All Entries in the "Tampa Bay Lightning" Category
The Clock is Ticking
Time is both a wonderful gift and a fantastic curse. Think of those times in life where time seemed to stand still. Those tend to be moments where you really did not want to be there. Think of those times in your life that went by way too fast. Maybe it was a first kiss, [...]
The Curious Case of Josh Bailey
Josh Bailey was the first ever first round pick of Garth Snows master plan. Even though there was a draft prior to the ’08 draft, and even though we are told Garth actually doesn’t draft, let’s just go with the premise that a rebuild started with Bailey. One could argue that the Islanders made the [...]
Well, That Was Fun. Now Back to Work!
We know it’s been a while since we posted, but we wanted to bask in the rare light of an Islanders playoff appearance by taking in the games, atmosphere, and enjoyment that came with a series that ran one game longer than we predicted which included two embarrassing shutouts, yet somehow left Islander fans with the feeling that [...]
Hockey Independent Playoff Roundtable: 2013 First Round Predictions
With the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs set to begin just a few hours from now, four members of the Hockey Independent writing staff have come together to predict each and every first round series of this year’s postseason. The contributing authors to today’s piece will be Cris Cohen (New York Rangers), Seth Levin (New Jersey Devils), Bill Philp (Tampa Bay Lightning) [...]
The Malone Mess
After two consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman has some tough decisions to make in the upcoming off-season. Not the least of which is what to do with fan favorite Ryan Malone. “Bugsy” as he is affectionately referred to, has two more years left on a contract with [...]
Rink Recollections: Jeff Odgers, NHL, 1991-2003
By Brian D’Ambrosio Jeff Odgers played every NHL game as if it were his final. He never took a game for granted –scared that his career could fade away at any moment. Odgers scrapped and gritted his way onto the roster and he made sure he never provided his coaches with a sufficient reason to [...]
Finding the Right Fit for the Bruins at the Trade Deadline
As trade winds began to intensify late last week, mostly centered on the topic of Calgary Flames’ captain Jarome Iginla, Boston was buzzing at the possibility of the hometown B’s landing a superstar forward to add to their already strong mix of proven playoff veterans. With the deadline looming just one week from now on [...]
Hall Of Famer On A Hot Seat
Steve Yzerman knew it, the players new it, the fans new it…everybody new it. After giving up four first period goals against Ottawa in a must win game on Saturday night, Guy Boucher’s tenure as Lightning coach was over. The loss to the Senators was the second straight lethargic game, mailed in by the players. Perhaps [...]
Lightning Fire Boucher
The Tampa Bay Lightning have fired coach Guy Boucher. GM Steve Yzerman announced the firing earlier this morning. Tampa Bay assistant coaches Dan LaCroix and Martin Raymond will coach the team tonight against Winnipeg. The Bolts are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and are all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with just 17 games remaining. The [...]
Brendan Witt: A Life of Old-Time Hockey, New Beginnings
By Brian D’Ambrosio Brendan Witt knew one of the Philadelphia Flyers would approach. After all, the bruising fourth line tended to drop the gloves. Slightly after the six-minute mark of the first period, the “Dan Line” -consisting of Dan Kordic, Daniel Lacroix and Scott Daniels - hoped to send a message. “Philly put these guys [...]
Bruins Rally Past Bolts for Sixth Consecutive Victory
BOSTON, MA- It was a clash of two squads seemingly headed in opposite directions on Saturday afternoon as the Tampa Bay Lightning, mired in a four-game losing streak, paid a visit to the red-hot Boston Bruins, winners of five consecutive contests. At first, it appeared as if the more desperate of the two teams would [...]
Honey, I Lost the Kids (part 2 of 2)
In the first part of this epic, we promised three pieces of evidence to explain how Garth Snow does things with the sole intention of job preservation. We pointed out how he is relatively awful at drafting in part one. Part two will speak to other shortcomings, starting here: Two- Garth Snow uses salary cap [...]
Honey, I Lost the Kids – part one of two
It’s almost like a reflex when you ask hockey fans about the best way to build a winner “It’s the draft!” Drafting allow you to develop players or trade for established ones. Since the Isles have had no playoffs since 07-08, they’ve been in rebuild mode. We’re going to look at this draft rebuild with [...]
Hockey Myths Exposed – Defensemen Need Time to Develop
Anyone who has watched more than a handful of hockey games gets serenaded with statements that are undisputed in the hockey world, but in reality it doesnt make a lot of sense. We’ve already disproved the myth that power forwards need years to develop in our article “Ninogate,” in which we use the “talent is [...]
Jekyll and Hyde Lightning Team at a Crossroads
In the first seven games, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored 37 goals and went 6-1. Over the last four games, three on the road, the Bolts have scored six goals and lost all four contests. Tampa Bay is now 6-5 and leads the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets by one point in the Southeastern Division. [...]
High Flying Bolts Getting Contributions From Everyone
After six games the Tampa Bay Lightning is 5-1 with ten points and are riding a four game winning streak The Bolts are first in the Southeast division, three points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets. Tampa Bay is second in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Boston Bruins. The Bolts are the third best [...]
Vincent Lecavalier 1,000 Game Infographic
The Tampa Bay Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier with the first pick in the 1998 NHL Draft. He made his debut a few months later that season as an 18-year-old and has scored 374 goals and registered 846 points in 1,001 career games, all with the Lightning, since then. “Vinny” was an integral part of the Bolts’ [...]
Lightning Showing Improvement In Key Areas
After three games the Tampa Bay Lightning are 2-1, with four points and are first in the Southeast division. While it is all but impossible to glean much information from such a small sample of play, the Bolts are showing signs of improvement on defense and in the net. Tampa Bay opened the season at [...]
Mike Hartman, NHL Tough Guy, 1986-1994
By Brian D’Ambrosio Mike Hartman was a resilient, keen, scrappy winger who played in 397 regular season NHL games during a career which spanned 1986-1994. At 6′ 1″, 190, Hartman once established the Buffalo Sabres’ team record for penalty minutes in one season (316). Selected in the seventh round, 131st overall, by the Buffalo [...]
Fan Un-Appreciation
Lets start with some basic info. The “authors” of this blog are two former Islander ticket holders. Although we ended our tickets at different times and for different reasons, one thing both of us felt was the lack of appreciation by the Islanders team in taking care of their fans. As a season ticket holder, [...]
