The Tampa Bay Lightning lost in a shootout to the Buffalo Sabres 3-2.
Sorry for the lateness of this post, but I was having computer problems.
Vincent Lecavalier finally scored his first goal this season. So he finally got that monkey off of his back. And good for him; he’s been trying to do that for while but just hasn’t gotten the bounces. Alex Tanguay still is goalless, however, so hopefully that will inspire him.
Three of the four goals that were scored in regulation were scored in the last minute of their respective periods. That should tell you everything that you need to know about the game right there. The fact that everyone on the ice took a mental break when the period was almost over showed how unfocused many of the players were.
This was a mediocre game by both teams. No one really looked sharp – at least, not consistently. The only players that were on for most of the game were Ryan Miller of Buffalo, Lecavalier, and Martin St. Louis. If Miller had been playing like the rest of his team, then the Lightning might’ve won this game.
The Lightning’s record is now three wins, three losses, and three overtime losses. Technically, that’s six losses on the season, despite receiving a point for going into overtime. Not that great so far, if you ask me.
In all honesty, not much happened in this game. Not many players looked all that great. But then, in the Lightning’s case, the schedule is probably partly to blame. Sure, they just played last Thursday before playing Saturday, but they don’t play again until next Thursday now. Where’s the incentive to stay sharp?
The shootout was interesting in that the typical players didn’t start it. The shootout went to six players aside before anyone managed to score. The first three players for the Lightning were Steven Stamkos, Ryan Malone, and Alex Tanguay. Following them were Lecavalier, Mattias Ohlund, and St. Louis.
Ohlund was an interesting choice since he’s better known as a stay-at-home defenseman. It’s not that he doesn’t have a good shot – because he does. It’s just that he thinks defense first and scoring second.
The look on St. Louis’ face when his time came up was priceless, tho. I’m not sure if he was expected to be heckled by the crowd for his YouTube performance during the strip shootout or not. But he clearly had that “oh boy….” look on his face before he went to shoot on Miller.
A few interesting notes…. Zenon Konopka was 6-1 in faceoffs, which is winning 86% of the ones he’d taken. Victor Hedman had four giveaways last night. He had moments of brilliance, but hasn’t been very consistent in his play recently. St. Louis has a point in every single game so far this season – including against the Sabres. The Lightning were again outshot 32-26. 18-year-old rookie James Wright must either be sent back to his junior team by the next game, or he will be ineligible to play in junior hockey.
