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He's Back

November 26, 2014, 12:00 AM ET [191 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
He’s back, Lightning fans.

After asking for a trade and being dealt to the New York Rangers last spring, Marty St. Louis makes his return to Amalie Arena tonight with his new team. Having had the support of the Lightning faithful for so many years, St. Louis will take to the ice at Amalie as the enemy this evening.

This, of course, is not the first time the Bolts and Rangers have met this year. Only nine nights ago, on the 16th of November, the two squads met at Madison Square Garden. Led by Ryan Callahan’s stellar performance, the Lightning walked out of the Garden with an impressive 5-1 victory.

Since that statement game in New York, the Bolts have compiled a very average record of 1-2-0; that has left them squarely in second place in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers, on the other hand, have performed admirably since being blown out by Tampa. They are a perfect 2-0-0 thanks to shutout victories over Montreal and Philadelphia. Perhaps that 5-1 loss served as a bit of a wakeup call.

While many wondered how Steven Stamkos would fare without St. Louis at his side, the Lightning captain has put any and all concerns to rest. With 14 goals and 10 assists through 22 games in 2014-15, he is doing everything that is expected of him and more. What’s perhaps scariest for opposition clubs is that he hasn’t even been at his best for large stretches of the season. As his leg continues to get stronger, he’ll only become that much more dangerous.

It’s true that Stamkos is the focal point on Tampa’s offense, but it’s not as though the Lightning are a one trick pony. Eight (!) Bolts have posted more than 10 points this season, compared to only four who have done so for the Rangers. This Lightning team is a deep team. This Lightning team is a talented team.

That’s not to say that the Rangers’s forward lines are devoid of talent. Headlined by Rick Nash and St. Louis, New York has a number of players who can put the puck in the net and contribute. Nash, like Stamkos for Tampa, has tallied 14 goals this year; he’s complemented those goals with seven assists for a grand total of 21 points. St. Louis, for his part, appears to be heating up as well. Having scored five points in his last four games, the former Bolt now has eight goals and 17 points so far this season.

In order to combat that St. Louis/Nash duo, the Lightning will likely stick with what worked against the Minnesota Wild in their last game. According to Bryan Burns from NHL.com, yesterday’s practice lines looked like this:

Alex Killorn-Steven Stamkos-Ryan Callahan
Ondrej Palat-Tyler Johnson-Nikita Kucherov
Jonathan Drouin-Valtteri Filppula-Brett Connolly
Brenden Morrow-Brian Boyle-J.T. Brown-Cedric Paquette

Per Burns, the fourth line guys were being rotated; Jon Cooper hasn’t hinted at any final lineup decisions as of writing time. With that said, Ben Bishop is expected to get the start in net.

With two points on the line, this game was always going to mean something. With Marty back in town for the first time, it means just a little bit extra. This is a player who has tallied 998 points and played over 1000 games in his career, most of them in a Lightning jersey. This is a player who led the Lightning to its first Stanley Cup championship. This is a player who provided more positive memories than anyone else in Florida's hockey history. Of course, this is also a player who walked out on his team.

Whether you plan on booing, cheering, or remaining silent doesn’t matter. Whether you plan to sit and watch in your living room, in a restaurant, or in a seat at Amalie is of little consequence. Whatever you do will add to a special night for the Lightning and their fans. Let’s hope the guys on the ice go out and make another statement against the captain who left them.

For a look at the New York side of things, head over to Jan Levine's blog!

As always, thanks for reading.

Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.
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