. [Auburn Pub]
Kevin Lynch added a goal and an assist for Syracuse, while Alexander Volkov recorded a pair of assists. Daniel Walcott scored once, and Mathieu Joseph, Matthew Peca, Matthew Spencer and Mat Bodie each had one helper. Eddie Pasquale made 22 saves for the win between the pipes, while Gudlevskis made 26 stops against his former club.
Michael Bournival is done for the season after tearing his ACL last Saturday against Laval. [Syracuse]
The loss is a crushing one for Syracuse, one that goes beyond his 15 goals and 19 assists. Bournival has game-changing speed and is a dangerous penalty killer, and his experience as a returner from last year’s Calder Cup finals team would have been valuable in this postseason.
The Game
Speaking of the Islanders, Lighthouse Hockey made a list of words describing the past two losing seasons for them. Lot’s of “un-” words. [LightHouse Hockey]
Eddie Olczyk announced on air on Thursday that he is cancer-free! [NHL dot com]
Olczyk, an analyst on Chicago Blackhawks games, made the announcement on NBC Sports Chicago during the first intermission of their home game against the Vancouver Canucks. He had his final chemotherapy treatment Feb. 19 and shared a message for others fighting cancer.
The 51-year-old former NHL player was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer Aug. 4.
Dan Carcillo joins the concussion lawsuit against the League. [Yahoo Sports]
Two-time Stanley Cup champion Dan Carcillo, notoriously outspoken about head injuries and concussions in the sport of hockey, announced that he is joining a group of former NHL players in its groundbreaking lawsuit against the league.
Carcillo told TSN’s Rick Westhead about his decision on Thursday and, according to the 33-year-old, it isn’t about a pay-out or an agenda — but rather a move he hopes will better protect players past, present and future.
Highlight of the Night: Nikolaj Ehlers is quietly becoming an elite young player in this league.
.@NikolajEhlers24 evens things up. pic.twitter.com/exmVcjSGdn
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) March 24, 2018
