Enemy Blog: Head over to Days of Y'Orr for your opposition blog coverage

Record: Lightning 3 Bruins 3

Previous games: Game 1: 3-2 Lightning, Game 2: 6-5 Bruins, Game 3: 2-0 Bruins, Game 4: 5-3 Lightning, Game 5: 3-1 Boston, Game 6: 5-4 Lightning

Game time: 8:00pm EST on CBC (HD), Versus (HD), RDS (HD) and on the radio

This is it boys and girls. This is Game 7 of the ECF. This is the game that ends your season, or gives you a chance to take on the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals. It feels just surreal even writing that.

There may not be a moment in tonight's game where you feel for sure. This game might just take us right up until the very last few seconds. Even a two goal lead midway through the 3rd period last game was a dangerous lead to have. And like we saw in Game 6, Boston will come out to pressure us, right to the very end.

This is the night for the boys to have the best game of the playoffs. It may also be the hardest game of their lives in a Game 7 in Boston tonight.

The Lightning will need everything to click tonight: their goaltending, system and powerplay. Their big guys need to have big goals. Purcell needs to keep being playoff Bergenheim.

In this series, nothing has been as you expected it at the beginning. Everyone expected this series to be defensive and low scoring, and this series has been neither. Even the coach said the same:

“Everything we expect, the opposite happens,” Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said. “When the series started everyone was saying, including myself, it was going to be a very defensive series, and we haven’t had very many defensive games. I think both teams have tried to adapt to each other and surprise each other with what’s coming at them. And I have no clue how it’s going to be tomorrow.”-National Post

But based on what we've seen there is a good chance we'll see a quick goal. And Boston answering back. And then more goals from each team in a battle that will go to the end. Or maybe we'll see none of that. But in the end, all we want is to be headed to Vancouver next week to face the Canucks.

Go Bolts.

Line-up Notes:

• Lightning injuries: Pavel Kubina, Sean Bergenheim

Your pre-game reading links:

• Official Lightning preview
• Raw Charge game preview
• Bruce Arthur's article on the series heading into Game 7 (National Post)

Not matter what happens in the game tonight, if you want to welcome the boys home, Cristodero's blog has some info on where to go. The charter arrives tomorrow (Saturday) at 1pm. no comments

You need your big guys to play big in big games. And that's a big goal for Tampa Bay tonight.

History lives for Game 7 Bolts fans...can you sleep tonight? no comments

Thankfully, that last non-post was not my last post of the Tampa Bay season. The Lightning fought off elimination tonight to force Game 7 on Friday.

I almost threw up during that third period. It was a combination of the nerves and the giveaways from the Lightning.



But it doesn't matter how bad Roloson played tonight, or how Hedman couldn't get it out out of the zone multiple times right? It was about Steve Downie being unselfish, being a force and attempting to make out with Andrew Ference, St. Louis for being a little ball of awesome and Stamkos for having a rocket of a shot. Also big ups to Purcell, Bergenheim Version 2.0.

Purcell opening up the scoring again early with a wicked wrist shot off of a faceoff win from Lecavalier. Boston scored two goals and went into the 2nd period up 2-1. In the 2nd period the Lightning mounted their comeback and scored two goals on the powerplay. One was from St. Louis and the other was from Purcell that came from a bobble by Clark at the line, and then to Downie who made a great pass to Purcell.

Guy Boucher face of the game:






In the third, Stamkos got another powerplay goal off of a rocket of a shot. Boston finally scored on their PP which breathed life into them for about 20 seconds before Downie and St. Louis streaked down the ice with some fantastic passing to beat Thomas and make it 5-3.

Tampa fans thought we had this is the bag at this point.

But Krejci scores his third goal of the night to give me a mini heart attack.

The Lightning make some terrible attempts to get the puck out of their zone during the last 5 minutes of the game. But time runs out for Boston and the Lightning end this game up 5-4.



Bring on Game 7 Bruins

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Hello readers, your resident writer is in the midst of a super busy 36 hours that ends with the start of Game 6 tonight. So no game previews or thoughts today. I suggest to check our my Lightning blog family at Raw Charge for anything pertaining to tonight game. I know the timing is terrible, but it's out of my control.

I did jump on the Sports Buzz show again with Boston fan Mark Marino of the Hub of Hockey, if you want to check it out:



Blog resumes normal schedule tonight. C'mon Lightning...let's bring it to Game 7
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Enemy Blog: Head over to Days of Y'Orr for your opposition blog coverage

Record: Lightning 2 Bruins 2

Previous games: Game 1: 3-2 Lightning, Game 2: 6-5 Bruins, Game 3: 2-0 Bruins, Game 4: 5-3 Lightning

Game time: 8:00pm EST on CBC (HD), Versus (HD), RDS (HD) and on the radio

First off, I know I wrote that I would have some more thoughts up on the game later, but obviously I didn't. It's going to be a crazy couple of days at LHB headquarters until Wednesday's game, so bear with me. Bruins pun not intended.

Last game, I said it was a must-win and well, we did win it. Now the series is all even heading back to Boston for game five. This series can go either way right now. Whoever wins tonight has the momentum coming back to Tampa on Wednesday to win it all.

What the boys need to do is play like they did in the 2nd and 3rd period of Game 4. They were calm even after ending the 1st period down 3-0 and Purcell had the game of his playoff career so far.

Let's stop with the speculation, Roloson will play. I know Boucher loves his mind games, but let's not kid ourselves and think Mike Smith is going to start tonight. Big ups to him for being solid in net on Saturday, but he's not going to start Game 5 because when Roloson is on, Roloson is leagues better than Smith.

As for Steve Downie, he made the trip with the team, but who knows if he'll play tonight. It was sad to see a diving call get made on a player that had to leave the ice and not return for the rest of the game. It made the refs look stupid, and it was the wrong call.

Go Bolts.

Line-up Notes:

• Lightning injuries: Pavel Kubina, Steve Downie

Your pre-game reading links:

• Official Lightning preview
• Raw Charge game preview
• Tampa fans created a human lightning bolt at the airport that the players could see as their plane left (Raw Charge)

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Bruins blew a 3-0 lead.....AHAHAHAHA. Series tied at 2-2.

Thoughts later. no comments

Enemy Blog: Head over to Days of Y'Orr for your opposition blog coverage

Record: Lightning 1 Bruins 2

Previous games: Game 1: 3-2 Lightning, Game 2: 6-5 Bruins, Game 3: 2-0 Bruins

Game time: 1:30pm EST on TSN (HD), NBC (HD), RDS (HD) and on the radio

Tonight is not a must-win game, but really it is a must-win game. If the Lightning go down 3-1 in the series and head back to Boston for game 5, it's not a good situation. Like we've done it before, but I don't really like our chances of doing it again.

Scott Burnside says that someone needs to step forward in this game. I don't think it's one player, but the whole team. This game is not going to be won by one player stepping up, but a team effort. That being said, a lot of forwards need to step up. We aren't going to win games if no one is scoring goals. Roloson can only do so much.

If the Lightning even up the series tonight, we're back in this. It's a sold out crowd again, so bring the noise. Some other blogs are talking about how its disgraceful that the SPTF has so many opposition fans. Whatever. It's a positive thing for the Lightning to be selling out games right now after what this franchise has gone through in the past few years. Growing your fan base takes time, and I don't think it makes Tampa Bay fans any less of a fan than any other team. Sure it would be great to see the arena full of Lightning fans, but it will take time.

And sometimes it doesn't matter if it's a great hockey market, some fans just find a way to infiltrate. Like did you watch the Canucks/San Jose game last night? There were tons of Vancouver fans there and that doesn't make San Jose any less of a hockey market.

Line-up Notes:

• Lightning injuries: Pavel Kubina

Your pre-game reading links:

• Official Lightning preview
• Raw Charge game preview
• Days of Y'Orr preview

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Via Damien Cristodero's blog, Pavel Kubina says:

"I always watch the games (from the coaches' office)," Kubina said Friday. "I can't even go watch from the press box. It's too loud and too many lights. It's hard, but it's something I can't do anything about."

This is the first we've heard of him speak to the media since going out from that hit by Jason Chimera on May 3rd. The team has said that he is suffering from concussion-like symptoms but didn't make any more details available to the fans. While Simon Gagne took to the ice and made his eventual return, Pavel Kubina still has not skated.

Based on what Kubina said to Cristodero is doesn't sound like he is anywhere near coming back. And, that sucks because the team could really use this experience on the blue line. But injuries happen and every concussion is different. While the news is not encouraging, it puts into tangible terms the symptoms from the injury that Kubina is dealing with. So while he could make an eventual return to the ice, I wouldn't expect his return any time soon. no comments

On twitter I asked if someone could send me a gif of Boucher's rageface from Game 3. My friend G sent me this:



The look on the players face is gold. I think I've watched this like 20 times now.

Game 4 is at 1:30pm EDT tomorrow no comments

Enemy Blog: Head over to Days of Y'Orr for your opposition blog coverage

Record: Lightning 1 Bruins 1

Previous games: Game 1: 3-2 Lightning, Game 2: 6-5 Bruins

Game time: 8:00pm EST on TSN (HD), Versus (HD), RDS (HD) and on the radio

The Lightning return home with the series all tied up. If you've watched the team all season, you know that Tuesday night's game had the team as far away from Boucher's system as they've been all year. It was surprising they were even able to battle back with that many goals.

So looking forwards to tonight's game, the Bruins have Bergeron back in the lineup. If you don't understand what that means, well it makes them miles better. Not only in their faceoffs, but in their defensive play as well.

A little off-topic:

There's a lot of sh-t being talked by Bruins fans on Tampa fans being upset about some recent advertising by the Bruins. I personally thought the Bruins advertisements were hilarious and so did any other fan I've talked to, so I don't know who was calling in to the Bruins organization all offended.

But the response was a bitch much, no? Is this supposed to make me feel like we have more of a rivalry? Other than making you sound like a jackass, it really doesn't do anything for me.

Line-up Notes:

• Lightning injuries: Pavel Kubina

Your pre-game reading links:

• Official Lightning preview
• Raw Charge game preview

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