x

Already member? Login first!

Comments / New

Quick Strikes: Bolts lose to the Islanders in the last game before their international trip

Posted on by Igor Nikonov

The Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost their last game before heading to Sweden for the NHL Global Series. The New York Islanders recorded their eighth win in a row [Raw Charge]

This game sucked. The Lightning didn’t play particularly badly. They’ve certainly played worse including in their absurd win over the Devils on Wednesday. They just never seemed to threaten the Isles. They looked harmless. And for a team with this much talent, that’s tough to watch.

The Lightning have also traded goalie Louis Domingue, who started this season with the Syracuse Crunch, to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Domingue will report directly to the Binghamton Devils and can play tonight against the Crunch [Raw Charge]

For the Lightning organization, this resolves the logjam in net and makes Scott Wedgewood the clear starter in Syracuse. For Domingue, this gives him a chance to be the starter in the AHL with a better chance to get back to the NHL. When the Lightning originally acquired him, he went on a tear in Syracuse, eventually got recalled to the Lightning, and remained the backup for more than a full season. He’ll be looking to replicate that in his move to New Jersey.

One of the biggest problem for the Tampa Bay Lightning at the start of the season has been taking too many penalties and a mediocre penalty kill. In his article, Alan breaks down how serious this problem is [Raw Charge]

To no one’s surprise, Luke Witkowski has been the biggest offender. He’s taking nearly two penalties more than he draws per sixty minutes. When we did our ten game report earlier this week, he was the worst player in terms of impact on expected goals. This is another metric that doesn’t flatter him.

Earlier this week, Mikhail Sergachev answered some questions for the Athletic subscribers and also shared his thoughts on the start of the season for the Bolts [The Athletic, paid content]

Hey, Sergy. How do you feel about the team’s start to the year? What do you think the team needs to work on the most? – John S.

Obviously, it’s not going for us right now. When we have the chance, we need to shoot the puck. We have to be better on special teams, for sure. That’s one area we have to improve. There is time for that. Other than that, our battle level and compete level is really high, I think. We don’t spend too much time in our D-zone. We’ve just got to keep doing that and be better on special teams.

Starting with this season, Caley Chelios is a color commentator during road games for the Lightning. Read a story about her path to a new position.

Our reporter Matthew has been invited to the Blueshirt Breakway podcast after the last game against the New York Rangers.

Sharing with you another podcast about the Bolts.

New wallpapers for your phone and desktop with a new schedule.

The Prospects

Unlike the Lightning, the Syracuse Crunch offense was very good yesterday, scoring five goals against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers [Raw Charge]

Scott Wedgewood made his first start as the undisputed number one goaltender for the Syracuse Crunch a solid one as he stopped fifteen of sixteen shots to backstop the Crunch to victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers with a 5-1 score. The Crunch exploded for three goals in less than a minute in the third period to secure the victory.

After trading Louis Domingue, the Crunch recalled Spencer Martin as a backup and signed Daniel Jones to an ATO.

New wallpapers also for the Crunch fans.

It’s Hockey Fights Cancer month and the Syracuse Crunch are joining in on the initiative.

Just a regular night when Sammy Walker’s scoring another goal.

The Game

Since yesterday, new rules applies to Waivers claims.

Every November, the hockey community tries to draw attention for cancer treatment.

A story about Eddie Olczyk who is still fighting against the terrible disease.

Hockey dentists seem inconspicuous but their part for every hockey team is huge [ESPN]

As a member of the gnarliest and most peculiar fraternity in sports, Rivera has seen it all during his 17 years practicing dentistry in the NHL: a Tooth Fairy teammate delivering goalie Ben Bishop’s incisors to the bench for safekeeping; winger Ondrej Palat holding up half his bottom teeth with his tongue after getting lightsabered by an overeager rookie in practice; veterans, like Tomas Tatar, whom Rivera calls “Humpty Dumpties” because they have lost the same three front teeth on four separate occasions; marquee talent in need of work (and a bit of courage) hiding from him at the arena; and a notorious tough guy silently sweating through his clothes during an especially tough bicuspid extraction that Rivera compares to King Arthur pulling Excalibur out of the stone.

A new young star has appeared in Women’s hockey.

Regarding fashion, the Leafs are doing better than in hockey.

If you enjoyed this article please consider supporting RawCharge by subscribing here, or purchasing our merchandise here.

Support RawCharge by using our Affiliate Link when Shopping Hockey Apparel !

Talking Points