Location: U Jealous of my Meteor Joined: 01.29.2013
Feb 15 @ 10:15 AM ET
I'm glad Bishop wasn't on the receiving end of this beatdown. I would have felt bad for him. It honestly would have made no difference in the outcome if Bishop had played - most of the Stars seemed to have concrete in their skates.
Question is, with 10 days left before the deadline, do the Lightning hold or make a move or two? I know there are contracts that we'd like to get rid of for next year but does management shake things up or leave it as is? The Lightning looked very good last year in the regular season but failed to really show that same level in the playoffs.
My take is, yes, I think they try to bring in one more veteran D man to replace Girardi and to lessen the load on Cernak and Serg in the playoffs. Hedman, Mac, Stralman and Coburn will be ready to go and heavily leaned on, I think they try to get ONE more that can play at playoff speed.
Location: U Jealous of my Meteor Joined: 01.29.2013
Feb 15 @ 5:40 PM ET
I don't think the Lightning need anything to win the Cup. They have the right pieces in place now.
The physicality and scoring issues against the Caps were self-inflicted. The Bolts didn't have an answer for Tom Wilson, because Cooper and the team have been groomed to play skill hockey. We have guys that can hit and hit hard, but they weren't green-lighted to go nuts and run with it. We have some big bodies back there on defense - turn them loose with a license to hit.
McD, Hedman, Coburn, and even Girardi are all capable of laying heavy hits. Paquette, Callahan, Erne, Killorn, Miller, and Palat all have the tools to throw heavy hits. Many of those players aren't shabby in a fight either.
However, if we must make a deal, I agree that another good D-man wouldn't be a bad idea.