Tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres on home ice is a big one for the Tampa Bay Lightning in more than one way. Mired in a bit of a slump, the team is currently battling for position in the Eastern Conference standings. That, though, isn’t the big story. Tonight’s game marks the return of Steven Stamkos, and the debut of Ryan Callahan.
It might be difficult for players and fans to adjust after what was a very emotional day yesterday. The Lightning’s all-time greatest player, Marty St. Louis, is no longer with the team. Number-26 won’t lead the team out onto the ice tonight, or tomorrow, or the next day. This is the start of a new era, a different era in Tampa Bay Lightning history.
Jon Cooper, who yesterday expressed sincere excitement about getting Ryan Callahan into the lineup, spoke to the media again today and doubled down on that enthusiasm. He described Callahan as a player who will bring grit to the Lightning lineup, help kill penalties, go to the front of the net, and work hard shift in and shift out. That sort of player has been missing for the Bolts this year, so if Callahan can be that player this deal will be “home run… in the eyes of the coach.
With that in mind, it’s important to remember that Callahan isn’t joining the Lightning to replace Marty St. Louis. Bolts Nation dealt with this same situation in the summer when the team bought out Vincent Lecavalier and signed Valtteri Filppula. These are different players. Callahan isn’t going to score at the same pace St. Louis does; he brings something different to the table. It's something that will hopefully help the team win.
The Lightning and Sabres have met twice already this season, but not since late October. Both games have been won by the Lightning by a score of 3-2. While the Sabres have been, well, terrible this season, they have a tendency to give the Lightning a lot of trouble. In years gone by, Ryan Miller was a big reason for that. As everybody knows, Miller is now a member of the St. Louis Blues. Perhaps that means the Lightning will finally be able to take care of business with relative ease against a Sabres team that sits right at the bottom of the standings.
As mentioned in the opening paragraph of the blog, this is a big game for the Bolts. As of this moment, the team is not one of the top three seeds in the Atlantic Division. Tampa currently sits in the conference’s first wildcard spot. If the playoffs were to start today, the Lightning would have a date with the Bruins. I don’t think anyone wants that.
Gifted a lot of home games to close out the 2013-14 campaign, the Lightning have a chance to really put themselves in good position heading into the post-season. In addition, it should be noted that the possession metrics show that Tampa has a relatively easy schedule to close out the season. It’s time to play good hockey, put up points, and gain some momentum for what will hopefully be a decently long playoff run.
It all starts tonight. The team’s line rushes this morning looked something like this:
Killorn-Stamkos-Purcell Callahan-Filppula-Kucherov Palat-Johnson-Malone Brown-Thompson-Panik
Jon Cooper did say that he doesn’t expect those lines to last through the night, as he aims to find the right combinations for his new-look lineup. This blogger would wager that Ryan Malone won’t spend too much time in the top-nine once the puck drops, but that’s just a guess.
Welcome to a new era in the history of this great franchise. I’ll say it again. Tonight’s game is a big one. The atmosphere at the Forum tonight should be electric. Let’s hope the Bolts can use that energy to propel them to a big victory over a division rival.
As always, thank for reading.