I’ve got a few Tampa Bay Lightning related things on my mind tonight.
On the Rangers game…
If there’s one thing the Tampa Bay Lightning learned this weekend, it’s that 20 minute efforts don’t result in wins. After falling to the Montreal Canadiens in a shootout just last night, the Bolts underwhelmed earlier this evening and dropped a 4-3 regulation decision to the New York Rangers.
It was, in a word, ugly for forty minutes. Puck management is arguably the most important aspect of any given hockey game (aside from scoring), and on Saturday the Lightning’s puck management was just plain bad. Giveaways, turnovers, missed assignments. Following the game, Jon Cooper basically said that it was some of the worst puck management he’s seen from his club all year long. As the scoreboard shows, it cost them a chance at two points.
After battling back and forth in an offense filled first period, the Rangers really took control of the game as it moved into the second frame. Through sixteen minutes of play, the Bolts held a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat; it wasn’t enough to get the job done. Three straight power-play goals from the Rangers combined to be enough to give them a seemingly insurmountable lead heading into the third period. Ugly, as mentioned.
Jon Cooper must have said something in that second intermission, as his guys came out in the third period and played like an actual NHL hockey team. Pressure. Shots. Possession. Even a goal from Valtteri Filppula. It was a perfect 20 minute segment. Unfortunately, hockey is a 60 minute game. The Lightning’s first two periods, the second in particular, cost them in a big way.
With two straight home losses in the books, the Lightning need hit the reset button and get back to what made them successful pre-Christmas. It’s time to wake up from the holiday break and start playing 60 minutes of hockey on a nightly basis. It all starts in 2014 with what is shaping up to be a vitally important Western Conference road trip.
On Ben Bishop…
Earlier today I reported the circulating rumor that has Ben Bishop not making Team USA’s Olympic squad. I’ve made my thoughts on the matter quite clear. Leaving the highest performing (by a wide margin) American goaltender of 2013-14 off the roster is, in my opinion, a mistake.
Here is an excerpt from my blog earlier this week:
Before getting into some subjective analysis, let’s take a look at the raw numbers. League wide, Bishop sits fifth in goals-against average (1.93), fifth in save percentage (.935), second in wins (20), and tied for first in shutouts (3). To say that Bishop has been good this season is to greatly understate his accomplishments; he’s been brilliant. He may not come with the same name value as a guy like Schneider, but his numbers speak for themselves. Bishop is the runaway leader in each of those categories among American goaltenders.Schneider, for his part, boasts a 2.20 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage, four wins, and two shutouts. Impressive? Sure. Bishop-like? No.
Moving away from the numbers, take a moment to consider the following. When Steven Stamkos broke his leg back in the middle of November, nearly everybody immediately wrote off the Lightning. Critics near and far predicted that the Bolts would tumble down the standings without number-91. Well, as the numbers show, that just hasn’t happened. A large reason for that is the play of Ben Bishop. He is turning in an MVP-like goaltending clinic on a nightly basis. Without him, who knows where Tampa would find itself right now. For the first time in what seems like an eternity, a goaltender wearing Lightning blue is stealing hockey games.
* Note: Some statistics have changed since time of writing
What’s perhaps most interesting about the report I cited earlier today is the fact that it states that Jimmy Howard will be the USA’s third goaltender. Those Cory Schneider comparisons can be thrown out the window. The Red Wings goaltender (Howard) boasts the league’s 29th best save percentage (.910) and 28th best goals-against average (2.65). I’ll steal my own quote here. Impressive? Sure. Bishop-like? No. And that’s when he’s been healthy.
On Steven Stamkos…
Update on Stamkos is positive. He skated over the holidays. Concern is whether there's enough time to build strength in leg prior to Sochi.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) December 29, 2013Not much needs to be said here. Dreger’s news is good news for Tampa Bay Lightning fans and Team Canada supporters. If there’s any athlete out there who can build up strength in such a short period of time, it’s Stamkos. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if number-91 missed this year’s Olympic festivities, but the fact that we’re even talking about him as being potentially ready is a great sign.
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I’ll be back at some point before the next game with a “Year in Review… post. Other than that, I’m hoping to take it easy for the next couple days.
As always, thanks for reading.