Matt Tomkins Get His First Win, Lightning Beat Canadiens

Game in brief: The Lightning rolled into Montreal after getting their pants pulled down against the Leafs only 24 hours earlier, scored four first period goals on Jake Allen, and then held on to win 5-3. 

Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. The Lightning played the exact same game against Montreal that they did against Toronto: they scored four goals in a row in the first period to chase the starting goaltender, and then were largely ineffective on the attack for the rest of the game before potting a fifth goal in the dying minutes of the third. The difference was the quality of the opponent-- the Maple Leafs are a team with game-breaking offensive talents who enjoy nothing more than driving daggers into the Lighting, and they were able to score enough to claw their way to a win, while the rebuilding Canadiens couldn't pull off the comeback. 

2. The Bolts deserve credit for coming out with such a great start, considering they were playing the second game of a back-to-back after what had to be an emotionally draining loss. They scored on the first shift, with Brandon Hagel sending a sick cross-ice pass to Nikita Kucherov, who zapped it home. They rolled through the period, carrying the play and sinking goals from Nick Paul, Alex Barre-Boulet, and Mikey Eyssimont. Kucherov didn't factor into the latter three goals, which was almost a relief-- it's worrisome when your entire offence flows through one player.

3. Montreal pushed back in the second, and while they hardly dominated, they seemed to carry the play for the rest of the game. And while the Lightning can be excused for not completely dominating and overwhelming their opponent from start-to-finish, considering road trip and back-to-back fatigue and the inevitable push-back from a team that got embarrassed in the first period, it does follow the Lightning's disturbing trend of playing gold medal hockey in the first and then house of cards hockey in the second. "Complete game" and "full sixty minutes" are the phrases that will follow theis team all year.

4.The Lightning are making backup goalies look BRILLIANT. For three games in a row the Bolts have caved in their opponent's starter. While both Ottawa goalies suffered largely the same fate on Saturday, both the Toronto and Montreal backups skated onto the ice with no warm-up and played like Glenn Hall Sawchuk Dryden. In Toronto on Monday, Ilya Samsonov made 8 saves on 12 shots for a .667 save percentage before being replaced by Joseph Woll, who was awesome, going 18/19 for .947. In Montreal on Tuesday, Jack Allen managed just 5 saves on 9 shots for a dreadful .556 before making way for Sam Montembeault, who save 22 of 23 for a sparkling .957.

What conclusion can we draw from this? It could be that both Toronto and Montreal's starters were just cold. Or maybe the skaters on both teams got the message and tightened up defensively when the coach yanked the starter. It's also possible that the Lightning eased back on the throttle when they saw how great they were doing. Not consciously, of course. But it's a possibility.

5. The real story of the game of course, was the Lightning's 29-year-old rookie Matt Tomkins finally getting his first NHL win in his third start. Deployed exclusively in the second game of road trip back-to-backs so far this season, Tomkins was finally given some goal support and solid defensive play from his teammates. He stopped 23 of 26 shots (.885), and kept it together during six penalty kills. His performance was tarnished somewhat by Christian Dvorak's shot off the wing with 19 seconds left in the game-- an NHL stopper should make that save. But that's the delight of Tomkins' story: he's not really an NHL goaltender, but a journeyman with a unique career path, who's finally getting the chance of a lifetime to play in The Show due to Andrei Vasilevskiy's back surgery. I'm so very happy for him to get this win. I hope he gets a chance to play in front of a home crowd before his ride comes to an end.

6. This was the best lineup that the Lightning have put on the ice this year. Jon Cooper's decision to play Austin Watson over Mikey Eyssimont on Monday against the Leafs seems ridiculous when comparing what each player brings-- Watson will give you a solid three or four minutes, while Mikey has scored in each of his last two games. Subbing in Zach Bogosian for Nick Perbix was also a solid move. As effective as Perbix was in his rookie year, he seems plagued by hiccups this season, and the occasional scratch might actually benefit him. Tyler Motte, who returned from injury on Monday, brings a lot of energy to the lineup, effectively taking over recently demoted Waltteri Merelä's spot. Merelä was effective in his limited role, but you always got the feeling he was trying to to screw up out there-- it will do him good to spend some time building his confidence in the AHL. 

7. Conor Sheary got hurt early in the game and did not return. As ugly as it is to say, he was not missed. Sheary's performance this season has to be regarded by management as a disappointment. His 1 goal and 2 assists in 13 games flatter him, as he has been a non-factor for the Lightning so far this season. Hopefully he comes roaring back when he returns from this injury.

8. It cannot be overstated how good the Lightning special teams have been this year. 

Overall, this was a good win, especially coming of an emotional loss, and at the tail end of a road trip. If the Lightning can figure out their overtime troubles, they'll be doing much better, but they're not in a bad place, either with the lineup or in the standings. They return to the ice on Saturday to host the Chicago Blackhawks. Until then, adieu.

-Nolan.

Where Nolan Asks Questions and Thinks Thoughts about Losing to the Leafs in Overtime Again

 Background: last night the Lightning, off the back of a Saturday night win in Ottawa, rolled into Toronto and smoked the Maple Leafs for the first period, hanging four goals on Ilya Samsonov and chasing him for Joseph Woll, with Nikita Kucherov scoring two and setting up two more. Proud of a job well done, the Bolts then yawned, wrapped themselves in cozy blankets, and went to sleep for the rest of the game, allowing the Leafs to roar back and eventually win the game 6-5 in overtime.

Here are my thoughts on the game, in no coherent order.

1. Nikita Kucherov is a machine. He looked insane driving play in the first, dancing around defenders and zipping passes all over the place. The Lightning's four consecutive first period goals were all his: he scored two and set up the other two with primary assists. This was a master class. Unfortunately four points per period is unsustainable, and the Leafs were able to cover him the rest of the way, which caused major trouble for the Bolts, since nobody else could get going. Brandon Hagel broke through to force overtime with less than three minutes left, but by that time the Lightning had given the game away.

2. Losing games in which they have lead the Leafs by a 4-1 score is more addictive to the Bolts than super-crack. 

3. Losing in overtime is even more addictive than that.

4. Consider for a moment that the Lightning games have gone past regulation four times, and they're lost in overtime in every single one. They haven't even MADE IT to a shootout. They surrender a goal at 3-on-3 within five minutes every time, never scoring once. Once the puck is dropped in OT, they immediately lose possession, and fans watch the Lightning players spend then next three-odd minutes chasing around before inevitably letting an opposing player have an absolute gift basket of a scoring chance. How are they this bad in OT? Even the San Jose Sharks have made it to a shootout.

5. How can a team be both dominant when up a man (33.3% power play - 2nd in the NHL) and excellent when down a man (87.9% penalty killing - 6th in the NHL) and still be so hopeless when both teams are down two men?

6. Tyler Motte was back from his broken finger-- this was really my first look at him as a Bolt since I remember nothing of his performance in Game One before he got hurt. He looked really good, especially battling deep in the Leafs' end during the penalty kill. As much as I was cheering for Waltteri Merelä to succeed, the Lightning are much better with Motte. 

7. What made NO sense was inserting Motte and scratching Mikey Eyssimont instead of Austin Watson. I understand the urge to keep a fighter like Watson in the lineup. Hockey media was been frothing at the mouth about how soft the Leafs are, so the expectation may have been that the Leafs would try and flip the narrative with some physical play. That wasn't the case at all. Ryan Reaves, who is always happy to make menacing statements in the media but has been dead weight on the ice, was not noticeable, and refused to make eye contact with Tanner Jeannot during their only notable interaction.

With respect to Watson and his role, he had little impact on the game. He played three and a half minutes. The Lightning missed Eyssimont's hustle and grind. Mikey scored against Ottawa and got sat against the Leafs. That's ridiculous. Unless there's an injury we haven't heard about, this was a lineup gaff.

Don't you see the irony? By inserting the enforcer into the lineup, the Lightning became way EASIER to play against.

8. Speaking of the Leafs being soft, they seem to play hard enough against the Lightning when the going gets tough. And the Lightning? They let the consensus softest team in the league tear them up in the second and third period. The Leafs scored EIGHT SECONDS APART TO TAKE THE LEAD. The Lightning had no pushback once the Leafs started pressing.

9. Playing a great first and collapsing in the second has been the Lightning's bugaboo all season. Every night they talk about playing a full sixty minutes. Well, they still haven't figured it out.

In a first intermission interview, Brandon Hagel told Gabby Shirley they would have to keep pressing the Leafs and playing the same way, but that's not the answer. The Lightning need to realize that okay, we've just embarrassed this team. Their coach is probably in the dressing room right now screaming his head off, and these guys are gonna come at us like crazy meth-beavers in the next period, and we'll have to adjust on the fly to whatever they bring. The Lightning seemed to think the second would be exactly the same as the first, and within moments they were on the back foot against a pissed-off opponent. The Leafs grabbed the momentum and it was goodbye to that three-goal lead.

"Playing the same way" is a recipe for failure with this team.

10. A secondary power play assist notwithstanding, Steven Stamkos didn't generate much out there. Conor Sheary was invisible. Tanner Jeannot threw some hits but was on the ice for three Leafs goals. Austin Watson had no impact. Separated from Kucherov, Alex Barré-Boulet was not noticeable.

Only one line was going. Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel, and Nikita Kucherov each played more than 22 minutes. The Lightning are becoming a one line team, or possibly even a one player team: Kucherov.

11. The Lightning have a Leafs problem, but their problems against the Leafs are reflective of the problems in all their losses this season. Inconsistent effort.

* * *

The Bolts are in Montreal tonight to face Martin St. Louis' young squad. Matt Tomkins will probably start, and even if the Bolts are tired on the bottom end of the back-to-back, they'll at least benefit from not facing a team that unquestionably has their number. See you tonight.

Reviewing Steven Stamkos' Career Fight Card

 "I don't always fight people. But when I do, I prefer they be very high draft picks."
                                                                                            -Steven Stamkos, probably.

While he might not actually be the Dos Equis beer "Most Interesting Man in the World" pitch-man, you have to admit, Steven Stamkos has had a pretty interesting career. From his junior scoring exploits that led to him being drafted first overall in 2008 and the "Seen Stamkos" marketing campaign, to his two Rocket Richard trophies on the back of fifty and sixty goal seasons, to his multiple injuries and health issues that threatened to derail his career, Stammer has seen it all  during his 1000+ game, two Stanley Cup career. And while he has mostly used his hands for potting 500+ goals (plus another 45 in the playoffs so far), Stamkos has not been afraid to use those sweet hands on the occasional face of an opponent.

Don't get me wrong; Stamkos is an infrequent fighter. With seven fights through fifteen NHL seasons, he'll never be categorized as a hybrid fighter-scorer such as Brendan Shanahan or his former coach Rick Tocchet. He's shown a willingness to stick up for himself and his teammates, inevitably firing up his bench as he shows a captain's willingness to sacrifice himself while sending a message to the opponent.

But you've got to admit: he picks his spots.

The high draft picks that Stamkos has collected on his fight card would be the envy of any NHL general manager. Starting with his first NHL scrap in 2008, lets take a chronological look back at the Lightning captain's fights.

Fight #1: November 26, 2008, versus Nikolai Zherdev, New York Rangers.

In his first NHL tussle, Steven Stamkos lays a heavy hit on Ranger Nikolai Zherdev, pasting him into the Madison Square Garden boards. Zherdev, the 4th overall draft pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2003, follows Stamkos to the other side of the ice and the two drop the gloves. It's a spirited fight, with both guys throwing a lot of punches before tumbling to the ice. This was the first career fight for both men. 

Fight #2: March 22, 2015, versus Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins.

Stamkos waits a loooooong time to engage in his second fight-- six and a half years, in fact. And this time, he's not sticking up for himself, but going after Brad Marchand for a submarine hit on the Lightning's Valtteri Filppula. This comes during Stamkos' first full season as captain of the Lightning (he got the "C" late in the 2013-14 season after Martin St. Louis decamped for New York), and reflects Stammer's desire to be a more complete leader. As for Marchand, as a 3rd round choice (71st overall), he's one of the lowest picks that Stammer has scrapped with, but since he's already regarded as a potential Hall of Fame choice, we'll forgive Steven for dipping so low in the draft pool.

Fight #3: February 24, 2018, versus Karl Alzner, Montreal Canadiens.

By 2018, Nikita Kucherov had emerged as a major offensive force for the Lightning, and when Karl Alzner lines him up for a knee-on-knee hit at center ice, Stamkos wastes exactly zero time dropping the gloves with the Canadiens' defenceman. The fight doesn't amount to much more than some hugging and dancing, but again we have Stamkos stepping up to send a message not to take liberties with his teammates. Alzner, a former fifth overall pick of the Washington Capitals (2007), understands.

Fight #4: March 30, 2018, versus Pavel Buchnevich, New York Rangers.

Following the theme from his fight a month earlier, Stamkos drops the gloves immediately after an opponent takes down Kucherov with a low hit. This time he dirties his hands by scrapping with another mere third round pick (75th overall in 2013), but it's a captain doing captain stuff. In addition to the fighting majors, Buchnevich gets two for tripping and Stammer gets the minor for instigating. This is a wilder fight than the Alzner tilt, but I don't feel great about Stamkos banging his million dollar fists off Pavel's helmet.

Fight #5: January 30, 2019, versus Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins.

A brief bout between two elite centers. This one starts with some stick work and mutual cross-checks that escalate until Stamkos drops the gloves with the Penguins' second overall pick from 2004. Malkin only gets one glove off before the combatants drop to the ice. 

Fight #6: June 9, 2022, versus Alexis Lafreniere, New York Rangers.

Something tells me that Steven Stamkos doesn't like the Rangers. This scrap, the first in NHL history between two former first overall draft picks (Lafreniere went #1 in 2020), came out of a post-whistle scrum at the end of a Lightning win. Stamkos absolutely rocks the younger player with a right hand before scoring the take-down. 

Fight #7: April 22, 2023, versus Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs.

Fun fact! There have only been two fights in NHL history between former first overall draft picks, and Steven Stamkos has been in both of them. Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs top pick in 2016, had never been in a fight in his NHL career at this point, which may explain why it takes him so long to start fighting back. The fight comes after a hit in which Morgan Reilly takes the Lightning's Brayden Point hard into the boards. Kucherov jumps Reilly, setting off a brawl that involves Stamkos swinging wildly on Matthews, who doesn't seem to know what he's supposed to do before the pair stumble to the ice.

So, in summary, Steven Stamkos has been in seven NHL fights, and his opponents have included two first overall draft picks, a second overall, a fourth and a fifth overall, and two third rounders. Unquestionably the highest end fight card you could imagine, with the possible exception of Matthews' fight card. After all, he's been in only one fight, and it was against a first overall pick: Steven Stamkos. 

(Primary assist goes to hockeyfights.com, where I researched this article, with a secondary assist from hockeydb.com).

Projecting the First Class of the Lightning Hockey Hall of Fame Part One: The '90s

(Brian Bradley speeds up the ice. Pic via NHL.com)

As part of their 30th anniversary celebration, the Tampa Bay Lightning have announced the creation of a team Hockey Hall of Fame, which is extremely cool and exciting. Long time fans will get to see familiar faces honored, and newer fans will be introduced to some of the characters that preceded the Lightning's current crop of stars. It also gives weird, obsessive bloggers like me a chance to speculate on who will be chosen as the first inductees into the #TBLHHOF. 

In order to determine who should be included in the First Class, I decided to follow the Hockey Hall of Fame guideline of choosing four players. Active NHL players are not eligible. I also didn't include Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier for consideration; since the club has already retired their sweaters, they can be grandfathered in as automatic members. 

Given that this is the Lightning's 30th season, it's easy to break down the team's history into three decades, roughly grouped as the '90s era, the first Stanley Cup era, and the current era. Since most of the players from the current era are still active NHLers, we don't need to worry about that group for HHOF purposes, so inductees can be split between the other two eras. 

If we look at the '90s era, meaning roughly the decade from the 1992-1993 inaugural season to around 2001, two names immediately stand out: Brian Bradley, and Darren Puppa. 

Really, Brian Bradley should be a slam dunk. Brian led the Lightning in points in their first four seasons, which stood as the record for most consecutive seasons as points leader until Nikita Kucherov led the team five times from 2016-2020. Bradley owned most of the team's offensive records when his career was cut short by a concussion during the 1997-1998 season. He retired with 111 goals and 189 assist for 300 career points in 328 games with the Bolts. He represented the Lightning in the 1993 and 1994 All-Star Games, and is already a member of the Sports Club of Tampa Bay Hall of Fame. Bradley remains an active part of the Lightning community. 

While Bradley was carrying weight offensively in the early seasons, Darren Puppa was the stalwart in goal, with his arrival prior to the 1993-1994 season giving the team their first bona fide NHL starting goaltender. His 29-win performance in the 1995-1996 season was especially noteworthy, as his 0.918 save percentage was second in the NHL to Buffalo's Dominic Hasek (0.920), and his goal against average of 2.46 was seventh overall. He contributions were significant as the team qualified for the playoffs for the first time. 

Like Bradley, Puppa's career was affected by injury, with back ailments dragging down his appearance numbers as the '90s progressed. Even so, Puppa remains near the top of the Lightning's goalie list in several categories: third in games played, fourth in wins, and fourth in shutouts.

I'll be back in a few days with my picks for the two players from the 2000s. Spoiler: my choices will not be remotely shocking.

Who would you have chosen from the '90s to induct into the Lightning Hall of Fame? Let me know on twitter @ReviewLightning!

Game #3 Recap: Tampa Bay Lightning 2 at Washington Capitals 1 (OT)

 (Does a backflip onto a stack of crates
in a warehouse by the docks
wearing a green leotard covered in question marks)

"Riddle me this, Batman!"

(poof! Smoke-bomb,
disappears,
then reappears in the rafters)

"What team can go on a two game winning streak
While never once winning during either game?"

(Batman shoots the Riddler with a gun
and is then arrested by Gotham police)

The answer to the riddle, of course, is your Tampa Bay Lightning.

Through three games, the Bolts haven't yet held a lead,
losing the first game ugly,
giving up huge leads in the second game but catching up
before winning in overtime,
and finally

FINALLY

showing a bit of competence and structure in Game Three,
holding the Caps to a single goal
(Ovechkin's second was called back)
and winning again on a goal from Captain Stamkos, yes,
in overtime.

The good news, of course, is "a win is a win,"
and this game represents progress
and the boys are starting to get it together
and things are starting to click

and all the other clichés,
such as how you've gotta bank these wins early in the season 
if you wanna make the playoffs.

But I'm not worried about making the playoffs.
This team has won two straight championships
(as I will point out again and again and again)
so making the playoffs is a low bar beneath consideration
unless multiple significant injuries hobble key players for long stretches
(knocking wood until my knuckles bleed).

What matters is escaping the lethargic form of the first game
or the discombobulation of the second
and finally putting together a sixty minute game 
against a quality opponent.

And speaking of injuries,
Nikita Kucherov left in the second period after an apparent knee-bump
with Washington's Garnet Hathaway
and Lightning d-man Jan Rutta left the bench in the second.

Significant players, yes.
Can the Lightning manage without them? 
Also yes--
even with offseason losses, the team has depth.

But you hate to see it.

A hard-fought win with the Bolts shutting down their opponent?

THAT.
That
you love to see. 

Predictions for the 2021-2022 Tampa Bay Lightning Season

The first time I made predictions for a Lightning season was in the fall of 1993. The Bolts had just completed their inaugural season, and my group of high school friends, none of whom really cared about sports, got heavily into hockey by playing EA's NHLPA '93 on Mike's SEGA Genesis. That was the last edition of the game to feature fighting, and there were very few players in the game that had a 100 rating for the fighting statistic: Bob Probert in Detroit, Tie Domi in New York, and Basil McRae in Tampa Bay being the only three I can recall us finding. Brent claimed Detroit, Mike took New York, and I took Tampa Bay. It didn't matter that Detroit and New York were both stacked and Tampa Bay was like, a 2/10 level team, because I sucked at video games and wasn't going to win anyway. I just wanted a team with a good fighter, so even if I lost every game, I could still win something.

Anyway, we all got hooked, bought sticks for road hockey, bought hats and sweaters of our teams (although Mike switched to the Leafs), and I started looking forward to the NHL's 1993-1994 season. I picked up a magazine with the previous season's stats, opened a notebook, and recorded my predictions for each player. Brian Bradley had 42 goals last year, so he should be good for 50 this year. John Tucker had 17, so let's say 25. I went through the roster, and predicted that each player would increase his offensive output by 20-50%, which was a disaster, since 1992-1993 was an offensive high water mark for the NHL, before the drudgery of the oncoming trap era. Only one player achieved the goal total I set out, that being Danton Cole, who jumped from 12 goals in '92-'93 to 20 in '93-'94.

Needless to say, I was a poor prognosticator.

But making guesses about other people's achievements is fun, so I'm going to do it again right here. These are my predictions for the 2021-2022 Lightning season.

Nikita Kucherov: Kuch will return to his humorless, taciturn ways, eschewing the shirtless, beer-fueled and profanity-laden press conferences, while scoring at a league leading level. After his performances in the last few post-seasons, it's fair to assume he'll be able to return to his regular season form of 2018-2019, when he led the NHL in scoring. He'll finish in the top three for points, and only gets shirtless and silly again if the Bolts win the Cup again.

Steven Stamkos: He's only 31 years old today, but it feels like he's played for the Lightning forever. He's not the scoring threat he once was, and he'll likely spend a good deal of time on the third line, but he'll still easily hit the mid-thirties in goals with all his power play goals. Much respect, captain.

Anthony Cirelli: Gonna give Tony the ol' Danton Cole treatment and predict he'll get his first 20 goal season in the NHL. He hit 19 back in 2018-2019, and with a full season to play, a 20 dollar bill should be easy. Sixty points, too. Get out there and be great, bro.

Brayden Point: He'll be dashing this season-- both fast on the ice and a handsome devil too. A point-a-game should be the minimum for Big BP; he's a big-time machine. Will he one day have a hundred point NHL season? Yes. This year.

Victor Hedman: I think Heddy will also get his first 20 goal season. Why not? There's nothing this man can't do.  

Mikhail Sergachev: He wants to be the best defenseman in the League, and I respect that confidence. He'll hit 40 points this year.

Andrei Vasilevskiy: He'll get 40 wins or more.

Brian Elliott: He'll get maybe 10 wins? 

Jon Cooper: Can you believe this guy has never won coach of the year? I guess it's because his team is always so stacked with talent, and the award usually goes to some geek that wrings a great total out of a team that was expected to be a disaster, but sooner or later Coop will get the "career achievement" Jack Adams Award. Will it be this year? Yes, This year. 

As for everyone else, just take their points per game average from last season, average it over 82 games, and add 20%. I'm in a good mood tonight. I saw a rainbow after walking in the rain. I'm optimistic.