And so the road trip comes to an end. The Tampa Bay Lightning were outplayed, outmatched, and outclassed from start to finish on Tuesday night, as they fell by a 4-2 score to the St. Louis Blues. It was yet another game in which Tampa was not able to hold an early 2-0 lead. Defensive breakdowns and mental lapses cost the Bolts in a big way. Nobody said that the road to the playoffs was going to be an easy one to navigate.
I’m not going to waste 500-plus words breaking down what can only be described as a disappointing performance. The Lightning failed to seal the deal, despite the fact that they held a 2-0 lead through one period of play. That’s your story right there. Good teams hold leads; the Lightning weren’t able to do that. Credit the St. Louis Blues for being, well, the St. Louis Blues. But, still, the Bolts need to be better.
The big story that needs to be discussed stems from a simple action that happened after the final buzzer rang. Marty St. Louis, the Lightning’s captain, didn’t meet with the media after the game. It’s just another tidbit of information that adds to what has become the St. Louis saga. I should preface all this by saying that I like Marty St. Louis. He is probably my favorite player in the National Hockey League. The fact that we're discussing him as a player who wants out of Tampa disappoints me to no end.
Since news broke that St. Louis has asked for a trade out of Tampa, not much else has been discussed in Bolts Nation. The player that we all thought would retire in Tampa wants to leave, and it doesn’t look like that’s about to change. Some bloggers and commentators, including yours truly, initially stated that St. Louis should be dealt immediately if he wants out. While Yzerman will never get full value for the team’s all-time greatest player, as he is reportedly only willing to waive to go to the New York Rangers, it’s not worth holding on to him if he is going to become a distraction.
The initial argument against that point of view was that it’s Marty St. Louis we’re talking about. This player is the heart and soul of the franchise, the captain, and the best player in team history. The people who disagreed with me said that he’d continue to perform and that he would never become a distraction. The red hot pace he’s clicking along at post-Olympics might be evidence that those people are right.
However, getting back to tonight, let’s look at this media snub. I, along with a big group of equally disappointed fans, made my thoughts on the topic very clear on Twitter. When you, as a player, agree to wear the “C… for your franchise, you agree to bear the responsibilities that come with it. One of those responsibilities is dealing with the media. The captain, through good and bad, needs to speak to the media. Being upset about a bad performance both individually and collectively isn’t an excuse to walk away from those responsibilities. It just doesn’t fly.
Let me put it this way. Avoiding the media after a tough loss isn’t great leadership. If the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning isn’t going to act like a captain should because he wants out, then the captain should be dealt as soon as possible. If St. Louis can’t put his personal issues aside to be the team’s leader, a position he agreed to take on, then he shouldn’t be on the team. This isn’t the kind of example that young players need to see or take cues from. This is selfishness.
Some will undoubtedly say that I’m overreacting here, but the reality is that Marty failed to act like a captain tonight. That’s not good enough.
I’ll be around tomorrow morning and throughout the day. Let’s see what happens.