What a face that guy in the white is making in this photo. And that guy to the left of him also. Boston fans are hilarious.
So the story of the game was Tyler Seguin. I'll give him ups for a 4 point night when it seems Julien keeps plotting ways to limit playing him.
There might not be a full post on this game since I have a ton of stuff to do, so here is a few quick thoughts:
- Lecavalier also had a four point night
- The refs were out of control
- That last Malone penalty was trash
- Who took the over on the number of goals scored tonight? Man 11 goals in a ECF playoff game
- Bear claws, bear hats and ice cream sandwiches. Savard's kids were awesome
- Tim Thomas made some crazy saves
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Enemy Blog: Head over to Days of Y'Orr for your opposition blog coverage
Record: Lightning 1 Bruins 0
Previous games: Game 1: 3-2 Lightning
Game time: 8:00pm EST on TSN (HD), Versus (HD), RDS (HD) and on the radioThe Lightning have already stolen ice so far with that win in Game 1. It would be nice to be up 2-0 heading back to Tampa, if a loss occurs tonight, well a split also works for me. The only thing I am sure of is that the Bruins to be better tonight.
Greg from Days of Y'Orr doesn't really see a problem with the garbage thrown on the ice by the fans after Game 1. He said he didn't like it, but didn't see a problem with it. I do. Boo your team, leave the game early to show your displeasure at your team's performance, but don't throw garbage on the ice. And if the roles were reversed, Boston fans would be ripping into Tampa fans for throwing garbage on the ice.
And speaking of last game, the frustration in the loss boiled over at the end of the game with Lucic and Horton each taking a roughing minor and game misconduct. I'm sure we're going to see some of that spill over into tonight's game as well. The Lightning will try to ignore it and try to stay focused, so we'll see how much of an impact this will have.
What the boys from DOY are saying:
The entirety of Game One was one giant mess of a game. The only highlight for us was watching some dude fall on the stairs and spill what seemed like 10 gallons of beer all over the place and on people. It was one of those kinda nights.
Go Bolts!
Line-up Notes:
- Lightning injuries: Pavel Kubina
- Bruins injuries: Patrice Bergeron
Your pre-game reading links:
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Last night Guy Boucher outcoached Claude Julien.
The events that transpired during the game, the quick three goal lead, the second period with more defensive coverage and the PP goal, were just demonstrations of that. Not that Boucher scored the goals himself, but the way he prepared his team to execute his plan was.
There's all kinds of strategy involved. Sometimes we use it, sometimes we don't. We hate to be predictable.
Next game: Tuesday no comments
The events that transpired during the game, the quick three goal lead, the second period with more defensive coverage and the PP goal, were just demonstrations of that. Not that Boucher scored the goals himself, but the way he prepared his team to execute his plan was.
- For the first 10 minutes of the 1st period, both teams looked evenly matched, with chances at both ends
- The Lightning took advantage of mistakes made by the Bruins or lazy plays in that 3 goal outburst
- Did the Bruins thought that the had play stopped before Brett Clark scored? They just let him dance around him like he actually had skill. Brett Clark
- And should Thomas had stopped that Clark goal?
- Every Lightning fan held their breath after Simon Gagne went down on that hit. Clean hit, but we've come to expect the worst, no?
- The Lightning had a 41-26 faceoff advantage
- Boston again went 4-0 on the powerplay
- When you aren't winning faceoffs, its tough to make the PP work
- Roloson made 31 saves last night
- Seguin made Mike Lundin look silly when he scored the Bruins' first goal
- Milan Lucic showed emotion at the wrong time there with that punch to Hedman
- Everyone is comparing this loss to the opening of the Montreal series. I get that if the Bruins drop Game 2 as well, but I don't expect that the Bruins will come out the same on Tuesday
There's all kinds of strategy involved. Sometimes we use it, sometimes we don't. We hate to be predictable.
Next game: Tuesday no comments
In 1 minute and 25 seconds this game fell apart for the Bruins. Three quick goals from Bergenheim (who else?), Brett Clark (say what?) and Teddy Purcell had the Lightning up 3-0 halfway through the first period. The Lightning showed no signs of rust from the long break and played a great road game tonight in Boston.
Thomas would still like to know what Kaberle was doing behind the net for this goal.
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Enemy Blog: Head over to Days of Y'Orr for your opposition blog coverage
Record: Lightning 0 Bruins 0
Previous games: None
Game time: 8:00pm EST on CBC (HD), Versus (HD), RDS (HD) and on the radioI feel like I need to make some obligatory comment about how long the Lightning have had off. It's been 10 days without hockey but with the injuries to some of our players, the time off may have been a blessing.
Now that we've got that out of the way, the Lightning and Bruins start Round 3 tonight with the Eastern Conference Finals. Both teams are coming into tonight having had a four game sweep in Round 2. Everyone I know had picked the Bruins to win the series. Whatever. Everyone picked the Caps to win Round 2, and look what happened in that round.
The goaltending between the teams is about equal if both goaltenders keep playing as they did in previous rounds. The Bruins have the edge in defence. And probably have the edge when comparing all four lines of forwards, but the Lightning do have the edge in special teams.
As expected Simon Gagne will play tonight. Pavel Kubina on the other hand didn't even make the trip up to Boston with the team, which speaks to the severity of his injury. For the Bruins, Patrice Bergeron is out with a concussion, although he is skating.
What the other guys are saying:
The thing about this Bruins team is that they are versatile enough to miss Bergeron and continue firing on all cylinders. Chris Kelly will be filling in for Bergeron, Rich Peverley will slide over to the center position and Tyler Seguin will fill in at wing.
The Tampa Bay special teams is ridiculous good, especially the power play. The Lightning are 26.7% successful on the power play, good for 4th in the playoffs and first amongst teams still hanging around. Their PK is just as good, killing off 94.4% of penalties. That's unbelievably good. The scary thing is that the Bruins special teams are awful.
Go Bolts!
Line-up Notes:
- Lightning injuries: Pavel Kubina
- Bruins injuries: Patrice Bergeron
Your pre-game reading links:
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Here is what people are saying about the series:
I am admittedly not the biggest fan of Phil Esposito, at least not his colour commentary but this video should get you excited for tonight. Video via MyFoxTAMPABAY.com
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- 10 things to know about Boston vs. Tampa Bay (Puck Daddy)
- Pavel Kubina did not make the trip with the team to Boston
- Puck Daddy's staff picks for Round 3: Pretty much everyone picks Bruins in 6 (or 7)
- National Post's series preview has the Lightning in 7
- The Score's HOTH series preview has Boston in 6
- Patrice Bergeron skated (ESPN)
- James O'Brien of PHT asks Cassie about what the most glaring weakness of the Lightning is?
- ESPN Boston has the 5 keys for the Bruins against the Lightning
- Scott Burnside on Guy Boucher: the right time and the right place
I am admittedly not the biggest fan of Phil Esposito, at least not his colour commentary but this video should get you excited for tonight. Video via MyFoxTAMPABAY.com
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Sometimes the best way to get to know your playoff opponent is to get to know the people that know them the best.
So I asked the boys over at Days of Y'Orr to answer some questions on the series for LHB. They self-proclaim that they are 'just a bunch of Bruins fan schmuks talking about the Bruins like we're drunk at the bar (which is more than likely)', and that sounds like my kind of people. They have quickly become the best Bruins blogs out there. You may know them from the Montreal Canadiens Eulogy on Puck Daddy a few weeks ago.
Besides checking out their blog for the photoshops, be sure to follow all of them all on twitter: Justin, Jon, Robb, Greg and Patrice Purr-geron (a field reporter who is a cat). I'm sure we'll talk a little smack as the series gets started. Many thanks to the guys for taking the time to answer my questions.
As always, we start with some obligatory questions about the Pens' strength/weaknesses and then we'll get into some of the more fun questions.
1. How will the long break between the 2nd and 3rd round effect the Bruins? Will it be for the better or worse??
The B's were playing so good that at first we didn't want to see them stop but the time off will hopefully give Bergeron a bit more time to get his head right (literally) and let McQuaid rest up a little more, too. We all saw what happened to the Bruins as soon as Bergeron went down. Philly had them running around all over the place before Boychuk blasted that go ahead goal home. Hoping Bergeron's concussion isn't "that bad" by concussion standards and the time off helps him be good to go. But you never know with concussions and this isn't Bergy's first.
2. What is the strength of the Bruins in the series?
Well their powerplay should give the Lightning a hard ti... wow can't even finish that with a straight face. Physicality will be the key for the Bruins this series. In their season series with Tampa Bay they showed that hitting everything that moves in a Tampa jersey tends to slow them down. Plus we're definitely pro blasting Martin St. Louis to the ice. He can't score on his ass, right? RIGHT?!
3. What is the biggest weakness of the Bruins in the series?
Special teams. Their power play troubles are well documented but not enough people are talking about how average, or below average, the Bruins penalty kill has been. The Lightning are beasts on the power play and Montreal showed what a good power play can do to the Bruins. Not to mention Tampa Bay's penalty kill has also been stellar. B's need to keep their tempers in check and keep things at even strength.
4. Everyone always hate Steve Downie. Which player on the Bruins will make me hate them by the end of the series?
Definitely Brad Marchand. You will be cursing his name roughly 20 seconds into the game. He's the type of player you love as long as he's playing for you but HATE if he's not. He'll score timely goals, make hits and steal the puck but he'll also get under the skin of your stars, throw the occasional slash or cross check when the refs aren't looking and generally just be an asshole. But that is why we love him.
Click here to read more...
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So I asked the boys over at Days of Y'Orr to answer some questions on the series for LHB. They self-proclaim that they are 'just a bunch of Bruins fan schmuks talking about the Bruins like we're drunk at the bar (which is more than likely)', and that sounds like my kind of people. They have quickly become the best Bruins blogs out there. You may know them from the Montreal Canadiens Eulogy on Puck Daddy a few weeks ago.
Besides checking out their blog for the photoshops, be sure to follow all of them all on twitter: Justin, Jon, Robb, Greg and Patrice Purr-geron (a field reporter who is a cat). I'm sure we'll talk a little smack as the series gets started. Many thanks to the guys for taking the time to answer my questions.
As always, we start with some obligatory questions about the Pens' strength/weaknesses and then we'll get into some of the more fun questions.
1. How will the long break between the 2nd and 3rd round effect the Bruins? Will it be for the better or worse??
The B's were playing so good that at first we didn't want to see them stop but the time off will hopefully give Bergeron a bit more time to get his head right (literally) and let McQuaid rest up a little more, too. We all saw what happened to the Bruins as soon as Bergeron went down. Philly had them running around all over the place before Boychuk blasted that go ahead goal home. Hoping Bergeron's concussion isn't "that bad" by concussion standards and the time off helps him be good to go. But you never know with concussions and this isn't Bergy's first.
2. What is the strength of the Bruins in the series?
Well their powerplay should give the Lightning a hard ti... wow can't even finish that with a straight face. Physicality will be the key for the Bruins this series. In their season series with Tampa Bay they showed that hitting everything that moves in a Tampa jersey tends to slow them down. Plus we're definitely pro blasting Martin St. Louis to the ice. He can't score on his ass, right? RIGHT?!
3. What is the biggest weakness of the Bruins in the series?
Special teams. Their power play troubles are well documented but not enough people are talking about how average, or below average, the Bruins penalty kill has been. The Lightning are beasts on the power play and Montreal showed what a good power play can do to the Bruins. Not to mention Tampa Bay's penalty kill has also been stellar. B's need to keep their tempers in check and keep things at even strength.
4. Everyone always hate Steve Downie. Which player on the Bruins will make me hate them by the end of the series?
Definitely Brad Marchand. You will be cursing his name roughly 20 seconds into the game. He's the type of player you love as long as he's playing for you but HATE if he's not. He'll score timely goals, make hits and steal the puck but he'll also get under the skin of your stars, throw the occasional slash or cross check when the refs aren't looking and generally just be an asshole. But that is why we love him.
Click here to read more...
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Good morning Bolts fans....
It's been a while since we've watched some Lightning hockey, but the Eastern Conference Finals are finally getting underway tonight. They'll be a few posts coming up today, like our Conversations with the Enemy post and a preview to Game 1 tonight in Boston, so check back later for more content.
To start off today, I have a video of a phone interview I did with Butch Stearns of The Pulse Network about the Lightning/Bruins matchup from earlier in the week:
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It's been a while since we've watched some Lightning hockey, but the Eastern Conference Finals are finally getting underway tonight. They'll be a few posts coming up today, like our Conversations with the Enemy post and a preview to Game 1 tonight in Boston, so check back later for more content.
To start off today, I have a video of a phone interview I did with Butch Stearns of The Pulse Network about the Lightning/Bruins matchup from earlier in the week:
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Touching on two things here, one on what the title is about and the other is what he said in today's conference call with the press.
Let's start with his 'success'.
Lots has been made about the dramatic one year turnaround that Steve Yzerman has done with the Lightning. But I think lately the press has been getting a little carried away with crowning him a success as a General Manager. Yes, the Lightning are doing much better than any fan had hoped for. After many dismal years of being a fan of the team, the hope was that Yzerman could make this team competitive. His goal was to get the team in the playoffs. That's it, just the playoffs. The expectation was not to even win a series, and most certainly was not to have the team appear in the Eastern Conference Finals. So it's great that we're still in it, but I think we can all agree that no one expected it.
Steve Yzerman has added some pieces to the Lightning but a lot of the key pieces pieces that we have on this team were here before Yzerman became the GM. The two players who have been lightning it up, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, were here before Yzerman was here. Steven Stamkos, already here. Victor Hedman, already here. Ryan Malone, already here. Steve Downie, already here. I'm sure you are getting my point, but what I'm pointing out, is that forming this team, was not all Steve Yzerman.
Yzerman inherited a lot of players on a team that didn't have an identity or direction. And that's where he improved it. He brought in coaching and hardworking players. He brought in solid goaltending and a top 2 defenceman in Eric Brewer. And most importantly, he brought the team direction.
So while its great to laud him as being a good GM from the team's initial success, I think this is premature.
Yzerman's success will be best measured in 5 years, when we can see if the team can be regularly competitive year after year. This early praise of his great work as GM just seems a little premature. Maybe we've headed in this direction because we've had so much time off and the media are running out of things to write, but let's not start congratulating him on being a success, as opposed to having just a surprisingly successful first year.
Now as for what he said during today's talk with the press, he did talk about why so many teams this year have been able to come from being down 3-0 or 3-1 in the series to push a Game 7. He said he didn't know why there were more but he did point out:
"The games are so close. Every game is a one-goal game. In the Pittsburgh series we lost Game 4 in overtime, but really played a good game. It came down to one shot and it went in. The San Jose-Detroit series is the same way. Every single game is one goal and could go either way. The teams that fall behind, as long as they don't get discouraged, and make any adjustment they see fit, there's always hope."
"It seems like once a year throughout the playoffs there is a significant comeback. The more comebacks that happen, the more teams believe, 'Hey, we can do this' or it's possible."
Click here to read more...
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