The cellys are coming quick tonight as the Tampa Bay Lightning face the New York Islanders in game 1 of the Stanley Cup Conference Finals.
Only a minute and 15 seconds into the start and Lightning Center Brayden Point takes control of the game, quickly shooting in the puck after an elongated hold. Point currently stands at seven goals and 19 points in the postseason.
The New York Islanders were not giving up early, however.
With 17:11 in the first, Islanders took full advantage of their power play as Winger Jordan Eberle scored amid the traffic in the goalie area. Eberle now has four goals and 11 points in the postseason.
Tied 1-1, the already fast-pace game got quicker.
Defenseman Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning scored with a slapshot deep into their first power play, giving them a 2-1 lead with 11:48 left in the period.
The energy still did not stop there.
With about nine minutes left, Lightning Defenseman Ryan Mcdonagh sealing the Lightning’s success in the first period.
Mcdonagh now has one goal and four points this playoff season.
The NHL agreed to reschedule playoff games set to play on 8/27 and 8/28 after players call to show respect and support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“After much discussion, NHL Players believe that the best course of action would be to take a step back and not play tonight’s or tomorrow’s game as scheduled…We understand that the tragedies involving Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others require us to recognize this moment,” statement released from the National Hockey League’s Player’ Association and the National Hockey League.
Starting the Lightning/Bruins game on 8/29, a visual segment was shown to both the players and the fans. Lightning Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, Bruins Centerman Patrice Bergeron and Bruin’s Winger Brad Marchand all gave pre-recorded comments on the movement, speaking on solidarity in fighting against racism.
Tonight the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Boston Bruins in the second game of the series, coming back from a loss on 8/23.
Though I did not see the first two periods of the game, I could already feel the momentum built up in the third; plays were longer, skating was faster, and passes were stronger.
Going into the third period the teams were tied at two points, both having less than 25 shots on goal.
11 minutes into the period, the Lightning took the lead as centerman Blake Coleman scored in a break-away against Bruins’ defenseman Connor Clifton, where he took advantage of a great pass given by Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay.
The leg up acquired by Tampa was short lived, however, as Brad Marchand, winger for the Bruins, tipped in a goal at 3:58 left in the period.
From there both teams were skating on thin ice, hoping to score a quick win to set up tomorrow night’s game (8/26).
For the Lightning, they did just that.
15:21 into overtime, winger Ondrej Palat of the Lightning snagged the win in a rebound pass by teammate Patrick Maroon.
The teams are now tied 1-1 in the seven game series, set to play again tomorrow night with puck drop at 8pm.
Henri Richard died on Friday morning at 84 years old, announced by the Montreal Canadiens.
Richard was an 11 Stanley Cup winner, playing solely for the Canadiens from 1955 to 1975. He is the only player in NHL history to count 11 Stanley Cups.
Given the name the “Pocket Rocket” as an attribute to older brother Joseph “Rocket” Richard, Henri Richard was a beast on the ice.
With 1,256 games played, he’s scored 358 goals and 688 assists.
Richard was inducted into the hall of fame in 1979.
With the puck drop at 7 tonight, my mind can’t resist but to wander every possible outcome of the game. Will the Lightning choke or will they reign superior for the game? With Tampa’s last ten games being made up of 7 wins and 3 losses, the odds are favoring Boston tonight, as they lead the league with 98 points. While I’m rooting for Tampa and always will, I won’t be too upset (nor surprised) if the game is a wash on their end.
MONTREAL, QC – JANUARY 02: Look on Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Mikhail Sergachev (98) during the Tampa Bay Lightning versus the Montreal Canadiens game on January 02, 2020, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Mikhail Sergachev, everyone’s favorite brawler on the Tampa Bay Lightning, showed his fighting skills tonight in a game versus the Montreal Canadiens.
At the closing of the second period, Canadiens’ captain Shea Weber threw gloves down in a match against Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.
Punches were being thrown from both parties until Weber missed his target and fell to the ground, ultimately giving Sergachev the clear advantage. A few more hits were tossed in before the fight was broken up, in order to prevent any serious injuries from occurring.
That is where the story should’ve have ended, right? Nope.
Skating off the ice, Sergachev continued to make comments at Weber, yelling “What are you doing?” to the player.
Continuing the lively moment, Lightning players Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, and Alex Killorn all chuckled at the situation, engaging in Sergachev’s rage- as expected by a group of hockey players.
In addition to the blood stain now on the back of Shea Weber’s jersey, this fight resulted in fans getting riled up. Excitement spiked, adrenaline lingered at high peaks, and energy levels soared through the roof; emotion like no other than in the game of hockey.
The lightning had just lost 2-1 in their first March home game against the 1st place team league wide, the Boston Bruins.
Ten minutes after the game concluded, I am sitting here still contemplating the overall execution of the game.
Was is slow? Was it lively? Was it rough?
Every period truly had a personality of its own, so it’s important that each receives an individual analysis.
First, the first period.
The first period can be defined by its excessive diving.
Though you may think of embellishment, the kind of diving I am referring to is the one with desperation written all over it.
Five minutes into the game, Cirelli was skating down the offensive zone into what almost was a breakaway. To save the play, Cirelli dropped to his hands and knees, though seemingly missing the goal completely.
Occurrences like that were sprinkled all over the place, done as a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing created out of drive to get the puck in the net, or the other way around.
Period two gave the audience one thing that was lacking in the first: fighting.
While no legitimate fight broke out, there were a handful of sprawls occurring by the guys. In one corner you have Pat Maroon having it out with someone and in the other you have Pat Maroon having it out with someone as well…big surprise.
Period two also had the only Lightning goal of the game, scored by big time rookie Mitchell Stephens, whose brought many assets to the team this year and who has great potential for upcoming years.
Now for the third period.
It was honestly a hard time analyzing the third period due to the lack of action occurring within a ball of dense action.
The game had really started to pick up; it felt as though there was a shot on goal every other time I would blink, but at the same time, it did not have enough energy.
It felt as if the team was giving the most effort that they could before hitting maximum effort, as if they were reaching that 100% without fully hitting it.
It is truly hard to pinpoint anything that went wrong because simply nothing major went wrong.
The Bruins are an amazing team who had beat us rightfully so.
Though the Lightning was strong, I can confidently say that they did not put in their full effort tonight, as is reflected by the final score. But it is not the end of the team. They still have a month to bring them out of the mini drought (that I very well believe is temporary) and into an anticipated strong streak during the Stanley cup playoffs!
Today is the day of the 2020 NHL trade deadline. As of 3pm Eastern time, all trades were locked in, and will be for the rest of the season. Can I say wow?
Every other time my phone went off today, it was a notification about a recent trade haven taken place in the league: “Sami Vatanen traded to Hurricanes from Devils,” “Golden Knights get Robin Lehner from Blackhawks,” “Bolts acquire Barclay Goodrow and a 3rd round pick from Sharks.” I mean, they are blowing up my phone one by one, to say the least.
What shocks me about the trade deadline, however, is not the number of trades occurring in the day but rather the trades themselves. One in particular- the Jean-Gabriel Pageau trade.
Today, the Senators traded Jean-Gabriel Pageau to the New York Islanders in exchange for a 2020 1st round draft pick, a 2020 2nd round draft pick, and a conditional 2022 3rd round draft pick.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau was selected 96th overall in the 2011 4th round draft pick by the Ottawa Senators, and has played for them ever since. In 428 games, the centerman has racked up a respectable 182 points, with 40 of them belonging to the 2019-2020 season.
In only 60 games played this year, Pageau has 24 goals, 16 assists, for a total of 40 points, showing that he definitely brings something to the table. But was it worth what was given up for him?
Though the Islanders have had a great season so far with 76 points and a first wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, they are neck and neck with the Blue Jackets, with the Carolina Hurricanes trailing only 2 points behind.
The point is, the Islanders aren’t out of the woods just yet, and obtaining Pageau may or may not be their answer.
While I could propose reasons for why he should’ve and shouldn’t have been traded, the deal is done, and the Islanders gave away two, potentially three draft picks for Pageau. Let’s just hope that he can give the Islanders what they wanted.
After an 11- game win streak, it’s no surprise that the Tampa Bay Lightning fell short for the second game in a row.
On February 22, the Arizona Coyotes beat the Lightning 7-3, with a 41 SOG count, compared to the Lightning’s 30.
Though the game now leaves the Lightning 5 points behind the Boston Bruins, second place in the league, the loss is definitely an angel in disguise.
Rewind to the unfortunate turn of events of last year’s post season, the Lightning simply needed a loss in the second half of this season.
Having such a strong regular 2018-2019 season with a league high 128 points, the team choked in the post season. From being on top for such a large portion of the season, their lack of hunger to win had got the best of them.
Losing is what the Tampa Bay Lightning needs. It’s what gives them more fuel to excel in the games following. Up until around mid November this season, that’s all that they were doing, and now they are back to the thriving numbers seen in last year’s regular season.
The loss to the Arizona Coyotes, following the loss to the Golden Knights on February 20, kills none of my confidence in the Lightning’s success, but rather builds it up. It brings the team back to reality, showing them that smooth sailing through the season is not an option.
Whether they are on top or are trailing behind the rest of the league, every game is a game to play their hardest, and losing can only remind them of it!
My first post on a new blog, yay! I am very excited to share views and updates on hockey. Content will be focusing on the National Hockey League. Stay tuned and subscribe for updates.
Get to know me:
Hello! My name is Faith and I am a hockey lover. Florida born, I currently root for the Tampa Bay Lightning (sorry Panthers). I am an aspiring writer with a growing interest in sports…well hockey mostly. Though I am fairly new to the world of hockey, I wish to learn more and more about it everyday!
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