Alpha wrote:There's still a part of me that is dreading the inevitable injuries. We've been fortunate (thus far)...but we're still less than 20 games in. This is about the time when Stammer went down last year.
We deserve a healthy year from this team. The LEAGUE deserves a healthy year...just to see what this can become. Like someone else mentioned...we aren't beating the scrubs of the league. We are beating the best this league has to offer (St. Louis and LA already).
I just can't see a scenario where we don't win the Cup, without serious injury issues.
pewterpirates wrote:To clarify my "I hope we keep it going" comment ... I realize we'll hit a few bumps in the road. No one can keep up the pace we're currently playing at.
Even though this may sound foolish, I'm also a little worried we may be peaking too early. I honestly don't see how we can play any better. You want to be playing this good going into the playoffs, not in the first 6 weeks of the season.
If we play like THIS in the playoffs, no one will stop us. It's just a matter of if we can A: either keep up this high level of play consistently, or B: find this high level of play when the playoffs start.
real bucs fan wrote:Hockey is a sport of momentum, and that's one of the reasons the Cup is the hardest trophy to win. There are going to be ups and downs, but teams can get hot- heck a goalie can get hot, and you can see a low seed win the Cup. I do think the Lightning have to be the faves right now though. The playoffs are a different style of game though too, so we'll see.
DreadNaught wrote:pewterpirates wrote:To clarify my "I hope we keep it going" comment ... I realize we'll hit a few bumps in the road. No one can keep up the pace we're currently playing at.
Even though this may sound foolish, I'm also a little worried we may be peaking too early. I honestly don't see how we can play any better. You want to be playing this good going into the playoffs, not in the first 6 weeks of the season.
If we play like THIS in the playoffs, no one will stop us. It's just a matter of if we can A: either keep up this high level of play consistently, or B: find this high level of play when the playoffs start.
82 games is long season and the NHL is like the NBA where the regular season is meaningless (see the Capitals). Home ice means less in hockey than it does in basketball imo when it come to the playoffs.
I agree that it's unrealistic to expect this level of play throughout an 82 game season. There will be some valleys here and there. But this Lightning team does have playoff experience so I'm not as worried about 'peaking too early' as I would be if this was team that had not been tested in the playoffs. Most of this team has been to the ECF and SCF with the Lightning already so imo it's really a matter of health come the playoffs.
Playing this well is great b/c it builds confidence and the longer we can sustain the more solidified that confidence becomes. The team will draw on that confidence once they get into playoff hockey. Combine that with experience and the variable of health and we will hopefully be in good shape.
In the end it comes down to health for this team. We've got the skill, depth, defense, and goaltending to beat anyone in a 7 game series.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired goaltender Louis Domingue from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for goaltender Michael Leighton and forward Tye McGinn, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced.
Domingue, 25, has appeared in seven games with the Coyotes this season, posting a 4.33 goals-against average and .856 save percentage. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound goaltender has played in 84 career NHL games, all with Arizona over the past four seasons, compiling a record of 27-41-7 to go along with a 3.00 goals-against average and .906 save percentage with two shutouts. During the 2015-16 season, he set career highs for games played (39), wins (15) and save percentage (.912).
The St. Hyacinthe, Quebec native has appeared in 71 career American Hockey League games, posting a record of 27-30-3 to go along with a 3.09 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. He last played in the AHL during the 2015-16 season when he appeared in 13 games with the Springfield Falcons, compiling a record of 6-6-1 to go along with a 2.55 goals-against average and .919 save percentage
Domingue was originally selected by the Coyotes in the fifth round, 138th overall, at the 2010 NHL Draft.
Alpha wrote:Watching the Blackhawks/Rangers game makes me appreciate the speed of the Bolts.
This is like watching hockey from the "Neutral Zone Trap" era.
Jeesh...
SixStringSamurai wrote:Another night, another ass whooping for the other team. This team hasn't peaked yet...it's only going to get better
Buc2 wrote:I really enjoyed going to the Dallas game. Lots of energy in the crowd. Much fun. It seemed the Lightning came out a bit sluggish in the 1st period even though they thoroughly outshot the Stars in the period. If the Stars had any hope, it was that 1st period. Once the boys started scoring, it was lights out. Point is very underrated imo. The dude plays with tons of confidence and solidifies the line that goes up against the other teams top scoring lines. His short-handed goal to make it 3-1 really was the tide turning in Thursday nights game. There was no looking back after that. And seeing the young rookie, Sergachev, get another goal. I never saw him out of position. Awesome! We definitely got a hellava deal out of the Drouin trade with this kid. Fun, fun, fun! That's all I can say.
A couple of shots from the action...
Bishop makes the save with Callahan looking for a rebound...
Alpha wrote:Thank God...I wasn't sure we ere ever gonna lose again.
Didn't get a chance to see it but going down 4-0 sounds like it was a bad night all around.
I feel bad for the next team we have to play...
Brazen331 wrote:I saw my first pro hockey game live last night and was wondering why there seems to be so much more parity in the NHL compared to the NFL? The Knights beat the Kings 4-2 but the score was not reflective of the game. The Kings got their asses kicked. Quick had to be pulled in the 1st period and the Kings went 11 minutes without a shot on goal in the 2nd.
Probably safe to say that an NFL expansion team composed of trolling the bottom of everyone's roster would never steamroll the Patriots or Falcons in their inaugural season. The Kings are arguably the best team in the Western Conference aren't they? And they looked like they couldn't handle the speed of Vegas. Just wondering why the NHL seems to work this way?
Brazen331 wrote:I saw my first pro hockey game live last night and was wondering why there seems to be so much more parity in the NHL compared to the NFL? The Knights beat the Kings 4-2 but the score was not reflective of the game. The Kings got their asses kicked. Quick had to be pulled in the 1st period and the Kings went 11 minutes without a shot on goal in the 2nd.
Probably safe to say that an NFL expansion team composed of trolling the bottom of everyone's roster would never steamroll the Patriots or Falcons in their inaugural season. The Kings are arguably the best team in the Western Conference aren't they? And they looked like they couldn't handle the speed of Vegas. Just wondering why the NHL seems to work this way?
Alpha wrote:Brazen331 wrote:I saw my first pro hockey game live last night and was wondering why there seems to be so much more parity in the NHL compared to the NFL? The Knights beat the Kings 4-2 but the score was not reflective of the game. The Kings got their asses kicked. Quick had to be pulled in the 1st period and the Kings went 11 minutes without a shot on goal in the 2nd.
Probably safe to say that an NFL expansion team composed of trolling the bottom of everyone's roster would never steamroll the Patriots or Falcons in their inaugural season. The Kings are arguably the best team in the Western Conference aren't they? And they looked like they couldn't handle the speed of Vegas. Just wondering why the NHL seems to work this way?
And what did you think of seeing it live?
Exciting? Boring?
You gonna see another?
Brazen331 wrote:Alpha wrote:
And what did you think of seeing it live?
Exciting? Boring?
You gonna see another?
The biggest impression on me was how small the rink seems to be in a huge arena with professional players. I doubt there were many 6'5 240 defenseman when the standards were set, really wish these guys had more room to create.
I'll definitely see more games. It was a standing room only crowd and this is a scrappy team that really hustles and feeds off the fans. You do get the impression that they play better than they are at home. They definitely could use more firepower; they look to be a smaller, faster team like Tampa but without the offensive skill. I bet they could plug Gusev in on the 2nd or 3rd line right now if he'd leave Russia.
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