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).