The Bolts
Yeah, some of today’s news sucks. We’ll get the bad news over with first — poor Ryan Callahan, injured in an accident against the boards during the Tampa Bay Lightning game against the Arizona Coyotes on December 14. “The Lightning forward appeared to suffer an arm injury of some sort and was in obvious pain as he headed directly to the locker room after the play.” [Raw Charge]
Joe wrote about other players’ reactions to Ryan Callahan’s injury. “You feel so bad for him,” Victor Hedman said of Callahan. “He’s battled hard through the whole year, and is such an important player for us.” [Tampa Bay Times]
ESPN points out that Callahan’s right arm was in a sling after the game. [ESPN]
In better news, I like this ESPN headline — Ride the Lightning: Why Tampa Bay’s hot start is legit. “Speaking of depth, the Lightning took massive steps forward from last season on their blue line. Tampa Bay made one of the offseason’s best moves by acquiring 2016 No. 9 overall pick Mikhail Sergachev, who has 21 points in 31 games (11 at even strength).” [ESPN]
Poor Lexi:
When you gotta wait until after your husband is back from a road trip to see #StarWarsTheLastJedi pic.twitter.com/PaAQ6o3xWU
— Lexi Brown (@lexilafleur) December 15, 2017
Guess who’s winning? This week’s Tampa Bay Lightning fan poll: Unsung heroes. “This poll is to celebrate those Lightning players you like that the average jamoke at the mall may have never heard of. And you can like them for whatever reason you like. Their play. Their “grit” (however you define that). Their personality on and/or off the ice. Intangibles.” [Raw Charge]
Our Loserpoints has been working hard on a model that looks at shot contributions (shot assists + shots) and passing sequences before a shot to predict offensive play. Go take a gander at the charts! Estimated shot assists for the Tampa Bay Lightning this season: ” Steven Stamkos appears to be enjoying playing with Kucherov and Vlad Namestnkikov this year and is taking that opportunity to create chances for others instead of being a volume shooter as he has been in the past.” [Raw Charge]
Awww Saima, this one’s for you. When you think you’ve got Brayden Point figured out, a surprise awaits: “He looks like a little kid off the ice,” said Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson, who played with Point in juniors. “But once he gets on the ice, he looks like a man.” [TBO.com]
The Prospects
#SyrCrunch center @acirelli22 received his @CCMHockey / @theAHL Player of the Week award before puck drop tonight.
Congratulations, Anthony! 👊 pic.twitter.com/fdqzR481Ri
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) December 16, 2017
El Seldo’s article about which Tampa Bay Lightning prospects made the first round of cuts at Team Canada’s WJC camp will be out at 9, but first, you can read about the prospects that are there:
Tampa Bay Lightning are well represented at Team Canada’s development camp: “On the back end, Tampa Bay’s 2017 first round pick Cal Foote has always been a favorite of Hockey Canada. Born in the USA, Foote chose to represent Canada internationally – thanks in large part memories of watching his father play for Team Canada at the Olympics.” [Raw Charge]
Conacher Adds Spark to Lightning. “While largely being relegated to the Syracuse Crunch, Conacher has been a leader both on and off the ice. He put up 60 points with the Crunch last season, with an additional 28 in the playoffs as the Crunch made it to the Calder Final.” [THW]
And that’s 10 wins in a row for @SyracuseCrunch, the hottest team in the AHL! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/fCxmGn36Dt
— AHL (@TheAHL) December 16, 2017
The Game
Heart emoji:
Goal #100 is also the game-winner. @BriBrows22 continues with the big-time ginos. #DALvsNJD pic.twitter.com/HtaNbrbqMV
— NHL (@NHL) December 16, 2017
