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NHL Game Night 12/23: Lightning at Penguins
Stamkos is 18, and while he should be better, the word "bust" is years from being relevant in conversation. Norfolk isn't an option, his only option is to return to junior - where he can't be recalled until Sarnia's season is over. Letting Stamkos play in the WJC's is an arguable point, however.
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NHL Game Night 12/23: Lightning at Penguins
Paul S. is awesome. He is miles ahead of the other forwards (chiefly Jokinen, Prospal, and even Stamkos). Stamkos is looking more and more like a bust - maybe some time in Norfolk would help him. He looked terrific in that Buffalo game but that was ages ago.
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AHL Game Night 12/19: River Rats at Admirals
I had a chance to see Downie play against Boston. After that hit on Macadam of Ottawa last year I thought Downie was just a thug but I was so wrong. He is just a high energy player that is a ton of fun to watch. I agree he should be back in the NHL -- maybe he can take Jussi's place or Artyukhin, neither of them do much it seems.
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NHL Game Night 12/13: Lightning at Senators
I never thought that Jussi was that much better than Ouellet, just less expensive (I am guessing here in the new salary cap era)? Looks like maybe he should head to Norfolk, and while they are at it maybe he could take Artyukhin and Craig with him. Sorry to see Lundin go down but for a D man that doesn't ever hit anyone (like all the others) he didn't seem able to score like all the others. Oh wait, they don't really score either, do they?
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NHL Game Night 12/10: Lightning at Sabres
Stamkos isn't close to what he showed in juniors, and I'm not talking production either. As has been said before, there are players that join the NHL and try not to step on anyone's toes and make sure that they do their part as long as they're fitting in, and there are others that jump in with both feet and take the league by storm. In Sarnia, I don't know if Stamkos could have any more confidence in his game. In Tampa, I don't know if he could have any less.
It's all in his effort and approach to it. I think this is where some players like Boyle and Richards are missed - they came with it every single game. Outside of St. Louis for the most part, and maybe Malone, there aren't many on the current Lightning team that did what Dave Andreychuk did for the young Lightning in the early 2000s.
Stamkos made one play last night that reminded me of his junior self. And he got an assist. There was no hesitation, no thinking, just doing (something Tortorella pounded into his players). When he has time to think, he makes the extra move on a goalie, or telegraphs that he's going to pass up a scoring chance and make sure a linemate's happy.
Everyone says how nice of a kid Steven is, and they're right. He's very good with the camera and a great kid. But it's time for him to get cocky. THAT, in my opinion, is the next step, and the rest will follow.
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AHL Game Night 12/10: Admirals at Penguins
Granted they were without 3 of the 5 players they have leaned on all season there was no effort outside of segal and kearns. Ramo should watch the two games this weekend from the stands. One of those goals was not his fault but the rest were just sad. I hope Helenius hasn't already made the trip to the gulf.
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James Wright - No.1 Play of the Week
Nice stick handling by that Wright kid.
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NHL Game Night 11/26: Rangers at Lightning
Unless I'm not counting correctly, Smith has let in a goal on his last 7 shooters that have hit the net. One shooter shot wide.
Can Kolzig play the role of Francisco Rodriguez?
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Finding the answer
Great article Corine, thanks for posting it!
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NCAA Game Night: 10/31
As a defensive defenseman in his senior year, a +7 in this first 3 games is a good start. Wonder if the Lightning are even looking at him for a contract this summer?
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AHL Game Night 10/31: Pirates at Admirals
Ads did outshoot the Pirates 29-18. Anytime you let 4 goals in on 18 shots, you probably aren't winning. Perhaps time for McKenna to get a start. The defense, normally giving up 35+ shots, held them to half that. There's a bright side here.
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NHL Game Night 10/28: Lightning at Maple Leafs
When the Bolts are playing teams with smallish or non-physical forwards, Lundin really shines. He was being a bit more manhandled against the Sharks and not winning as many battles. But the game against TOR, I agree he looked very good. And I expect him to play well against BUF as long as their team speed doesn't kill the defense.
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NHL Game Night 10/28: Lightning at Maple Leafs
I have to give big ups to BP alumnus Mike Lundin, who was second in ice time last night behind fellow alumnus Paul Ranger. Yes, he got an assist, but he was being used in prime defensive situations, including the first PK unit. He was also winning the majority of his battles along the wall and getting safe breakout passes up the ice.
He had an awful couple games to start the preseason, but since has found the poise and success he had early last year that earned him a roster spot. Good for him.
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AHL Game Night 10/18: Admirals at Bulldogs
Believe it or not, Smolenak/Szczechura/Segal is technically the Admirals' "third" line. The top two lines with Smith, Bochenski, Konopka et al have been pretty quiet thus far, especially Konopka. Seems like he has more fighting majors than he has points. It won't stay that way, though. Eventually those vets are going to hit their stride.
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AHL Game Night 10/18: Admirals at Bulldogs
Interesting to see the former Lightning tryout player succeeding at the AHL level. Sure, he's way undersized, but he produces. Over 100 points at the ECHL level last year and more than a PPG so far in the A. Whether or not he's ever going to make the NHL is probably more no than yes, but it's fun to cheer for the little guys of the league.
Also...
Where's Wyatt Smith been?
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ECHL Game Night 10/17: Sea Wolves at Lynx
Good info. Looking forward to your updates throughout the season. You might want to jump over to our message boards here and talk with about Lightning prospects!
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ECHL Game Night 10/17: Sea Wolves at Lynx
I am a transplant from Tampa to Augusta and was at the game in Augusta to watch Helenius and Quick. The Lynx goalie, Joel Martin, played poorly. He has a very slow glove. I imagine that unless that was an aberration Helenius will get plenty of playing time.
Kevin Quick looked like a puppy. He played a regular shift, received plenty of PP and PK time, and is a pretty good skater. However, he got beat badly on his -2. One guy went around him and then the other guy went through him. IMO, it appeared that he floated a little. But, he also made some pretty good first passes out of the zone and made a couple of nice pinches to keep the play alive.
Go Lynx! Go Ads! Go Bolts!
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NHL Game Night 10/16: Islanders at Lightning
Did Roberts get hurt in this game? I noticed he only had 1:37 of ice time.
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Fadden Returned to Lethbridge
Thank you to the Lightening for not signing Fadden !
Our PP took a complete 360 with Fadden leading the way .. registering a goal and an assist. He really is the "play maker" of all play makers, most exciting game to watch this season, glad to have him back !
Im sure he is excited to be a free agent in June and see what his options are ! i hope he is picked up by Calgary or Edmonton so i can catch a few games or maybe it will be Vancouver .. I was talking to another season ticket holder today and he said that Faddens agent of many years was Mike Gillis .. very interesting. The fact of the matter is Fadden will find a job in the NHL, it will be interesting to see where ..
I personaly think you could have used him somewhere in your organization .. 0 wins for Ads or Bolts .. after his 3 point night against the Phantoms I thought he was a shoe in.
Hey Fadden nothing but good things have happend since you arrived 3 years ago to the Bridge .. thanks it feels good to be contenders and winning is so much better then losing !!
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AHL Game Night 10/10: Bears at Admirals
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/beary-tough-start-admirals-lead-slips-away
From the Pilot's game report:
On paper, the Admirals appear capable of launching
similar fireworks. But Friday, they burned up much of their energy in often-futile efforts to clear their own zone, especially throughout the first two periods. The Bears outshot the Admirals 28-13 over the first 40 minutes.
''The 50-50 pucks, the 60-40 pucks, those are a big deal,’’ Konopka said. ''We lost a lot of those battles. That’s why we had trouble getting anything started.’’
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It could have been worse were it not for several dazzling saves by Admirals goalie Karri Ramo, most notably a sprawling denial of a Giroux breakaway early in the second period.
''He was our only highlight tonight,’’ Admirals center Wyatt Smith said of Ramo, who finished the game with 33 saves.
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''I’m happy with our goaltender, and the Szczechura line was good,’’ the coach said. ''But we had too many guys that really weren’t going out there.
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That's almost word-for-word the same post-game reviews the Lightning are getting.
(Sub in Gratton line for the Chewy line)Opening game jitters, or lack of an effective system across the organization?
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N.A. Juniors Game Night: 10/4
Thanks, Ffan23. It's always appreciated.
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N.A. Juniors Game Night: 10/4
I was at the game where Dustin Tokarski was facing the Seattle Thunderbirds. I would say Dustin played a very good game and was unusually composed for a young goaltender throughout this game. He also played the angles well. As for the full moon, yes, this is also true. The man, who was wearing a Vancouver Canucks jersey, was standing in one of the openings to the concourse at center ice behind the players benches. He began dancing to the music between play and to be funny he provided the full moon. At the next stoppage of play he started dancing like a stripper and removed his shirt. A fan alerted a police officer on the other side of the ice and he radioed to another officer on the other side of the ice. Unfortunately, the game was over by the time officials could get to him. I believe they caught up with him after the game as there were officers at the top. Back to the real topic, I think Spokane is very lucky to have Tokarski as he really was sharp throughout the game. DeSerres was simply very good in the shootout stopping all shots that came his way. As I did throughout the end of last season, I will continue to provide everyone with information on Tampa Bay prospects as they come to Seattle.
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NHL Game Day 10/5: Lightning at Rangers
"Don't be fooled by the score. The Lightning were never really in this game until a late surge when they tried to get the equalizer to steal at least a point." Pete, I couldn't agree more. I've watched both games this weekend and all I've seen is the Lightning running around the ice and chipping the puck out of their zone. They've had no flow, no organization, no offense, really no defence, hell...they've been just trying to hold on. I'm happy though that for the first time in several years there appears to be quality in net as both Smith and Kolzig played very well and are the only reasons the scores in each game were as close as it appears. This goes to show that you can go out and spend money on alot of high priced players but it doesn't make a quality team. On paper with the names out there the team looks like they could be a force, but then they get on the ice and have no team concept and are exposed as a farce. Settle in folks, it's going to be a long season....again.
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N.A. Juniors Game Night 10/3: Tokarski Sets Spokane Record
Other than Ward, all the junior kids seem to be off to a pretty good start. Even Cunti, who I was a little skiddish about after Traverse City, is putting up numbers, and James Wright looks like he might be a pleasant surprise from the past draft.
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N.A. Juniors Game Night 10/3: Tokarski Sets Spokane Record
I forgot to add that I will be attending the Spokane vs. Seattle game tonight. Maybe, I will get to see Dustin extend his streak.
