Once the finalists were announced, it was obvious that Malkin was the prohibitive favorite to win the award. The social media world exploded with opinionated outbursts claiming Stamkos didn’t deserve to be a finalist, mainly because his Lightning team failed to make the playoffs. One of the most boisterous was yours truly. I was full of snarky comments like this:

I set out to prove this point After crunching the numbers, I found myself shaking my head over my previous, uneducated rant. The numbers don’t lie. They show just the opposite.

Steven Stamkos is as deserving a Hart Trophy finalist as Evgeni Malkin.

*For the sake of this discussion, I am not including goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Comparing a goaltender and a skater is a research project for another time.

The Malkin File

Won the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points with 109.

First player since 1995-96 to score five points in a game four times.

Finished second in the NHL (behind Stamkos) in goals with 50.

The Stamkos File

Won the Maurice Richard Trophy for leading the league in goals with 60.

First player since 2007-08 to score at least 60 goals.

Finished second in the NHL (behind Malkin) in points with 97.

Led the NHL and set a league record with five overtime goals.

Led the NHL with 48 even strength goals – The most since 1992-93.

Side By Side Comparison

*Goals Created-Calculated by adding goals scored to 0.5 times assists, then multiplying by team goals divided by team goals plus 0.5 times team assists.

Analysis

Stamkos played more games, had more goals, more game winning goals and a much higher shooting percentage.

Malkin had many more assists, points and shots, but a lower shooting percentage.

Stamkos was the more physical player, outhitting Malkin by 80 hits. Malkin blocked more shots.

Malkin had many more takeaways, but also gave away the puck 28 more times than Stamkos.

Both players dominated the bad teams (Maple Leafs, Islanders, Canadiens, Oilers and Blue Jackets). Malkin scored more goals and Stamkos had more points versus the playoff teams.

Stamkos scored more overtime goals (5) than anybody in the history of the NHL

Malkin dominated Stamkos in +/- rating.

The two were virtually even in faceoff percentage, penalty minutes, power play goals and average time on ice.

The competition is just as close in the area of “percentage of team” statistics. Stamkos has a slight advantage as he scored a higher percentage of his teams goals, power play goals and points, while Malkin had a higher percentage of his teams assists.

Both the Lightning and Penguins sorely needed the duo to appear on the score sheet. When Stamkos didn’t have a point, Tampa Bay’s record was 5-15-2. When Malkin didn’t have a point, the Penguins went 5-9-0.

Certainly this exercise proves beyond a shadow of doubt, that Steven Stamkos deserved a Hart nomination. Does he deserve the award?

If you look only at the numbers and base your decision solely on the individual statistics and the players worth to his team…The answer is yes, he deserves it just as much as Malkin does. If you look at the team results, Malkin wins the award easily as he led his team to a fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski put it this way:

In the end, I believe Stamkos is a worthy finalist and it would be hard to argue if he won the award, based on his numbers. But the fact that the Bolts finished out of the playoffs cannot be ignored.

Given the choice between Malkin and Stamkos, Evgeni Malkin is your Hart Memorial Trophy winner.

*Statistics courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com and NHL.com.

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Steven Stamkos’ 60-Goal Season – An infographic by the team at TampaBayLightning.com

Honor 

A few days ago, my colleague here at Hockey Independent, The View From 111, posted a well written and thought provoking piece called “NHL:  No Honor League?” It is an intelligent, solid piece of writing and I respect his opinion. BUT, I think he is infected with the same utopian NHL virus that once afflicted me. The message of the article seems to be that Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s Czar of Player Discipline…err…Director of Player Safety is taking too much heat for his “perceived” inconsistent punishment that he has handed out. The article reads, “That anger is misdirected. Instead, fans should look to the ice and the type of play that teams are bringing to their games.”  My thoughts on the situation are slightly contrary.

With the recent, well publicized…err…promoted, on-ice hooliganism, many hockey fans and “experts”alike are crying out, “There is no honor among players in the NHL anymore.” The fact of the matter is, they are absolutely, 100% correct; there is no honor in the NHL or any other professional sports league, for that matter. What they are wrong about is “anymore.” The notion of “honor” among players, coaches and organizations is a misguided, romantic assumption that existed only in the minds of the idealistic hockey/sports admirer. I too, once fancied the idea of a principled warrior who played the game with honor and integrity. I too, was once pitifully misled and hopelessly sentimental about the NHL game and its gladiators.

How ridiculously pathetic of me. Honor and respect are ignorant concepts in the professional arena. The piles of money, prestige and accolades that are bestowed upon a Stanley Cup lifter are too much for any human being to ignore. The whispers of temptation can be heard farther than the loudest call of duty.

The national Hockey League is a professional sports league. The singular goal of every franchise and all its employees is absolute. WIN. And win, no matter what it takes. Win, no matter what the consequences. Win, no matter who or what ideals you have to crush to get to the top.

All NHL players always have and always will play on the edge and blur the lines of legality. Many will step over that line when the crime is deemed worthy of the punishment. To expect the players to honor and respect each other of their own free will is like asking Tim Thomas to honor and respect his teammates and the Bruins organization by visiting the White House…It ain’t gonna happen.

Lack of honor is seen in all sports with Bountygate, and Spygate being recent examples. It has been hiding in the shadows all along. We, the fans have been purposely insulated from it. That is until the social media revolution exploded all over us. Funny, I can remember relying on a reporter or radio announcer’s subjective account of NHL games. (Thank you Budd Lynch, Bruce Martyn and Joe Falls.) Disrespect among players was the norm in the NHL of the past, whether it came from a Hall of Famer or a so-called goon, but the cowardly keyboard warrior with a team biased, brainwashed “opinion” hadn’t crawled out of their mothers basement yet. One can only imagine the ruckus that would have blown up Twitter after Mr. Hockey’s retaliatory dismemberment of Lou Fontinato’s olfactory nerves.

It has been well documented by players of the past that Bobby Clarke, Mark Messier, Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay were no different than Dave Schultz, Ken Linseman, Claude Lemieux and Wayne Cashman:  All were “dirty” players that did ANYTHING to win.

The points being that we cannot expect the players to find respect and honor in a game that never really had it. The NHL and the Office of Player Safety (cough, cough) must develop a no brainer, no opinion needed punishment guideline. If head shots are the problem, the only way to solve it is to ban them…no questions asked. Perceived intent and severity of injury should have no relevance in any punishment. There should be a specific amount of games the player is suspended for, should he make contact with the head,,,period. It isn’t equitable or responsible to give any man or group of men the godlike powers to make punishment policy, especially ex-players who will suffer accusations of bias.

Honor:  “A fictional concept as related to professional sports.” (WB Philp)

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Tampa Bay will certainly look to improve the goaltending and defense first, while adding to a solid nucleus of forwards.

Here is a thumbnail look at the Lightning roster today.

For a full look at the team depth chart, click here.

Click on the players name for full salary capsule.

Forwards

Lightning forwards are a solid group

Ten forwards under contract:  Vincent Lecavalier ($7,727,273), Steven Stamkos ($7,500,000), Martin St. Louis ($5,625,000), Ryan Malone ($4,500,000), Teddy Purcell ($2,362,500), Brett Connolly ($1,633,333), JT Brown ($1,350,000), Nate Thompson ($900,000), Dana Tyrell ($600,000) and Tom Pyatt ($600,000). Buyout Vaclav Prospal ($1.166.667)

Forward UFA’s. (Unrestricted Free Agent-Players whose contracts have expired):  Tim Wallace, Ryan Shannon, Adam Hall and JT Wyman.

Defensemen

Four defensemen under contract:  Eric Brewer ($3,850,000), Mattias Ohlund ($3,607,143), Victor Hedman ($4,000,000) and Marc-Andre Bergeron ($1,000,000).

Defensemen UFA’s:  Brett Clark, Mike Commodore and Bruno Gervais.

Defensemen RFA’s:  (Restricted Free Agent-Players who are no longer considered ”entry-level” but do not qualify as unrestricted free agents become restricted free agents when their contracts expire):  Brian Lee, Keith Aulie and Brendan Mikkelson.

Goalies

One goalie under contract:  Mathieu Garon ($1,300,000)

Goalie UFA’s:  Dwayne Roloson and Sebastien Caron.

Salary committed for 2012-13: $48.095 million

2012-13 Salary Cap:  $64,300,000

For the full Lightning salary chart, click here.

Is the Kings Bernier a candidate?

General Manager, Steve Yzerman will be looking for a number one goalie this summer and he is armed with two first -round draft choices in the June draft and up to four second round picks. After all, the Bolts had the worst goals-against average (3.34) and save percentage (.889) in the NHL for the second straight season. Vancouver’s Cory Schneider is most often mentioned as the top candidate, but he is a future RFA and the Bolts could only acquire him through a trade involving a top Lightning prospect. Also, Vancouver may decide to let Roberto Luongo and his huge contract go before trading Scnneider. There are many other interesting options out there including trading for the Kings Jonathan Bernier, but the goalie free agent market is weak. Yzerman’s only real option is to trade for a young number one.

Here is a list of free agent goalies:

UFA Goalies:  Martin Brodeur-New Jersey, Antero Niittymaki-San Jose, Tomas Vokoun-Washington, Jonas Gustavsson-Toronto, Johan Hedberg-New Jersey, Scott Clemmensen-Florida, Alex Auld-Ottawa, Martin Biron-New York Rangers, Josh Harding-Minnesota, Al Montoya-New York Islanders, Ray Emery-Chicago, Curtis Sanford-Columbus, Dwayne Roloson-Tampa Bay and Sebastien Caron-Tampa Bay.

For a complete list of goalie UFA’s, click here.

RFA Goalies:  Carey Price-Montreal, Tukka Rask-Boston, Ondrej Pavelec-Winnipeg, Cory Schneider-Vancouver, Anders Lindback-Nashville, Devan Dubnyk-Edmonton, Leland Irving-Calgary, Ben Scrivens-Toronto, Richard Bachman-Dallas, Justin Peters-Carolina, Cedrick Desjardins-Colorado and Jaroslav Janus-Tampa Bay.

For a complete list of goalie RFA’s, click here.

Photographs courtesy of Linda Hamilton.

Salary numbers courtesy of capgeek.com

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout. And “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

After the game, Stamkos praised the Jets fans for the ovation, even though they spent most of the night booing him (A Winnipeg tradition). “That made it even more special, to like I said do it inCanadaand have them do an ovation like that it was amazing,” Stamkos said.

To put Stamkos’ achievement in perspective, according to HockeyLegends.com, there are 4,726 NHL players who did not score 60 goals in their careers.

With Stamkos’ goal on Saturday, he joins Alex Ovechkin, Jaromir Jagr and Teemu Selanne as only the fourth active player to have scored 60 goals in a season. Of the nine franchises that have joined the NHL since 1991, he is the first player to score 60. Stamkos is the first player to score 60 since 2007-08, when Alex Ovechkin (65) did it. Stamkos’ career high 97 points put him second on the list of players to score 60 with the fewest points.

An interesting side note:  The last player to score 60 goals in a season and not make the playoffs was Lightning GM Steve Yzerman in1988-89 with the Detroit Red Wings.

Stamkos led the NHL in goals, outdistancing second place follower, Evgeni Malkin by ten goals. He led the league in even strength goals with 48 and game winning goals with 12. Had Tampa Bay (38-36-8) made the playoffs, Stamkos would have been a top candidate to win the NHL MVP Hart Trophy. But, he certainly is the Lightning MVP, leading the team in games played (82), goals (60), points (97), power play goals (12), even strength goals (48), game winning goals (12), total time on ice forwards (1806) and shots (303). He was second on the team in +/- (+7), shooting percentage (19.8) and average time on ice forwards (22:01). Stamkos was third on the team in assists (37).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Despite the gaudy individual numbers, Stamkos is a total team player, “You trade this stuff in a heartbeat for winning a championship,” the Lightning center said. “You don’t play to score a certain amount of goals or to get individual awards. You play to win a league championship game.”

The Bolts future is in good hands.

Photo courtesy of Linda Hamilton.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

The Bolts are in fifth (last) place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by twelve points. Tampa Bay is in 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, seven points out of a playoff spot and two points from the conference cellar. Only the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens trail the Bolts.

After 71 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 50. He leads the Bolts and is second in the league in points with 84. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 41. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +9.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -24. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 23 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Goalie Dustin Tokarski is 1-2-1 with a 2.79 goals against average and an .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:21 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 251.

The Lightning have scored 199 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 240 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts power play and the penalty kill remain sub-par. The power play success rate is 15.5% (23rd in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 78.6% (26th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.4% and the average NHL team kills off 82.6% of their penalties successfully.

The Bolts have allowed eleven shorthanded goals, second most in the NHL.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 48.8% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 69 – Tampa Bay Lightning 6 – Boston Bruins 1

Game 70 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Toronto Maple Leafs 3

Game 71 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1– St. Louis Blues 3

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Two goals.

Martin St. Louis – One goal and one assist.

Brian Lee - Two assists.

Transactions

The Lightning announced the signing of 2011 first-round pick Vladislav Namestnikov to a three year, entry level contract.

The Lightning recalled forward Trevor Smith from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning have signed German League goaltender Sebastien Caron.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after having major knee surgery.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron has chosen to undergo back surgery that may end his season.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier is out indefinitely with a broken hand. The Bolts are hoping to have him back in three to five days.

Goalie Mathieu Garon has a torn groin muscle and is out 3-4 weeks.

Defenseman Bruno Gervais is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.

Forward Nate Thompson is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Lightning’s slide into oblivion continues. Tampa Bay has now lost five of its last six games and is proving to be one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference and the NHL. Although, still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, Tampa Bay is done.

Steven Stamkos became just the sixth player in NHL history to record multiple 50-goal seasons before the age of 23. The impressive list includes Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Joe Nieuwendyk and Alex Ovechkin.

Sports Club Stats has the Lightning’s playoffs chances at 2.1%.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Buffalo on Monday, Edmonton on Thursday and the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eight points. Tampa Bay is in 11th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, seven points out of a playoff spot.

After 68 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 48. He leads the Bolts and leads the league in points with 82. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 40. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +8.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -26. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 23 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Goalie Dustin Tokarski is 0-1-1 with a 2.93 goals against average and an .895 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:27 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 239.

The Lightning have scored 184 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 221 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts power play and the penalty kill suffered this week. The power play success rate is 15.84% (24th in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 78.48% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.45% and the average NHL team kills off 82.55% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 21st in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 49.1% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 66 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Ottawa Senators 7

Game 67 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Washington Capitals 3 OT

Game 68 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Carolina Hurricanes 4

Three Stars of the Week

Ryan Malone – Two goals and an assist.

Teddy Purcell – One goal and two assists.

Tom Pyatt - Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled goalie Dustin Tokarski from Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after having major knee surgery.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron has chosen to undergo back surgery that may end his season.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier is out indefinitely with a broken hand. The Bolts are hoping to have him back in three to five days.

Goalie Mathieu Garon has a torn groin muscle and is out 3-4 weeks.

Defenseman Bruno Gervais is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.

Bolt Notes

While Dustin Tokarski may not yet be the Bolts goalie of the future, he is certainly the goalie of the present. Why not Dwayne Roloson?  Roli has given up 13 goals in his last two starts, while Tokarski has given up six in his only two NHL starts. Statistically, Roloson is dead last among NHL goalies with 20 starts this year. The organization has given up on the 42 year old netminder and given the net to the young, big game Tokarski. Coach Guy Boucher really has no other choice.

With just 14 games remaining, Sports Club Stats has the Lightning’s playoffs chances at 4.4%.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Boston on Tuesday, Toronto on Thursday and St. Louis on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

Friday night the Admirals kicked off a run of three games in as many nights. First up for Norfolk were Michael Leighton and the Adirondack Phantoms. Tyler Johnson and Alex Picard provided all the offense for the night in the first period. Norfolk opened up the game with a Tyler Johnson goal at the nine minute mark. Alex Picard would score a minute and a half later to make it 2-0 Admirals. Tyler Johnson scored his second of the night at 19:30 to close out the first period. Adirondack finally got on the board in the second period. Denis Hamel scored the lone goal of the night at 13:19 with Radko Gudas in the penalty box. Jaroslav Janus was stellar in the net stopping 23 of the 24 shots he faced. With the 2-1 win the Admirals extended their win streak to 13 in a row.

Saturday the Admirals were going up against the Connecticut Whale. With Dustin Tokarski up with the Lightning it was the Jaroslav Janus show once again in goal. The Whale struck first with an even strength goal at 8:11 of the first period. The Norfolk offense finally got on the board at 12:17. Alex Hutchings fed a pass to Mike Angelidis who one-timed the puck past Connecticut netminder, Chad Johnson. The Admirals took a 2-1 lead early in the third period. Tyler Johnson won the draw in the right circle back to Mike Kostka. Kostka sent a slap shot past Johnson and into the net.  Tyler Johnson sealed the victory with an empty net goal at 19:18. The Admirals won 3-1 and the streak continued at 14.

A Sunday afternoon in Bridgeportwas the scene for a matchup with the Sound Tigers. The Admirals were playing their third game in three nights. Call ups and injuries forced Jon Cooper to patch the holes with some ECHL players. Jaroslav Janus got the nod once more in net. Norfolkstruck first fifteen minutes into the first with Trevor Smith’s 22^nd goal of the season. Smith intercepted a Sound Tiger pass in the low slot. Smith then backhanded the puck into the net past Kevin Poulin. Bridgeport tied the game, with a shorthanded goal at 1:17 of the second period. Mark Barberio scored a power play goal at 17:16 with an assist going to Cory Conacher. Two minutes later Richard Panik increased the lead to two with another power play goal at 19:28. Bridgeport would tie the game at three goals each in the final frame. Norfolk turned up the heat and controlled the remainder of the game. Mark Barberio scored his second of the night with a slap shot goal at 13:12. Pierre-Cedric Labrie would feed a pass to Richard Panik who sent a one-timer into the net at 15:52. Tyler Johnson closed out the scoring at 17:32. Richard Panik fed a long pass to Johnson who fired a shot past Poulin for the 6-3 Admiral victory. The winning streak is now at 15.

Cory Conacher (31G 37A 68Pts +6), Trevor Smith (22G 38A 60Pts +25), and Mark Barberio (11G 42A 53Pts +19) find themselves atop the team in scoring. Dustin Tokarski (27-11-0 2.34GAA) was recalled to Tampa Bay. Jaroslav Janus (15-8-2 2.75GAA) went 3-0. Pat Nagle (0-0-0) did not play.

For the Season the Admirals are 42-18-1-2 with 87 points. They are currently holding the top position in the AHL.Norfolkis currently on a 15-0-0-0 streak and is 10-0-0-0 in their last ten games.Norfolk’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 7.

Three Stars of the Week

Janus is the Admirals first star of the week

Jaroslav Janus – Three wins in three nights.

Tyler Johnson – Four goals.

The Admirals team – Riding a 15 game winning streak.

Transactions

Dustin Tokarski – Recalled by theTampaBayLightning (NHL).

Alex Hutchings – Recalled from theFloridaEverblades (ECHL).

Bryan Brutlag – Signed to PTO from the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL).

Casey Haines – Signed to PTO from theReading Royals (ECHL).

Pat Nagle – Recalled from theFloridaEverblades (ECHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Knee – Out for the season.

An Observation from the Stands

What a week it was for the Admirals and their fans. There has been rumor and speculation that Tampa Baywill be moving the team toSyracusenext season. Even though nothing has been officially announced, the stories out of Syracusehave done nothing but feed the rumor mill. While this is probably more of a distraction for the fans, I still wonder if and how it will affect the players. Obviously it did not affect the team this week. With the winning streak now at 15 the Admirals are looking forward to their lone home game against the Penguins on Wednesday. I would like to see Conacher step up and get out of his scoring slump. The offense is rolling and Janus has stepped up to fill the void left by Tokarski in net. As Tyler Johnson would say, “Let’s go boys!..Fifteen is a fluke, sixteen is a streak!

The Week Ahead

Norfolk returns to Scope for a Wednesday night game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Admirals then get back on the bus for a Friday and Sunday matchup against the Charlotte Checkers down in Charlotte, NC.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by six points. Tampa Bay is in 10th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, two points out of a playoff spot.

After 65 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 47. He leads the Bolts and leads the league in points with 80. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 39. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +10.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -23. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 23 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:30 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 230.

The Lightning have scored 182 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 216 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts power play improved this week, while the penalty kill suffered. The power play success rate is 15.02% (26th in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 79.22% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.57% and the average NHL team kills off 82.43% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 22nd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 49.0% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 63 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Montreal Canadiens 1

Game 64 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – New York Rangers 3 OT

Game 65 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Carolina Hurricanes 3 OT

Three Stars of the Week

Teddy Purcell – Two goals and four assists.

Steven Stamkos - Four goals and an assist.

Martin St. Louis – Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning acquired  defenseman Mike Commodore from Detroit for a conditional seventh round pick.

The Lightning acquired defenseman Keith Aulie from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Carter Ashton.

The Lightning acquired defenseman Brian Lee from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenseman Matt Gilroy.

The Lightning recalled forward Brandon Segal from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning reassigned defenseman Evan Oberg and forwards Mike Angelidis and Trevor Smith to Norfolk (AHL), recalled the trio and then reassigned them again.

The Lightning recalled forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning signed Cory Conacher (AHL) to a two-year, two-way contract.

The Lightning signed forward Danick Gauthier (QMJHL) to a three-year contract.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after having major knee surgery.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury. He is contemplating season ending surgery.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier is out indefinitely with a broken hand. The Bolts are hoping to have him back in three to five days.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is day-to-day with an upper body injury but could return to practice on Monday.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts won three games this week, each one by one goal. The last two wins were both, two goal comebacks. Eight of Tampa Bay’s next nine games are at home.

Forward Teddy Purcell is riding a career best, nine game points streak. During that streak, Purcell has netted six goals and dished out 13 assists while playing on the Bolts top line.

Sports Club Stats has the Lightning’s playoffs chances at 20.2%.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Ottawa on Tuesday. They travel to Washington on Thursday and host Carolina on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Admirals went into action this past Wednesday night riding a nine game winning streak. The Hershey Bears were making their final appearance of the season at Scope and were looking to put an end to Norfolk’s winning ways. The first period was a defensive battle as neither team could figure the goalies out. Cory Conacher broke the stalemate early in the second with an Admiral power play goal. Hershey answered back midway into the third on a Boyd Kane shot into an open Admiral net before Jaroslav Janus could get back into position. It would only take Norfolk two minutes to regain the lead as Tyler Johnson picked up a Bear turnover and fed it to Ondrej Palat. Palat skated through two Bear defenseman and sent a wrist shot past Braden Holtby for the go ahead goal.Norfolk shut down the Bears offense and the Admirals kept the streak alive with a 2-1 win.

The Springfield Falcons provided the opposition on Friday and Saturday night. The Admirals opened the scoring midway into the first period:  Mike Kostka sent a shot towards the net that ended up behind the goaltender. Michel Ouellet swept the puck into the net before Paul Dainton could reach back and cover it. Ouellet would combine with Alex Picard and Mike Angelidis for the Admirals second goal at 4:15 of the second period. Ouellet picked off a Falcon pass and centered the puck to Picard. Picard fired the puck on net and Mike Angelidis collected the rebound and deposited the puck into the net. Nine minutes later Ouellet would score his second of the night on a nice pass from Richard Panik for a power play goal at 12:48. Radko Gudas made it 4-0 as he deflected a Scott Jackson shot past Dainton at 18:33 of the second period. Springfield put an end to Dustin Tokarski’s shutout bid on a Matt Calvert goal twelve minutes into the final frame. Norfolk continued to put the pressure on and capitalized on the power play with a goal from Philip-Michael Devos at 18:52 to seal a 5-2 victory.

Tension from Friday’s game carried over into the Saturday night match. Both teams were on the ice for warm-ups and the smack talking started. The Springfield Falcons Greg Amadio went to center ice trying to get Pierre-Cedric Labrie’s attention. Labrie was more than happy to discuss matters with him and proceeded to pound Amadio. With no officials or coaches on the ice, both teams gathered and players grabbed dancing partners. Mike Angelidis and the Falcon captain were able to get things under control as the teams finished warm ups.Norfolk was pumped up and it showed. The Admirals opened up the first period and grabbed an early 3-0 lead with goals for Cory Conacher, Michel Ouellet, and a shorthanded goal from Tyler Johnson. Both teams went scoreless in the second period.Springfield finally got on the board in the third with a goal from Brent Regner at 8:15. Richard Panik restored the Admirals three-goal lead two minutes later. Panik deflected a Cory Conacher shot past the Falcon net-minder at 10:19. Tyler Johnson closed out the scoring at 11:00 of the third to give the Admirals a 5-1 victory and extend the Norfolk win streak at 12 games.

Cory Conacher (31G 35A 66Pts +7), Trevor Smith (21G 36A 57Pts +26), and Mark Barberio (9G 42A 51Pts +20) find themselves at the top for scoring. Conacher was rewarded for his exceptional play with a two year deal with the Lightning. Dustin Tokarski (27-11-0 2.34GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (12-8-2 2.89GAA) went 1-0.

For the season the Admirals are 39-18-1-2 with 81 points. They are currently holding the top position in the AHL. Norfolk is currently on a 12-0-0-0 streak and is 10-0-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Normally I would have three individuals listed as the three stars. Michell Ouellet, and Cory Conacher have had great games this week, but the whole team deserves to be in this section. The last twelve games have been an outstanding team effort. The Admirals are playing the best hockey of the season, and the best hockey since Tampa Bay has been the parent club. This week they all get the number one star.

Transactions

Brandon Segal – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Mike Angelidis – Returned by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Evan Oberg – Returned by the Tampa BayLightning (NHL).

Trevor Smith – Returned by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Returned by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Knee – Out for the season.

An Observation from the Stands

A twelve game win streak is no easy task. I was not sure what type of team to expect this season. As the season progressed I saw glimpses of greatness followed up by questionable moves that resulted in losses. I thought it would be a long season. The Admirals have proven me wrong and pulled off a winning streak for the ages and are playing some of the best hockey I have seen here inNorfolk. I cannot wait to see this team in the playoffs. They have come together as a team and battled through injuries and call ups and they continue to win. Other teams have called our player “cocky”. There might be some truth to that, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is in the standings.Norfolkhas opened up some distance between themselves and division rivals Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. There are sixteen games remaining in the regular season and then the real fun begins. This is the team to watch…..Keep it going boys.

The Week Ahead

Norfolk is on the road this week. They will be making stops in Adirondack on Friday, Connecticut on Saturday and Bridgeporton Sunday. The Admirals return home on Wednesday, March 14 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

The Rumor Mill

Could the Admirals exit Norfolk? Read it here!

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The Lightning acquired defenseman Mike Commodore from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a conditional seventh round draft pick in 2013. 

Commodore is a Bolt

The 32 year old Commodore played only 17 games with the Red Wings accumulating two assists. He was a +3 while averaging 11:29 of ice time. After missing the first eight games of the season he has been a healthy scratch the rest of the way.

Commodore has played 471 career NHL games with the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings during an 11-year career.  He has scored 23 goals and accumulated 106 points. He won the Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Hurricanes.

Getting Commodore was an inexpensive move to help the Bolts get through the rest of this season. The 6’5″, 235 lbs Commodore is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $1 million contract, making the Lightning responsible for about $220,000.

The Lightning acquired defenseman Keith Aulie from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Carter Ashton.

Ashton dealt to Toronto

The 6’4″, 215 lbs. Aulie was originally selected 29th overall and is in his first season in the minors where he has scored 19 goals and 35 points in 56 games. The 22 year old was picked up in Toronto’s trade with Calgary that also netted Dion Phaneuf.

Aulie has a huge upside despite earning just two assists and a -2 rating in 17 NHL games. He is highly regarded for his stay at home defensive play. He had 41 hits and 28 blocked shots with the Leafs this season. The 2007 fourth round pick of the Calgary Flames has played in 23 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies, netting one assist and a -8 rating. In 57 NHL games over the last two seasons, Aulie has two goals, two assists and a -3 rating.

In 56 games with Norfolk (AHL) the 20 year old Carter Ashton was third on the team with 19 goals and fifth with 35 points.  The 6’3″, 215 lbs. winger represented Canada at 2011 world junior championships, where he scored one goal and two assists for the silver-medal winning team.

Aulie is a big man that can skate. He can develop into a solid stay at home blue liner, but will probably never develop into an offensive threat.

The Lightning acquired defenseman Brian Lee from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenseman Matt Gilroy.

Gilroy goes to Ottawa

The 27 year old Gilroy was playing his first season with the Lighting after skating the past two seasons with the New York Rangers. The 2009 Hobey Baker winner posted 17 points in 53 games while averaging 17:36 of ice time per game. Gilroy is in the final year of a contract that pays him $1million and will be an unrestricted free agant on July 1.

Lee was the Senators first round pick in 2005 and the ninth overall pick. He appeared in 35 games this season, overcoming a lower-body injury suffered in January. Lee had a goal and seven assists this year, averaging just over 13 minutes per game. The 24 year old Lee is an impending restricted free agent earning $875,000 a season.

Both Gilroy and Lee are underachievers, but Lee is younger and is an RFA not a UFA next season.

Mike Commodore and Brian Lee are expected to play for Tampa Bay tomorrow night versus Montreal.

*Carter Ashton and Matt Gilroy photographs courtesy of Linda Hamilton.

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The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eight points. Tampa Bay is in 11th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, six points out of a playoff spot.

After 62 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 43. He leads the Bolts and is second in the NHL in points with 75. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 36. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +9.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -24. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 20 wins, a 2.90 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:24 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 219.

The Lightning have scored 172 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 209 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts power play improved this week, while the penalty kill suffered. The power play success rate is 14.8% (25th in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 79.0% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.60% and the average NHL team kills off 82.40% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 20th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 49.2% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 59 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Anaheim Ducks 2

Game 60 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Winnipeg Jets 4

Game 61 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Pittsburgh Penguins 8

Game 62 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – New Jersey Devils 3

Three Stars of the Week

Purcell posts a ten point week

Teddy Purcell – Three goals and seven assists.

Steven Stamkos - Three goals and five assists.

Martin St. Louis – Four goals and two assists.

Transactions

The Lightning traded center Dominic Moore and a seventh round pick in 2012 to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a second round pick in 2012 (acquired by the Sharks from the Minnesota Wild).

The Lightning traded defenseman Pavel Kubina to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a second round pick in 2012 or 2013 (The Panthers hold the option on whether the second round pick can be used this year or in 2013), a fourth round pick in 2012 and minor league winger Jon Kalinski.

The Lightning recalled forward Trevor Smith from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning acquired a first-round pick in the 2012 draft and minor-league defenceman Sebastien Piche after exchanging forward Steve Downie for defenseman Kyle Quincey with the Colorado Avalanche. The Lightning then dealt Quincey to the Detroit Red Wings for a first-round pick and Piche.

The Lightning acquired forward Brandon Segal from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations.

The Lightning claimed forward Tim Wallace off waivers from the New York Islanders.

The Lightning recalled forward Mike Angelidis from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg from Norfolk (AHL) for the ninth time this season. He appeared in just his second game with Tampa Bay and finished with 11:25 of ice time and was a +2.

The Lightning acquired  defenseman Mike Commodore from Detroit for a conditional seventh round pick

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after having major knee surgery.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier is out indefinitely with a broken hand.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is day-to-day with an upper body injury, possibly a concussion.

Bolt Notes

Despite being depleted by injuries and trades, the Bolts have gone 11-5-2 in their last 18 games. In the past two weeks, Tampa Bay has traded three regular skaters for draft picks and prospects and lost forward Vincent Lecavalier and defenseman Victor Hedman to serious injuries.  Martin St. Louis has scored 20 or more goals in nine straight seasons. Teddy Purcell has points in six straight games and Steven Stamkos remains hot. The Bolts have scored five power play goals in the last four games.

GM Steve Yzerman’s to do list must start with getting a number one goalie. With Ottawa acquiring minor league backstop Ben Bishop from the Blues, the list of potentials grew shorter. Bishop was traded to the Senators for a 2013 second-round pick, a price the Lightning weren’t willing to pay according to Yzerman.  The Bolts GM said he spoke to the Blues about Bishop but was not willing to give up a second-round draft pick for him.

It is thought that Tampa Bay is interested in the Kings Jonathan Bernier and the Canucks Cory Schneider. A deal for these highly rated netminders won’t happen until the summer.

Yzerman said there has been some interest in potential unrestricted free agents, including defensemen Bruno Gervais, Brett Clark and Matt Gilroy, goaltender Dwayne Roloson, and forwards Adam Hall and Ryan Shannon. There has been no mention of Ryan Malone being dangled. Yzerman finds him an attractive keeper as his salary drops from $5.5 million to $3 million next season.

What to do with rookie forward Brett Connolly? The Lightning has until the end of Monday to send Connolly to Tri-City of the junior Western League making him eligible for their playoffs. ”There’s an argument for both sides,” Yzerman stated. “He plays the final games and gets a lot of ice time, obviously, the NHL is a better league than junior hockey. The tempo is higher, the players are stronger. He’s going to benefit on that if he plays.” The Bolts GM added, ”I don’t know that he really struggled. He hasn’t played a whole lot. The coaches were going with veteran guys, trying to win. It’s hard to have an impact when you play five minutes.”

The Bolts are on the lookout for a top four defenseman also. Preferably a right handed puck mover…the Holy Grail of NHL GM’s everywhere.

Steve Yzerman said yesterday, ”We’ve made our major moves here and we’ll see what is up over the next 27 hours or so. We’ll obviously work the phone and see what’s out there. As far as acquiring players, real impact players, that’s more likely to be done at the draft.”

Sports Club Stats has the Lightning’s playoffs chances at 5.4%.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Montreal on Tuesday and the New York Rangers on Friday.They travel to Carolina on Saturday.

*Teddy Purcell photograph courtesy of Linda Hamilton.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Admirals week started this past Friday for the first of three games in three nights on the road. Binghamton provided the opposition for game one. The Admirals were riding a six game winning streak and looking to add another win. The Senators struck at 1:34 of the first period and again five minutes later with a goal from former Admiral, Rob Klinkhammer. The potent Norfolk offense was absent for the first period. Brandon Segal who was recently acquired from the Rockford Ice Hogs opened the scoring for Norfolk, fifteen seconds into the second period. Both teams then shut each other down and the Senators went into the locker room holding a 2-1 lead. Evan Oberg would score on the power play to even the score at two apiece at the 6:27 mark of the third. With both teams going back and forth it looked like this game would go to overtime. Tyler Johnson took the puck into the offensive zone with less than a minute remaining. Johnson fired a shot in on Senators goalie Mike McKenna. McKenna knocked the puck aside, but Pierre-Cedric Labrie picked up the rebound and knocked it in for the Admirals third goal and sealed Norfolk’s seventh win in a row.

Saturday night the Admirals found themselves in the hometown of Hershey Chocolate and the Bears. Hershey is currently in third place behind the Admirals and was looking to pick up a key two points in the division race. All-Star defenseman Mark Barberio, got the ball rolling just two minutes and twenty-one seconds into the game. Barberio skated in on Braden Holtby and let a wrist shot go that trickled past two Bears and over the glove of Holtby for an Admiral goal. Michel Ouellet added another goal at 15:58. Hershey answered back a minute later to end the period at 2-1. Hershey evened the score sixteen seconds into the second period. Chris Bourque fired a shot thru the screen and beat Admirals net minder, Jaroslav Janus. Brandon Segal scored just over a minute later to put the Admirals ahead. Kyle Greentree of the Bears scored on the power play at 13:19 to even the score once more. Brandon Segal would get his second of the night in the final five minutes of the second period. The Admirals skated into the offensive zone on their third power play of the night; Segal deflected a shot by Barberio, through the legs of Holtby and into the net to give Norfolk the 4-3 lead at 16:35 of the second period. Neither team was able to score in the third.Norfolk got on the bus with their eighth win in a row.

Sunday the Admirals were in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for their third game in as many nights against their division rival Penguins. Ben Street opened the scoring midway through the second period, but Mark Barberio evened things up at the 17:02 mark of the second. Former Penguin J.P. Cote would put the Admirals ahead at 4:44 of the third. Alex Picard of the Penguins scored at 9:50, but it was Carter Ashton who put the Admirals ahead for good at 17:56. Ashton’s goal sealed the 3-2 victory and the Admirals record setting ninth win in a row.

Cory Conacher (29G 34A 63Pts +7), and Mark Barberio (9G 36A 48Pts +20) find themselves at the top of the Ad’s scoring list. Tyler Johnson (18G 21A 39Pts -2) has moved ahead of Carter Ashton (19G 16A 35Pts +8). Dustin Tokarski (25-11-0 2.39GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (11-8-2 2.98GAA) went 1-0.

For the Season the Admirals are 36-18-1-2 with 75 points. They are currently holding the top position in the East Division, and the Eastern Conference. The Admirals are also tied in points with the Oklahoma City Barons for the top position in the AHL. Norfolk is currently on a 9-0-0-0 streak and is 9-1-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Brandon Segal – Three goals and an assist.

Mark Barberio – Two goals and an assist.

Alexandre Picard –Three assists.

Transactions

Brandon Segal – Assigned by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Matt Fornataro – Traded to the Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL).

Mike Angelidis – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Evan Oberg – Recalled by the Tampa BayLightning (NHL).

Trevor Smith – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

With the trade deadline looming I was a bit worried that the Admirals might lose key players. The first trade that occurred was Matt Fornataro being traded to the Rockford Ice Hogs in exchange for Rockford’s captain, Brandon Segal. Segal is not an unfamiliar face to Norfolk. He was an Admiral from 2007 to 2009. I believe Norfolk got the better part of the deal as Segal has scored three goals in his first two games back with Norfolk. The Admirals look to be in playoff form and they keep moving forward. The last few weeks are going to be very important. Every point is important and the conference title is not out of the question. Hold on folks, we are in for a great ride.

The Week Ahead

The Hershey Bears return to Norfolk this Wednesday for their final appearance of the regular season.  The Springfield Falcons will be the opposition for Norfolk at Scope on Friday and Saturday.

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Wallace, a 6’1”, 207 lbs. right wing, played in 31 games with the New York Islanders this season, accumulating one assist and six penalty minutes. He also played in 24 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League, scoring nine goals and 20 points.

He has played in 55 career NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Islanders over four seasons and recorded his only assist this season against the Lightning on December 6.

The 27 year-old,Anchorage, Alaska native has played 328 career AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Sound Tigers, posting 84 goals and 157 points. He’s appeared in 55 career Calder Cup playoff games, scoring four goals and dishing out 13 assists.

This is probably a depth move by the Bolts because of a thin roster due to Vincent Lecavalier’s injury. It is pure speculation on my part, but it is also possible that this move could coincide with sending rookie Brett Connolly back to his junior team or the trade of another forward.

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Steve Downie traded to Colorado

The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded forward and fan favorite Steve Downie. GM Steve Yzerman continues to stockpile draft picks and prepare for the future.

Here is the press release from the Lightning:

The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired a first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft as well as defenseman Sebastien Piche in a three-team trade today, Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced. The Lightning traded forward Steve Downie to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Kyle Quincey. Tampa Bay then sent Quincey to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for their first-round pick and Piche.

The Lightning now have two first-round picks in 2012 along with a maximum of four and a minimum of three selections in the second round. 

Piche, 6-foot, 202 pounds, has played in 42 career AHL games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, recording five points (0-5-5). This season he has played in 22 games, notching three assists. Piche signed with the Red Wings as a free agent on April 12, 2009. 

Piche has been assigned to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

Although Downie was a fan favorite and found his game here in Tampa, it was a stroke of genius by Yzerman to get a first round pick and a puck moving defensman prospect for him.

Tampa Bay also traded AHL forward Matt Fornataro to the Chicago Blackhawks for former Bolt Brandon Segal. Segal, a 6-foot-2, 209 pound forward, played in 53 games with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League this season, scoring 13 goals and 25 points, to go along with 63 penalty minutes. Segal ranks fourth on the IceHogs in goals and is seventh in points.

*Steve Downie photograph courtesy of Susan Ferlita.

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The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by seven points. Tampa Bay is in 11th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, six points out of a playoff spot.

After 58 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 40. He leads the Bolts and is third in the NHL in points with 67. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 34. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +8.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -20. Steve Downie has accumulated 121 penalty minutes (5th in the NHL). Goalie Mathieu Garon has 18 wins, a 2.84 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:19 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 205.

The Lightning have scored 161 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 192 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams remain bad. The power play success rate is 13.4% (29th in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 80.3% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.36% and the average NHL team kills off 82.04% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49.2% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 56 – Tampa Bay Lightning 0 – Ottawa Senators 4

Game 57 – Tampa Bay Lightning 6 – San Jose Sharks 5 OT

Game 58 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Washington Capitals 1

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos - Three goals and two assists.

Teddy Purcell – One goal and two assists.

Victor Hedman - Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning traded center Dominic Moore and a seventh round pick in 2012 to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a second round pick in 2012 (acquired by the Sharks from the Minnesota Wild).

The Lightning traded defenseman Pavel Kubina to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a second round pick in 2012 or 2013 (The Panthers hold the option on whether the second round pick can be used this year or in 2013), a fourth round pick in 2012 and minor league winger Jon Kalinski.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR and will have major knee surgery on Thursday. The complicated surgery is a last gasp effort to save Ohlund’s career.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

Stamkos on fire!

Steven Stamkos is on a tear. Over the last 29 games, he has 24 goals, 13 assists, 37 points and seven game winning goals. The 22-year old center became the first Tampa Bay player to have three consecutive seasons of at least 40 goals. Stamkos had a career-high 51 goals in the 2009-10 season and scored 45 times last season. He has three goals and two assists in his last two games.

The Lightning are looking to their future by selling off Dominic Moore and Pavel Kubina for draft picks. According to ESPN.com’s Pierre Lebrun, “Moore’s agent, Larry Kelly, did have some talks about an extension with Yzerman over the past few weeks, but they never were able to bridge the gap. So Moore was dealt yet again — joining his ninth team since the lockout.”

A quick note on the Kubina trade:  The Bolts had asked the veteran defenseman to submit a list of teams that he would agree to be traded to. That list was never submitted as Yzerman approached Kubina about the Philadelphia offer and he accepted it.

GM Steve Yzerman and the Lightning may not be a seller yet. The Bolts next few games will determine that. Moore and Kubina were players that the Lightning were not going to sign for next year and were attractive to other teams. Trading them away in exchange for draft picks and potential assets was an intelligent move. The Bolts now have seven, first and second round draft picks over the next two years.

There are 24 games remaining to be played and the Bolts are six points out of the playoffs with three teams to jump over (Jets, Capitals and Maple Leafs). Two other teams (Islanders and Canadiens) are tied with them. Thirteen of those games are at home and ten are against teams the Bolts are tied with or need to jump in the standings, including the final five games.

According to Sports Club Stats, Tampa Bay has a 5.2% chance of making the playoffs.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Anaheim on Tuesday. travels to Winnipeg on Thursday, Pittsburgh on Saturday and New Jersey on Sunday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Admirals faced the division leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in their barn this past Wednesday night. The Penguins have always been a tough foe for the Admirals. Fortunately, this season the Admirals have won every road games versus the Penguins. The game went scoreless for the first period, but a couple of early fights set the tone for the rest of the game. Radko Gudas got the ball rolling, scoring shorthanded just 59 seconds into the second period. Ondrej Palat added another goal at 17:51. Both teams fought a back and forth battle in the third period, but Pierre-Cedric Labrie scored at the thirteen minute mark to put the Admirals up 3-0. Tyler Johnson hammered the nail in the coffin a minute and a half later to seal the 4-0 win. Dustin Tokarski went home with another shutout.

The Admirals were at home on Friday and Saturday night, facing former head coach Trent Yawney and the Syracuse Crunch. It was a special night for Admiral’s fans as Stanley Cup winner Aaron Downey (Detroit Red Wings) and Chris Phelps were inducted into the Admirals Hall of Fame. The game was a memorable team effort. Mike Kostka scored shorthanded at 2:43 of the first period. Syracuse would even things up at 5:07 of the second. The Crunch moved ahead at the 9:37 mark. Trevor Smith and Alex Picard each netted  power play goals to give the Admirals a 3-2 lead. Cory Conacher scored early in the third period, but the two goal buffer was erased on a Crunch goal just thirteen seconds later. Trevor Smith scored another Admiral power play goal at the twelve minute mark. Pierre-Cedric Labrie added the seventh and final Admiral goal a minute later. Syracuse managed to score one more goal on Tokarski, but Norfolk took the first game of the series, 7-4 over the Crunch.

Both teams were back in action Saturday Night. The Admiral Fans packed the house for Norfolk’s second sellout of the season. Syracuse provided the only scoring for the first two periods. This was definitely not the high scoring match that was expected. Syracuse added another goal halfway through the third. Mark Barberio scored a goal at 7:16 to cut the Admiral’s deficit to one. Ondrej Palat knocked in a power play goal to even things up at two each at 9:02. Both teams could not find the back of the net for the remainder of the period and the game went to overtime. After five minutes of scoreless overtime hockey, the game went to a shootout. After eight rounds of the shootout Jaroslav Janus made the save on Syracuse’s ninth round shooter. Michel Ouelette, who was recovering from an injury, put the puck into the back of the Syracuse net giving the Admirals a 3-2 win and sole possession of first place in the East Division.

Cory Conacher (29G 31A 60Pts +5), Trevor Smith (21G 36A 57Pts +26), and Mark Barberio (7G 38A 45Pts +19) find themselves at the top in scoring. Conacher now leads the AHL with 29 goals. Dustin Tokarski (23-11-0 2.41 GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (10-8-2 2.98 GAA) went 1-1.

For the season the Admirals are 33-18-1-2 with 69 points. They are currently holding the top position in the East Division. Norfolk is on a 6-0-0-0 streak and are 7-3-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Kostka is the Ad's first star of the week

Mike Kostka – One goal and three assists.

Tyler Johnson – Two goals and three assists.

Mark Barberio – One goal and three assists.

Transactions

Jon Kalinski – Assigned byTampaBayLightning (NHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

The Admirals had another great week that resulted in them claiming sole possession of first place in the division. Wednesday saw a match up of Norfolk’s Alex Picard versus the Penguins’ Alex Picard and a shutout victory for goalie Dustin Tokarski. Friday night’s matchup saw the special teams clicking and a great offensive performance. Saturday night Norfolk had the house rocking. Syracuse wanted payback for the beating they took the night before, but the Admirals were not going to give them that satisfaction. Dustin Tokarski is on a roll and looking better every day. Janus stood tall and took home the victory in the shootout. Mike Kostka had his best performance since arriving from San Antonio. Kostka definitely deserves this week’s number one star. The Admirals are looking better every day.

The Week Ahead

The Admirals find themselves on the road with three games in three nights this week. They will be in Binghamton on Friday night, followed by Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday and Sunday.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

Kubina moves on

The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded veteran defenseman Pavel Kubina to the Philadelphia Flyers for a second round pick in 2012 0r 2013, a fourth round pick in 2013 and minor league winger Jon Kalinski. The Lightning now has four second round picks in next years draft.

The Czech defenseman scored seven goals and had 34 points in his second tour of duty with the Lightning covering the past two seasons. He somehow managed to have a rating of +3 in that time, despite Tampa Bay’s cellar dwelling defense.

On Thursday, prior to the morning skate, Kubina was held off the ice and was asked for a list of teams he would be willing to be traded to, all but assuring that he had played his last game as a Bolt.

He was part of the Bolts 2004 Stanley Cup winning team and returned as a free agent in 2010-11. He will be an unrestricted free agent and carries a cap hit of $3.85 million.

*Pavel Kubina photograph courtesy of Susan Ferlita.

Moore traded to Sharks

The Tampa Bay Lightning are sellers now and have traded center Dominic Moore and a seventh round pick in 2012 to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a second round pick in 2012 (acquired by the Sharks from the Minnesota Wild). The Bolts now have three draft picks in the second round of this years draft.

Kevin Allen of USA Today says, “Center Dominic Moore is the style of player every team is looking for heading into the postseason. He’s a gritty grinder who can forecheck aggressively, be a stingy defensive presence and chip in important goals. The Sharks are hoping that Moore will be a piece that moves them closer to getting the job done in the playoffs. He was an integral part of Tampa Bay‘s playoff success last season. The Lightning are trading him only because they weren’t able to re-sign him. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.”

General Manager Steve Yzerman said, “”He’s been a great player for us, a great citizen, a leader. But we felt like a second round pick was very valuable to us.”

Moore, 31, had four goals, 15 assists and 48 penalty minutes in 56 games this season after scoring a career-high 18 goals last year. The Sharks will be his ninth NHL team; he has 67 goals, 112 assists and 179 points in 507 NHL games.

Moore also had three goals and 11 points in 18 playoff games last season.

The Bolts also held defenseman Pavel Kubina out of tonight’s game and have asked him to provide a list of teams he would agree to be traded to.

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The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eleven points. Tampa Bay is in 12th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, eight points out of a playoff spot.

After 55 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 37. He leads the Bolts and is second in the NHL in points with 62. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 34. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +8.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -18. Steve Downie has accumulated 121 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 17 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:13 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 194.

The Lightning have scored 153 goals (9th in the NHL) and allowed 182 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams are far from average. The power play success rate is 13.5% (28th in the NHL) and the penalty kill is at 80.6% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.37% and the average NHL team kills off 82.63% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 20th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49.2% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 52 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Los Angeles Kings 3

Game 53 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – New York Rangers 4 OT

Game 54 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Buffalo Sabres 1

Game 55 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Pittsburgh Penguins 4

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos - Two goals and two assists.

Teddy Purcell – Five assists.

Steve Downie – Three goals.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled and reassigned defenseman Evan Oberg to Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund is most likely out for the year.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Ryan Malone is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Defenseman Matt Gilroy is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts have been playing well, losing just two of their last 11 games, but they were thoroughly embarrassed by the Penguins on Sunday. The 7-2-2 run is simply too little – too late for the Lightning. Tampa Bay is eight points out of a playoff spot and eleven points away from a division championship. 54 points are still out there to be won with 27 games left. The Bolts are still closer to the Eastern Conference cellar than they are to a playoff spot. It looks like the Lightning are sellers and not buyers.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Ottawa on Tuesday. San Jose on Thursday and Washington on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

First up for the Admirals this week was a Friday and Saturday night series against former Admiral Michael Leighton and the Adirondack Phantoms. This was a low scoring affair with only two penalties being called. The Admirals put pressure on the Phantoms all night, but Leighton did not let anything past him. Philip-Michael Devos finally beat Leighton with a nice shot over the glove of Leighton at 3:35 of the second period. This was Devos’ fourth goal since joining the Admirals from the ECHL Florida Everblades. Cory Conacher had the assist.  Both goalies, Dustin Tokarski and Leighton were brick walls the entire game. In the closing minutes the Phantoms pulled Leighton in favor of the extra attacker. Pierre-Cedric Labrie added the insurance with an empty net goal to seal the Admirals 2-0 shutout.

The same two teams went at it on Saturday night, but it wasn’t the same type of game. Pierre-Cedric Labrie started the night with a fight that would set the tone for the rest of the game.  Richard Panik got the scoring rolling with a goal at 2:48 of the first period. Mike Kostka scored on the power play at 5:07 as Mark Barberio picked up his first assist of the night. The Phantoms were called for elbowing Cory Conacher, who immediately made them pay with a goal at 5:07. Barberio got the assist. Three minutes later, Conacher added another goal. He picked up a rebound and buried it past Leighton at 8:20 for his league leading 27^th goal of the season. The Phantoms got on the board at 4:23 of the second period. Mike Angelidis would then pick up his 11^th goal of the season at 3:31 of the third period. The Phantoms answered back 31 seconds later to cut the lead to 5-2. Trevor Smith would score with less than six minutes remaining, but the Phantoms struck once more. The Admirals and Dustin Tokarski shut the Phantoms offense down and Tyler Johnson added one more goal at 17:36 for good measure.Norfolk won 7-3 and swept the 2 game series.

Sunday marked the Admirals third game in as many nights. This time the opponent was the Charlotte Checkers.  Jaroslav Janus would shine in this road tilt. Evan Oberg opened up the scoring in the final minute of the first period. There was a scramble in front of the net, the puck bounced out and Oberg skated in and shot it in the net. Less than two minutes later Cory Conacher made it 2-0 Admirals.Norfolk andCharlotte would remain scoreless for the second and most of the third period.Charlotte ruined Janus’ shutout bid in the final minute.Charlotte pulled their goalie looking for the chance to even things up, but Pierre-Cedric Labrie shot the puck from center ice to the net to seal a 3-1Norfolk win.

Cory Conacher (28G 29A 57Pts +6), Trevor Smith (19G 34A 53Pts +23), and Mark Barberio (6G 35A 41Pts +19) find themselves at op the Admirals scoring list. Conacher now leads the AHL with 28 goals. Dustin Tokarski (21-11-0 2.43GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (9-8-2 3.05GAA) went 1-1.

For the Season the Admirals are 30-18-1-2 with 63 points. They are currently 2 points behind the East Division leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.Norfolkis currently on a 3-0-0-0 streak and is 6-4-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Cory Conacher – Three goals and two assists.

Dustin Tokarski – A shutout, two wins and 39 saves on 42 shots.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Two goals and an assist.

Transactions

Evan Oberg – Recalled from and returned to the Norfolk Admirals (AHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Michel Ouellet – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

It was a great weekend for the Admirals. They picked up all six points and are closing in on the Penguins for the division lead. Goalie Dustin Tokarski played great in both of his games and his partner Jaroslav Janus did well down inCharlotte. Cory Conacher’s play was the highlight of the weekend. He just does not quit. The Phantoms were going after him physically, but he would not back down. After receiving a nasty elbow, which resulted in the offending Phantom being ejected, he came back and scored two in a row. The past two week we have seen some great performances from the team. If this is what the playoffs are going to look like the April playoffs should be interesting.

The Week Ahead

The Admirals open up the week Wednesday night in W-B/Scranton against the Penguins. They will then return to Scope for two games against the Syracuse Crunch.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eight points. Tampa Bay is in 11th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, eight points out of a playoff spot.

After 51 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 34. He leads the Bolts in and is third in the NHL in points with 57. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 33. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with a -16 and has accumulated 119 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 16 wins, a 2.88 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:19 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 181.

The Lightning have scored 145 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 170 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams are far from average. The power play success rate is 13.7% (26th in the NHL) and the penalty kill is at 80.6% (24th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.3% and the average NHL team kills off 82.7% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 21st in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49.3% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 49 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Washington Capitals 3 OT

Game 50 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Winnipeg Jets 2 OT

Game 51 – Tampa Bay Lightning 6 – Florida Panthers 3

Three Stars of the Week

Martin St. Louis – Four goals and two assists.

Steven Stamkos – Two goals and three assists.

Vincent Lecavalier – One goal and three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled and then reassigned Pierre-Cedric Labrie to Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Forward Adam Hall is out with an upper body injury and may return next week.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Ryan Malone is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts are eight points out of a playoff spot and eight points away from a division championship. 62 points are still out there to be won with 31 games left. For the Lightning to get into the postseason tournament, they will probably need to get 44 of those remaining 62 possible points. There are eight more games against divisional foes and the Bolts need to win all of those to have a chance. Realistically, Tampa Bay needs to win the division to make the playoffs. Possible? Yes. Probable? No.

The next handful of games will tell GM Steve Yzerman whether or not he  is a buyer or seller. If he is a seller, look for impending unrestricted free agents Dominic Moore, Ryan Shannon, Adam Hall, Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark, Matt Gilroy, Dwayne Roloson and Bruno Gervais to be offered up to the rest of the NHL.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Los Angeles on Tuesday. They travel to the New York Rangers on Thursday, Buffalo on Saturday and Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

After the All-Star break, Norfolk found itself in Adirondack for a Friday night game against former Admiral Michael Leighton and the Phantoms. The Phantoms claimed an early one goal lead as Leighton baffled the Admirals offense. Adirondack would score once more in the second. Norfolk’s Carter Ashton finally put the Admirals on the board midway through the second period. Unfortunately, Leighton and the Phantoms would shut down the Admirals offense for the rest of the night. The Phantoms would add another goal for insurance and send Norfolk on to Springfield with a 3-1 loss.

Saturday, Springfield goalie Manny Legace was hoping to celebrate his 40^th birthday with a win. Norfolk jumped out to a two goal lead with goals from Evan Oberg and Richard Panik. Springfield struck back with a goal five minutes into the second period. The Admirals Trevor Smith scored twice to make it 4-1. Manny Legace was pulled in favor of backup goalie, Paul Dainton. Dainton was put to the test and surrendered goals to Mark Barberio and Jeff DImmen. Norfolk and Springfield both went scoreless in the third and the Admirals retired for the night with the 6-1 win.

Super Bowl Sunday was not so super for the Admirals. After a goal filled game the previous night, the Admiral fans were hoping to see more of the same offensive power on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately they would be disappointed. Springfield grabbed the early lead, 1-0 after the first period. The Admirals owned the second period as Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Michel Ouelett each scored. Disaster struck in the third as the offense was shut down and the defense mailed the remainder of the game in.Springfield struck three times and took home a 4-2 win.

Cory Conacher (25G 26A 51Pts +4), Trevor Smith (18G 32A 50Pts +21) and Mark Barberio (6G 33A 39Pts +16) find themselves at the top of the Ad’s scoring list. Conacher was unusually quiet this weekend with just two assists. Goaltender Dustin Tokarski (19-11-0 2.50GAA) went 1-1 this week while Jaroslav Janus (8-8-2 3.16GAA) went 0-1.

For the Season the Admirals are 27-18-1-2 with 57 points. They are currently six points behind the East Division leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Norfolk is currently on a 0-1-0-0 streak and is 5-5-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Trevor Smith – Two goals and three assists.

Evan Oberg – One goal and three assists.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – One goal and two assists.

Transactions

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Returned to the Norfolk Admirals (AHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Alexandre Picard – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

The second half of the season is in full swing. Norfolk finds itself in fifth place in the division. The Admirals need every point that they can get. This road swing was brutal as they gave up four out of a possible six points and fell three more points behind the Penguins. It does not look like the Penguins or the Hershey Bears are going to make this any easier for Norfolk. Adirondack will be in town this weekend and the Admirals need to play every game like it’s a playoff game. They played like that at home against the Bears, but it seems that they play down to their competition. It is high time that the Admirals snap out of it and play each game like it is their last!

The Week Ahead

The Admirals play a weekend series at home against the Adirondack Phantoms this Friday and Saturday night.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by ten points. Tampa Bay is in 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, nine points out of a playoff spot.

After 47 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 32. He leads the Bolts in and is second in the NHL in points with 52. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 30. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with a -17 and has accumulated 111 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 13 wins, a 2.95 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:23 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 163.

The Lightning have scored 130 goals (11th in the NHL) and allowed 160 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts futile special teams got even worse this past week. The power play success rate is 13.3% (28th in the NHL) and the penalty kill is at 79.6% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.3% and the average NHL team kills off 82.8% of their penalties successfully. Currently, the Lightning is mired in a 4-41 power play drought, including a 1-34 road power play skid.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49.1% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 45 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Boston Bruins 3

Game 46 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Dallas Stars 1

Game 47 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Phoenix Coyotes 3

Three Stars of the Week

Martin St. Louis – One goal and four assists.

Teddy Purcell – Three goals.

Vincent Lecavalier – One goal and three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning reassigned defenseman Evan Oberg to Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Forwards JT Wyman is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Adam Hall is out with an upper body injury.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Ryan Malone is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Steve Downie is day to day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts went 3-0 this past week with two straight road wins. The playoffs are not out of the question, but with 35 games remaining, the Bolts are nine points out of the last playoff spot and they need to jump over five teams. The injury list is long and the AHL call ups are many. Tampa Bay should get much healthier after Tuesday’s game when the league will fall silent during the All-Star break. The Lightning look like they will stand pat and not look for help through trades. Dwayne Roloson is now clearly the backup goalie to Mathieu Garon, but that could change at any moment as Tampa Bay has pulled its starting goalie a total of nine times through 47 games.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Columbus on Tuesday before the All-Star break.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

First up for the Admirals this past week was the Albany Devils. The Devils have won all previous meetings with Norfolk this year. Albany struck first and built a 3-1 lead after one period of play. Cory Conacher scored the lone Admiral goal. The Admirals scored twice early in the second with goals from Evan Oberg and Mark Barberio. Albany would score their last goal of the night in the second before surrendering two more goals to Michel Ouellet and Admirals Captain, Mike Angelidis. Both teams went scoreless in the third period. Despite the rough first period, the Admirals were able to battle back for the 5-4 win. Dustin Tokarski played well, with the exception of the first period.

The Admirals moved on to Syracuse, New York for a Friday night matchup against the Syracuse Crunch. Once again Norfolk dug themselves a big hole. At the end of two periods it was six goals for the Crunch and a big goose egg for Norfolk. At the beginning of the third period goalie Jaroslav Janus was pulled in favor of Dustin Tokarski. Mike Angelidis and Richard Panik scored goals, but it was not enough to win the game.Syracuse took home the 6-3 victory and sent Norfolk on a nice bus ride to Connecticut.

It was just a week ago that Connecticut and Norfolk met down in Virginia. The Admirals won both of the games at Scope and were hoping to add one more in Connecticut. This game was very similar to the two previous matches as Norfolk found themselves down 3-1 at the end of one. Dustin Tokarski was pulled after surrendering three goals on three shots. Tyler Johnson scored the lone Admiral goal. Ondrej Palat would cut the lead to 3-2 with the lone goal of the second period. Carter Ashton opened the scoring in the third to tie the game at three. Cory Conacher would put the Admirals ahead 18 seconds later to give Norfolk the 4-3 lead. Less than two minutes laterSyracuse would tie the game and send it to overtime. After a scoreless overtime period a shootout took place. It took ten rounds to complete the shootout, but in the end Richard Panik secured the 5-4 win for the Admirals.

Cory Conacher (24G 22A 46Pts +3) and Mark Barberio (5G 32A 37Pts +16) find themselves at the top of the Admirals in scoring. Conacher leads the AHL in goals scored and is fifth overall in scoring. Carter Ashton (16G 14A 30Pts +7) is holding on to fourth place in scoring. Dustin Tokarski (17-9-0 2.53GAA) was pulled from the Connecticut game after allowing three goals on three shots. Jaroslav Janus (8-6-2 3.17GAA) went 1-1 this week.

For the Season the Admirals are 25-14-1-2 with 53 points. They are currently two points behind the East Division leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.Norfolk is currently on a 1-0-0-0 streak and is 5-3-1-1 in their last ten games.

Angelidis leads the way for the Admirals

Three Stars of the Week

Mike Angelidis – Three goals.

Cory Conacher – Two goals and an assist.

Mark Barberio – One goal and an assist.

Transactions

Trevor Smith – Recalled to the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Kevin Quick – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

Charles Landry – Returned to the Norfolk Admirals (AHL).

Evan Oberg – Returned to theNorfolk Admirals (AHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Lately the Admirals have let the opposition build an early lead. In all three games this week Norfolk had to fight back from two to three goal deficits. They lost one, won one in regulation and won in the tenth round of a shootout. Even with the call ups missing from the lineup they still have a potent offense and it shows. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Tampa Bay not only has a goalie situation in the NHL, but the AHL netminding isn’t looking that good either. You can look at the stats and say that Tokarski isn’t having a bad season, but what you see on paper is not always what you see on the ice. He need some work before the Bolts bring him up.

The Week Ahead

Next up for the Admirals is a three-game home stand starting Tuesday night against the Charlotte Checkers followed by a Friday and Saturday night series against the Hershey Bears.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fifth (last) place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Washington Capitals by twelve points. Tampa Bay is in 15th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, twelve points out of a playoff spot.

After 44 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 30. He leads the Bolts in points with 50 (third in the NHL). Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 25. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with an alarming -19 and has accumulated 107 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 11 wins, a 2.94 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:18 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 152.

The Lightning have scored 119 goals (12th in the NHL) and allowed 153 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams remain bad. The power play success rate is 14.1% (26th in the NHL) and the penalty kill is at 78.9% (26th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.3% and the average NHL team kills off 82.7% of their penalties successfully. Currently, the Lightning is mired in a 4-41 power play drought, including a 1-34 road power play skid.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 41 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Vancouver Canucks 5 SO

Game 42 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Carolina Hurricanes 5

Game 43 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Washington Capitals 4

Game 44 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Pittsburgh Penguins 6

Three Stars of the Week

Vincent Lecavalier – One goal and four assists.

Martin St. Louis – Five assists.

Steven Stamkos – One goal and three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning announced a two year-one way contract extension for $600,000 per year for forward Tom Pyatt.

The Lightning called up forward Trevor Smith from Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Forwards JT Wyman is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Adam Hall is out 6-8 weeks with an upper body injury.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Dana Tyrell is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts went 0-4 this past week. Tampa Bay has dropped their last seven games and nine of their last twelve. They are at the bottom of the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference. They are 27th of the 30 NHL teams. Tampa Bay is an awful road team going 6-16-3 so far in 2012.

The numbers don’t lie. The Lightning are a last place team with a brutally bad defense and ineffective goaltending. Of the 77 NHL goalies that have suited up this season, Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson rank 58th and 72nd in goals against average respectively. The duo is 58th and 71st in save percentage.

While many believe this is a team that has the ability to come back after trailing…don’t believe it! The Bolts have won only 26% of the games when they have trailed in the first period.

The Lightning is giving up 31 shots per game on average, while getting 28 shots on goal.

At this point, Tampa Bay looks like a seller, but one without much to offer. GM Steve Yzerman will not trade a prospect, as one player, not even a goalie can save the season.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Boston on Tuesday, travels to Dallas on Friday and Phoenix on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals faced off for a rare Tuesday night meeting with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins at home in the “friendly” confines of the Norfolk Scope. The previous meeting, a week ago, resulted in a win for the Admirals. This meeting would not be as nice as the Penguins had revenge on their minds.  Paul Thompson and Ben Street of the Penguins would give the Baby Pens an early 3-0 lead in the first period. Michel Ouellett and Radko Gudas would get the Admirals on the board in the second. Unfortunately for the Admirals these would their only goals of the night. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held Norfolk scoreless the rest of the way and went home with the 3-2 win.

Next, the Connecticut Whale and Sean Avery arrived in town for a weekend series with the Admirals. The Fans were disappointed when Avery was scratched for disciplinary reasons. The Admirals were not focused on the former NHL bad-boy, but instead, focused on the game and getting two points. Mike Kostka opened up the scoring midway into the first period. Cory Conacher added another goal early in the second period. Matt Fornataro score five minutes later to put the Ad’s up 3-0. The Admirals shut-out was ruined as Aaron Voros put the puck past Admirals netminder, Dustin Tokarski. The Voros goal would be the Whales’s only score as the Admirals shut down the Whale for the 3-1 win.

The Whale and the Admirals were back at it on Saturday night for Norfolk’s annual “Pink in the Rink” night to benefit the Susan G. Komen Cure for Cancer and Breast Cancer Awareness. A season high crowd of 7,227 was on hand to see the game and the bonus was an appearance by Sean Avery. The night was Richard Panik’s night as he gave Whale goalie, Cameron Talbot, a “Panik Attack”. Panik opened up the scoring with a goal in the first and another midway thru the second period to give Norfolk a 2-0 lead. Kelsey Tessier and Aaron Voros would score later in the second to tie the game at two each. Mike Kostka and Matt Fornataro would combine to put Norfolk ahead early in the third period. Fornataro deflected Kostka’s pass past Talbot for his second goal in two nights. Mike Angelidis added the insurance goal late in the third.Norfolk won the game 4-2 and swept the Whale.

Trevor Smith (16G 28A 44Pts +17) and Cory Conacher (22G 21A 43Pts +7) find themselves at the top of Norfolk’s scoring list. Smith and Conacher continue to keep moving forward. Mark Barberio (4G 31A 35Pts +20) leads all Norfolk defensemen and is in third place amongst all Admirals in scoring. Carter Ashton (15G 13A 28Pts +9) is seriously falling behind the leaders, but maintains a hold on fourth place in scoring. Dustin Tokarski (16-9-0 2.9GAA) went 2-1 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-5-2 3.04GAA) did not play this week.

For the Season the Admirals are 23-13-1-2 with 49 points. They are currently 6 points behind the East Division leading Hershey Bears. Norfolkis currently on a 2-0-0-0 streak and is 6-2-1-1 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Richard Panik – Two goals.

Mike Kostka  – One goal and two assists.

Mark Barberio – Three assists.

Transactions

Kevin Quick – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

Charles Landry – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Tuesday night was not pretty. The Penguins totally outplayed Norfolk. While the score on paper looked close, it was nowhere near that. Friday and Saturday the Admirals played like they played at the beginning of the season. I don’t know what went on in practice, but whatever they discussed they were on point this weekend. Mark Barberio is having a great season. He is all over the place on the ice and holds the defense together. Richard Panik has shown what he is capable of doing, but needs to keep doing it on a regular basis.

Sean Avery lived up to his reputation. He was scratched from the first game for disciplinary reasons. He was spotted out on the town sitting at a bar being ignored by fellow members of the Whale. During warm-ups on Saturday night he was heckled and challenged a few of the hecklers to come on the ice. During the game he would argue with the referees, slashed an Admirals player, and got tossed for abusing the officials. Yes, he definitely lived up to his reputation. Even though he was very entertaining, I wouldn’t want him on my team.

The Week Ahead

Next up for the Admirals is a three-game road trip starting Wednesday night in Albany, N.Y.against the Devils, Friday night against the Syracuse Crunch, and a rematch with the Whale on Saturday night in Connecticut.

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The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eleven points. Tampa Bay is in 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, nine points out of a layoff spot.

After 40 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 28. He leads the Bolts in points with 43. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 21. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +7. Steve Downie is last in rating with an alarming -17.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with an alarming -17 and has accumulated 100 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 11 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:14 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 139.

The Lightning have scored 107 goals (17th in the NHL) and allowed 134 goals (28th in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams are awful. The power play success rate is at a season low 13.77% (27th in the NHL) and the penalty kill slipped below 80% at 79.50% (23rd in the NHL). The Bolts are in the middle of an appalling 1-34 road power play skid.Tampa Bay is 25th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 48.5% of their draws.

Tampa Bay has won 11 of 16 games at the Tampa Bay Times Forum and six of 24 games on the road.

Box Scores

Game 38 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Toronto Maple Leafs 7

Game 39 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Ottawa Senators 4

Game 40 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Montreal Canadiens 3

Three Stars of the Week

Vincent Lecavalier – Two goals and an assist.

Steven Stamkos – Two goals.

Dominic Moore – Two assists.

Transactions

Tampa Bay acquired defenseman Brendan Mikkelson from Calgary for forward Blair Jones.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie was recalled by the Lightning.

Forward Brett Connolly returned from Team Canada.

The Lightning announce a two year-one way contract extension for $600,000 per year for forward Tom Pyatt.

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Forwards JT Wyman and Adam Hall are day-to-day with upper body injuries.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts went 0-3 this past week. At the mid-season mark, Tampa Bay is in trouble. They are nine points out of a playoff spot with four teams to jump over to get into the postseason tournament. The Lightning plays nine of its next 12 games at home and must go on a run to maintain hopes of a playoff appearance in 2012. The Bolts have lost 18 road games, only two less than their total road losses last season.

The first half MVP is superstar Steven Stamkos. The Tampa Bay sniper has a NHL best 28 goals and is on pace for another 50 goal season. The 21 year old center has grabbed hold of a leadership role with the team and is playing a more physical game, getting to the front of the net and battling for “garbage” goals.

The biggest disappointment  of the first half is $3 million goaltender Dwayne Roloson, who is 6-9 with a 3.76 goals against average and an .881 save percentage, last and second to last in the NHL respectively.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Vancouver on Tuesday and  Carolina on Thursday. The Bolts travel to Washington on Friday before hosting Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

On Wednesday night, the Norfolk Admirals faced off against division rivals, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Pennsylvania. The normally tough Brad Thiessen was just not himself. The Admirals beat Thiessen three times in the third period. Richard Panik, Cory Conacher, and Radko Gudas  all lit the lamp to give Norfolk a 3-0 lead. The Penguins put their only goal of the night in the second frame. Cory Conacher would get his second of the night in the third and Mike Angelidis put things to bed with the Admirals fifth goal of the night. Dustin Tokarski stopped 20 of 21 shots in theNorfolk 5-1 win.

Friday night had the Admirals and Albany Devils squaring off at the Norfolk Scope. Norfolkdominated the first two periods with goals from Mark Barberio, Carter Ashton, Trevor Smith, and Evan Oberg. Halfway thru the third period Norfolk fell asleep and Albany started their comeback. The Devils would score four unanswered goals and send the game to overtime.Albany finished the Admirals off with a goal at 3:31 of the overtime period for the 5-4 win.

The Devils were back on Saturday night and set the tone early. Stephane Veilleux of the Devils slashed Cory Conacher as the teams lined up for the opening face-off. If they were trying to intimidate the Admirals, it worked.Albanydominated the entire game. They scored their first goal in the first and added two more in the second.Norfolkwas only able to put one goal on the board from Richard Panik. With the 3-1 win the Devils have now won all four meetings of the season.

Trevor Smith (16G 28A 44Pts +18) and Cory Conacher (2G 20A 41Pts +7) find themselves at the top for scoring. Smith and Conacher are 3^rd and 5^th in scoring in the AHL.  Mark Barberio (4G 28A 32Pts +18) leads allNorfolk defensemen and is in third place amongst all Admirals in scoring. Carter Ashton (15G 12A 27Pts +9) continues to hold onto fourth place.  Dustin Tokarski (14-8-0 2.45GAA) went 1-1 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-5-2 3.04GAA) lost in his only start this week to the Albany Devils.

For the Season the Admirals are 21-12-1-2 with 45 points. They are currently four points behind the East Division leading Hershey Bears.Norfolkis currently on a 0-1-1-0 streak and is 5-3-1-1 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Cory Conacher  – Two goals and an assist.

Trevor Smith – One goal and four assists.

Richard Panik – Two goals.

Transactions

Evan Oberg – Returned by theTampaBay Lightning.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Recalled by theTampaBay Lightning.

Injuries

Alexander Picard – Undisclosed injury – Day to day

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed injury – Day to day

Kevin Quick – Lower body injury – Day to day

An Observation from the Stands

One of the big issues Norfolk has had in the past is starting slowely after the Christmas break. The Admirals have played six games and lost three of them. You can attribute the losses to bad breaks, penalties, carelessness, or flat out being outplayed. At the end of the day none of these excuses matter. A loss is a loss and losing those points will matter at the end of the season. The last two games against Albanywere terrible performances by the Admirals. In the first game they built a four goal lead and lost it in the final 15 minutes. The following game they let the Devils walk all over them.Albanyhas won all four meetings with the Admirals this season. It’s time forNorfolkto wake up and beat them.

The Week Ahead

The Admirals remain home for three games this week. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will be in town for a rare Tuesday night game. Sean Avery and the Connecticut Whale come to town Friday and Saturday night.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by ten points. Tampa Bay is in 12th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, six points out of a layoff spot.

After 37 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 26. He leads the Bolts in points with 43 (4th in the NHL). Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 20. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +12.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 80 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has 11 wins, a 2.73 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:18 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 128.

The Lightning have scored 102 goals (13th in the NHL) and allowed 120 goals (25th in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams still need work. The power play success rate is 14.7% (24th in the NHL) and the penalty kill slipped to 80.1% (24th in the NHL). Tampa Bay is 25th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 48.8% of their draws.

Tampa Bay has won 11 of 16 games at the Tampa Bay Times Forum and six of 21 games on the road.

Box Scores

Game 35 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Philadelphia Flyers 1

Game 36 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Montreal Canadiens 3

Game 37 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Carolina Hurricanes 2

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Six goals.

Martin St. Louis – Six assists.

Steve Downie – Two goals and five assists.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg from Norfolk for the sixth time this season.

The Lightning announced the signing of Norfolk forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie to a two year, two way contract.

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Forward Nate Thompson is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Bolt Notes

Tampa Bay got just what they needed this week. The Bolts went 3-0 and accumulated six out of a possible six points. The Lightning has won five of their last seven games. The offense is clicking as they averaged over four goals per game and gave up only two goals per game. Goalie Mathieu Garon sparkled with three wins, a 2.00 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. Superstar Steven Stamkos jumped to the top of the NHL goal scoring race, netting six goals in three games to give him 26 on the year. Martin St. Louis is back and better than ever after a facial fracture. He had six helpers this week. Ryan Malone had a three assist game Saturday night versus Carolina and recent call up JT Wyman scored his first NHL goal and garnered two points this week.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay is at Toronto on Tuesday, at Ottawa on Thursday and at Montreal on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals returned to action after the Christmas break with a Wednesday night game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Bridgeport opened up the scoring eight minutes into the first period. This would be their only goal of the night as the Admirals defense shut the Sound Tigers down. Norfolk would get two goals in the second period from Mike Kostka and Philip-Micheal Devos. This would be all that the Admirals needed to secure the 2-1 victory. Both teams went scoreless in the defensive third period. Dustin Tokarski  was stellar in net turning aside 26 of the 27 shots.

Friday night saw the Admirals and Sound Tigers back in action once more at the Scope. Norfolk dominated the first and second periods. Cory Conacher and Matt Fornataro would score in the opening period. Tyler Johnson would add another in the second frame. The Admirals found themselves in penalty trouble in the third period and Bridgeport capitalized on those mistakes. The Sound Tigers scored two quick power play goals before the Admirals were able to recover. Bridgeport continued to put on the pressure, but Tokarski answered back and the Admirals held on for the 3-2 win. Bridgeport winger, Tomas Marcinko was injured when Jean-Philippe Cote of the Admirals was pushed to the ice.Cote’s skate came up and caught Marcinko in the neck. Marcinko was rushed to aNorfolk hospital and required surgery. Marcinko is back with Bridgeport and recovering from his injury.

Norfolk was in Hershey on Saturday for a New Year’s Eve match against the division leading Bears.  Ondrej Palat opened the scoring in the first period for the Admirals. Hershey would strike back in the second. Norfolk found themselves on the power play twice, but the defense failed as the Bears would get two shorthanded goals to take a 2-1 lead into the locker room. Mike Kostka tied the game in the third and sent the game to overtime. Both teams failed to score in the overtime frame and that brought on the shootout. Braden Holtby stopped all five of the Norfolk shooters, while Jaroslav Janus stopped all but Keith Aucoin. Aucoin’s shootout goal secured the 3-2 Bear win.

Trevor Smith (15G 24A 39Pts +17) and Cory Conacher (19G 19A 38Pts +6) find themselves atop the Admirals scoring list. Mark Barberio (3G 26A 29Pts +19) leads all Norfolk defensemen and is in third place among all Admirals in scoring. Carter Ashton (14G 11A 25Pts +9) continues to hold onto fourth place.  Dustin Tokarski (13-7-0 2.40GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-4-2 3.04GAA) lost the shootout decision against the Bears on Saturday.

For the Season the Admirals are 20-11-0-2 with 42 points. They are currently 2 points behind the East Division leading Hershey Bears. Norfolk is currently on a 4-0-0-1 streak and is 7-2-0-1 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Mike Kostka - Two goals, one assist, a +1 rating and seven shots on goal.

Kostka is the first star of the week

Dustin Tokarski – Two wins in two games and stopped 53 of 56 shots.

Cory Conacher  – One goal, two assists and a +1 rating.

Transactions

J.T. Wyman – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Evan Oberg – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Charles Landry – Assigned to the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) from the Florida Everblades (ECHL)

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Signed to a two-way NHL contract by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Injuries

Alexander Picard – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Pierre-Cedric Labrie– Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Kevin Quick – Lower Body Injury – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Norfolk has a bad habit of coming back from the holiday break and losing a few. Coach Cooper must have had a good talk with them before the first game and they came out hungry for a win. The games against Bridgeport were solid games. If there is one thing that they still need to work on, it is taking to many penalties. They have to cut down or it will come back and bite them in the rear end.  Dustin Tokarski and the defense played great games againstBridgeport. The Admirals truly deserved the wins.

Saturday’s loss against the division leading Bears was a result of a defensive collapse. The defense that played well on Wednesday and Friday failed to show up in Hershey. Having the man advantage usually benefits a team, but not the Admirals. Twice they allowed shorthanded goals to the league’s top offensive team. Not a good night for the boys. It is time to tighten their belts and get things together. We are all looking for a nice long run, deep into the playoffs this year. Time to get things going guys!

The Week Ahead

The Admirals find themselves on the road Wednesday night in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a match against the Penguins. Norfolk returns home for a Friday and Saturday night set against the Albany Devils.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by twelve points. Tampa Bay has fallen to 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference.

After 34 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with 20 (1st in the NHL) and points with 37. Marc-Andre Bergeron is tops in assists with 19. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +10.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 76 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has eight wins, a 2.84 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson has become the number two goalie, struggling with six wins, a 3.72 goals against average and an .883 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:08 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 118.

The Lightning have scored 88 goals (15th in the NHL) and allowed 114 goals (28th in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams were awful this week. The power play success rate fell t0 14.3% (25th in the NHL) and the penalty kill slipped to 80.7% (25th in the NHL).

Box Scores

Game 33 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – San Jose Sharks 7

Game 34 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Colorado Avalanche 2 OT

Three Stars of the Week

Martin St. Louis – One goal and one assist.

Pavel Kubina – One goal.

Dominic Moore – One goal.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg and forward JT Wyman from Norfolk and then reassigned Oberg to the Admirals. This was the fifth time this month that Oberg was reassigned.

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Matt Gilroy is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Forward Nate Thompson is day-to-day with a lower body injury and is slated to return on Tuesday.

Bolt Notes

Tampa Bay was embarrassed by San Jose early in the week, then played well versus the Avalanche, but still lost in overtime. They have now lost 12 of their last 18 games and are eight points out of a playoff spot with five teams to jump over. A daunting task, to be certain, with 48 games left.

The Bolts remain woefully inconsistent. The defense and goaltending are struggling mightily. Injuries are hurting the blue line as the Bolts are playing with only six healthy defensemen. Five of the seven defensemen have negative +/- ratings, with Victor Hedman and Brett Clark  ”leading” the way with a -12 and a -11 rating respectively.

Many are calling for GM Steve Yzerman to “do something” to help his club, but it is very difficult to work a trade this early in the season because most teams still do not know if they are buyers or sellers yet.

The measure of an NHL GM and organization  is how they handle adversity. Last season, almost everything fell into place and it looked relatively easy to the Lightning faithful. Now that the road to the playoffs has become rocky, Yzerman and the Bolts brass have an opportunity to show their mettle.

Tampa Bay must go on a run immediately following the Christmas break. The schedule favors them as 12 of the next 18 games are on home ice.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Philadelphia on Tuesday, Montreal on Thursday and Carolina on Saturday.

Are you looking for The Quarterdeck Log? Ken will be back when the AHL break is over next week.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by ten points. Tampa Bay has fallen to 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference.

After 32 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with 20 (1st in the NHL) and points with 37. Marc-Andre Bergeron is tops in assists with 19. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +12.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 72 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has eight wins, a 2.75 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson is still struggling with six wins, a 3.67 goals against average and an .882 save percentage.

Defenseman Victor Hedman leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:04 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 114.

The Lightning have scored 85 goals (15th in the NHL) and allowed 105 goals (28th in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams numbers were a mixed bag this week. The power play improved slightly and is clicking at 15.3% (23rd in the NHL). The penalty kill slipped to a success rate of 81.2% (22nd in the NHL).

Box Scores

Game 30 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – New Jersey Devils 5

Game 31 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Calgary Flames 4 OT

Game 32 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Columbus Blue Jackets 2

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Four goals and three assists.

Blair Jones – Two goals, and an assist.

Dana Tyrell  – Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning signed former Stars and Wild forward Antti Mietinen to a two year, one way contract. He was then claimed off waivers by the Winnipeg Jets.

The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg from Norfolk, returned him and then recalled him again.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Forward Martin St. Louis has facial and nasal fractures from getting hit with an errant shot in warm ups. He has been cleared to start working out but remains out indefinitely.

Defenseman Matt Gilroy is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Forward Nate Thompson is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Bolt Notes

After losing to the Devils earlier in the week, the Bolts won two straight and added four points to their season total. This is the first time since Thanksgiving that Tampa Bay has won two straight.

Steven Stamkos is on fire. He had seven points in the three games this week (4G,3A) and looks to be taking more of a leadership role with the absence of his injured mentor Martin St. Louis.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay is at San Jose on Wednesday and at Colorado on Friday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals opened up their week with a Friday night match at home against the Hershey Bears. The Bears dominated the Admirals for the first period and half of the second. They capitalized on two Norfolk penalties and jumped ahead with a 2-0 lead. Trevor Smith would put the Admirals on board with his 14^th goal of the season at 16:38 of the second. Hershey would answer back in the closing minutes of the second period. Norfolk would score twice in the third with goals from  Cory Conacher and Pierre-Cedric Labrie, but Hershey  scored to keep the lead and secure the win. Dustin Tokarski did not have his best night, letting in two soft goals that he should have stopped.

On Saturday the Admirals found themselves in Pennsylvaniato take on the East Division leading WB/S Penguins. The Admirals jumped out to an early lead with goals from Matt Fornataro and Carter Ashton  in the first period. The Penguins would answer back with a goal towards the end of the period and one to tie the game up at two early in the second. Tyler Johnson, Cory Conacher, and Michel Ouellet would put the Admirals ahead for good. Norfolk took their 5-2 victory and set sail for Hershey.

Norfolk was in Hershey for their second Sunday. They fell to the Bears last week and on Friday night back at the Norfolk Scope. The Admirals found themselves on the penalty kill two times to many early in the first. The Bears took advantage of the situation and put two goals up on the board. Michel Ouellet would score, but the Bears quickly regained the lead on a Chris Bourque goal with four seconds left in the first. Both teams were scoreless in the second period. The Admirals came alive and dominated the third period. The defense held the Bears scoreless while the offense lit the lamp five teams in the final period. The Admirals saw goals from J.T. Wyman, Philip-Michael Devos, Trevor Smith, Richard Panik, and Tyler Johnson. Mark Barberio is quietly racking up the point and had three assists.  Jaroslav Janus was solid in net as the Admirals coasted to a 6-3 win.

Michel Ouelette is Norfolk's first star of the week

Trevor Smith (15G 22A 37Pts +17) and Cory Conacher (18G 17A 35Pts +5) find themselves at the top of the Admirals scoring race. Mark Barberio (3G 23A 26Pts +19) leads all Norfolk defensemen in scoring and has moved ahead of forward Carter Ashton (14G 10A 24Pts +8).  Dustin Tokarski (11-7-0 2.50GAA) went 1-1 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-4-1 3.14GAA) had a solid performance against the Bears on Sunday.

For the Season the Admirals are 18-11-3-2 with 37 points. They are currently in a three way tie for first in the East Division with the Hershey Bears and the WB/S Penguins. Evan Oberg was returned from Tampa Bay and is accumulating the air miles, but not getting any time on the ice.Norfolkis currently on a 2-0-0-0 streak and is 7-3-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Michel Ouelette – Two goals and two assists.

Trevor Smith – Two goals and two assists

Mark Barberio – Five assists and a +6 rating.

Transactions

Evan Oberg – Returned from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Charles Landry – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

J P Cote – Signed to an AHL contract.

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed injury – Day-to-day

Kevin Quick – Lower body injury – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Playing against the Hershey Bears is never fun. For some reason the Admirals always struggle against them. The Friday night game was no exception. The Hershey Bears have one of the top rated power play and penalty kill units in the AHL. The Admirals got themselves in trouble and let the Bears power play have at them. While the offense managed to mount a comeback, their efforts were not enough to win the game. Tokarski dropped another game and allowed two soft goals. If the fans inTampaBayare looking for some help in goal I would suggest they look elsewhere, Tokarski is not ready for the NHL.

The Admirals redeemed themselves on Saturday against the Penguins. Tokarski got the start and played like a good AHL goalie; nothing fancy just a solid AHL performance. I don’t know what happened between Norfolk and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but whatever was said or done had an impact on the team. It was a great overall performance.

In the opening period of Sunday’s game, the Admirals put forth another dismal performance. The Bears quickly jumped on the Admirals, going up 3-1. The second period was a defensive struggle with no one scoring. Then something must have clicked.Norfolkcame alive and scored five unanswered goals and took home a rare win in Hershey. Janus was solid in net and the Admirals saw more goals from the role players rather than the stars. It was a great win for the Admirals.

The Week Ahead

Norfolk will enjoy the Christmas break, as their next game will be against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on December 28 at the Norfolk Scope.

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The Lightning are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eleven points. Tampa Bay has fallen to 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference.

After 29 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with 16 (4th in the NHL) and points with 30. Marc-Andre Bergeron is tops in assists with 19. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 67 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has six wins, a 2.70 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson has six wins, a 3.55 goals against average and an .886 save percentage.

Defenseman Victor Hedman leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:04 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 102.

The Lightning have scored 73 goals (20th in the NHL) and allowed 94 goals (27th in the NHL). The Bolts special teams numbers took a dive again this week. The power play is clicking just 14.7% (24th in the NHL) of the time. The penalty kill is successful 82.0% (18th in the NHL) of the time.

Box Scores

Game 26 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Ottawa Senators 4

Game 27 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – New York Islanders 5

Game 28 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – New York Rangers 2 SO

Game 29 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Philadelphia Flyers 5

Three Stars of the Week

Martin St. Louis – Two goals.

Dominic Moore – One goal, a shootout goal and an assist.

Steven Stamkos  – Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning loaned forward Brett Connolly to Canada’s World Junior Team.

The Lightning called up newly acquired defenseman Evan Oberg and then returned him to Norfolk.

The Lightning called up forward Blair Jones.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year may be questionable.

Defenseman Pavel Kubina is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Forward Martin St. Louis has facial and nasal fractures from getting hit with an errant shot in warm ups. He is out indefinitely.

Bolt Notes

Following a brutal, three loss week, the slumping Lightning went on a four-game road trip through Ottawa, Long Island, New York and Philadelphia. The Bolts garnered just two of a possible eight points during that trek.

Tampa Bay has now lost ten of their last 14 games, including six of their last seven.

The Lightning has only three players with a positive +/- rating. The defense has been horrific as Victor Hedman, Eric Brewer, Brett Clark and Bruno Gervais have a combined -26 rating.

The goaltending duo of Roloson and Garon had a terrible week, with a 4.00 goals against average and an .881 save percentage.

The offense remained anemic as the Bolts could only muster seven goals in four games.

Despite the awful numbers, the Bolts are just five points out of a playoff spot with 53 games to play. It may not be time to panic, but this team needs help, especially on the blue line. Without any real help in Norfolk and Mattias Ohlund suffering a setback in his rehab, look for GM Steve Yzerman to make a move to bolster the blue line.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay is home versus New Jersey on Monday and hosts Calgary on Thursday. They finish the week at Columbus on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals wrapped up a three game road trip against division rivals Binghamton and Hershey. First up on Friday were the Senators.Norfolk struck first on Michel Ouelette first goal in his first game after a lengthy injury. The Senators would follow up with their only goal of the night to make it 1-1. The second period was all Admirals. Matt Fornataro, Mike Kostka, and Cory Conacher scored to make it 4-1. Trevor Smith sealed the victory with his goal in the third.

Saturday’s match had Trevor Smith lighting the lamp to get the scoring started. Former Admiral, Rob Klinkhammer, responded for the Senators. Cory Conacher and Trevor Johnson put the Admirals up 3-1 in the second. The Senators opened up the third, but Conacher and JT Wyman sealed the 5-2 victory forNorfolk.

Norfolk found itself inChocolate Town, Hershey,PA on Sunday. They quickly got themselves in trouble as Hershey capitalized on two Norfolk penalties. Cory Conacher would cut that lead in half, but Hershey found them on the power-play once more and scored the third power-play goal of the period. The Bears added one more goal for good measure to make it a 4-1 first period lead for the Bears. The Admirals bounced back in the second with goals from Trevor Smith and Tyler Johnson. Hershey put the clamps down in the third, stopped the Admiral offense and added two more goals to take a 6-3 victory.

Trevor Smith (13G 20A 33Pts +17) and Cory Conacher (16G 16A 32Pts +41) find themselves at the top for scoring. Carter Ashton (13G 9A 22Pts +6) follows closely behind. Cory Conacher maintains his hold as the scoring leader for all AHL rookies. Mark Barberio (3G 18A 21Pts +13) leads all Norfolk defensemen in scoring.  Dustin Tokarski (10-6-0 2.43GAA) found his 5 game winning streak snapped Sunday Night against the Bears.  Jaroslav Janus (6-4-1 3.16GAA) had a victory against Binghamton this week.

For the Season the Admirals are 14-7-3-2 with 33 points. They are currently in a three way tie for first in the East Division with the Hershey Bears and the WB/S Penguins. Evan Oberg was returned from Tampa Bay, while Blair Jones found himself recalled to the big club. Norfolk is currently on a 0-1-0-0 streak and is 6-4-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Cory Conacher – Four goals and three assists

Tyler Johnson – Three goals and four assists.

Michel Ouelette – One goal in his return from a lengthy injury.

Transactions

Evan Oberg – Returned from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Blair Jones – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day–to-day

Kevin Quick – Lower body injury – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Playing against the division cellar dwellers is not a guaranteed win. The Admirals usually seem to have difficulty with teams that are struggling. They proved me wrong Friday and Saturday with 5-1 and 5-2 wins respectively. Granted, the Senators were not up to full strength, but a win against someone in your division is a big win. A bit of trivia … former Admirals and current Senator, Mike McKenna, has never won a game in goal against the Admirals.

Sunday had the Admirals playing the Bears. The Bears have the top power play unit in the AHL. Norfolk must have missed out on the briefing and promptly gave up three power play goals to the Bears. While they did fight back to within a goal, they caved in the third period and lost 6-2. Norfolk cannot afford to lose to Hershey. They have to solve the puzzle or they are going to find themselves out of the playoffs early. They will see Hershey two more times this upcoming week.

The Week Ahead

Norfolk returns home for a Friday night game against the Hershey Bears. Saturday and Sunday find Norfolk traveling to WB/S Penguins and the Hershey Bears.

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The Lightning are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eight points. Tampa Bay has fallen to 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference.

After 25 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with 16 (2nd in the NHL) and points with 26. Marc-Andre Bergeron is tops in assists with 17. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +7.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 51 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has five wins, a 2.47 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson has six wins, a 3.51 goals against average and an .887 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 22:56 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 89.

The Lightning have scored 66 goals (17th in the NHL) and allowed 78 goals (23rd in the NHL). The Bolts power play suffered this week and now is clicking just 15.9% (19th in the NHL) of the time. The penalty kill is successful 83.5% (14th in the NHL) of the time.

Box Scores

Game 23 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Minnesota Wild 3

Game 24 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Detroit Red Wings 4

Game 25 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – New York Rangers 4

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Three goals.

Martin St. Louis – One goal.

Teddy Purcell – Two assists.

Transactions

The Lightning traded AHL forward James Wright and defenseman Mike Vernace to Florida in exchange for defensemen Mike Kostka and Evan Oberg.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. He is skating with the team while wearing the red “no contact” jersey.

Bolt Notes

The Lightning didn’t win a game this week. Tampa Bay’s defense continues to struggle, making mistakes at key times. The Bolts are 24th in the NHL in goals against (3.12) and 18th in the NHL in shots against (30.6) per game. Eric Brewer is -8, Victor Hedman is -7,  Brett Clark is -5 and Bruno Gervais is -2.

The pourous defense has now partnered with a Lightning offense that has fallen silent and that equals disaster. Tampa Bay has lost seven of its last ten games. This week, in three games, Martin St. Louis averaged only one shot on goal per game. Vincent Lecavalier has just five shots and Steven Stamkos was held without a shot on goal in Saturday nights game versus the Rangers.

This team may be in trouble and at the very least, the Bolts are the definition of inconsistent. The Lightning seem to lack emotion at times and certainly haven’t been physical enough. It doesn’t get any easier as thev team has four road games in the coming week.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay is at Ottawa on Monday, at the New York Islanders on Tuesday, at the New York Rangers on Thursday and at Philadelphia on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals wrapped up a six game homestand with games against the WB/S Penguins and the Adirondack Phantoms.   The Admirals handed the Penguins a 5-2 loss Tuesday night at Scope.  The Pens would strike first, but Mike Angelidis would score to tie the game 1-1. Blair Jones scored early in the second, but the Pens answered back, less than a minute later. Cory Conacher added two more goals in the third and Trevor Smith sealed the victory with an empty net goal.

The Adirondack Phantoms came into town on Friday and gave it to the Admirals. Carter Ashton scored the only goal of the night for the Admirals and Norfolk mailed in the rest of the game for a 5-1 loss. Saturday night was a different story. It was a defensive battle until five minutes into the second period when Adirondack scored on the power play. Adirondack kicked up the defense and held Norfolk scoreless until the Admirals scored on a deflection off a Phantom defenseman’s leg. Tyler Johnson was trying to pass to another teammate when the puck was deflected in. Johnson would score his second of the night with 30 seconds left to seal the victory.

Cory Conacher (12G 13A 25Pts +1) and Trevor Smith (10G 15A 25Pts +12) are tied for the lead in Admirals scoring. Carter Ashton (13G 8A 21Pts +5) follows closely behind. Cory Conacher maintains his hold as the scoring leader for all AHL rookies, while Ashton has dropped to the fourth position.  Mark Barberio (3G 15A 18Pts +11) leads all Norfolk defensemen in scoring.  Dustin Tokarski (9-5-0 2.35GAA) is the hot goalie at the moment and is riding a four game winning streak.  Jaroslav Janus (5-4-1 3.27GAA) took the loss in Friday night’s game against Adirondack.

For the Season the Admirals are 14-9-0-1 with 29 points. They are currently in a three way tie for first in the East Division with the Hershey Bears and the WB/S Penguins. Steve Yzerman and nine NHL scouts were in Norfolk on Tuesday night. James Wright and Mike Vernace were traded to Florida about an hour before the game. The other two players in the trade, Evan Oberg and Mike Kostka, reported for the Saturday game. Norfolk is currently on a 1-0-0-0 streak and is 6-4-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Dustin Tokarski – 2 wins, stopped 31 of 34 shots.

Tyler Johnson – 2 goals, 2 assists.

Cory Conacher – 2 goals.

Transactions

James Wright – Traded to theSan Antonio Rampage (Florida)

Mike Vernace – Traded to the San Antonio Rampage (Florida)

Evan Oberg – Acquired from the San Antonio Rampage (Florida)

Mike Kostka – Acquired from the San Antonio Rampage (Florida)

Philip-Michael Devos – Recalled from the Florida Everblades (ECHL)

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day to day

Michel Ouellet – Undisclosed –Day to day

Kevin Quick – Lower body injury – Day to day

An Observation from the Stands

Goalie Dustin Tokarski sparkled this week

Tuesday night’s game against the WB/S Penguins was a must win for the Admirals. I would have to say every game against the Penguins is a must win. Cory Conacher had two goals and Blair Jones had one goal. Both of these guys are on a mission. Conacher, a Norfolk signee, is showing his skills and proving that he deserves a NHL contract. Jones is showing that he has what it takes to get back to the NHL. These guys are fun to watch and their play in this game was no exception. Mike Angelidis, and Trevor Smith also added goals in the win. Dustin Tokarski was stellar in net.

Friday night was not a night to be an Admirals fan. The team lost James Wright and Mike Vernace in a trade to Florida and lost the game on the ice to the Adirondack Phantoms. Carter Ashton scored the lone Admiral goal of the night in the first period. The Admirals mailed in the rest of the game as the Phantoms went on to win 5-1. This was one of the worst performances I have seen this year. To make matters worse, they played really bad in front of Steve Yzerman and nine NHL scouts.

Saturday night was exactly what I expected. The game was tight and a defensive match. Labrie and Sestito got back together to settle their differences from the previous night. Nothing major and I would call their fight a draw. Adirondack scored first, but Tyler Johnson sealed the win for the Admirals with two goals in the third period. The animosity from Friday night carried over into this game as well. After the buzzer all the players grabbed a partner and either fought or wrestled. Admiral’s goalie, Dustin Tokarski, decided to do both. After order was restored the Admirals skated back to their bench with smiles on their faces. The look on Tokarski’s face was priceless as he was congratulated for his pugilistic skills…..oops I mean his stellar performance in net.

The Week Ahead

Norfolk hits the road for a pair of games inBinghamtonagainst the Senators. They finish the road trip on Sunday against the Hershey Bears.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.