Although I had selfish motivations for rooting for the Bruins in the Eastern Conference finals (my hope that I can catch a Stanley Cup final game while I'm in Boston), I've learned to love the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Tampa Bay organization has conducted itself in a classy, professional matter throughout the playoffs, showing respect for their opponents, officials and fans at all times, both on and off the ice. The players are terrific role models for young hockey players to look up to and emulate. I wasn't surprised to learn that the day after their postseason elimination, the Lightning took the time to greet their faithful fans to show their thanks and support.
Steven Stamkos autographs a stick for a fan.
Coach Guy Boucher takes the time to shake hands with dedicated Lightning fans.
It was a great gesture to have the team show some appreciation and gratitude for their fans. I'm sure after just being eliminated a round short of the Stanley Cup finals, the team wasn't necessarily enthusiastic about shaking hands and autographing sticks, but they did it anyway. I have a lot of respect for that.
Let's talk about Steven Stamkos for a minutes. One minute the man takes Boychuck's tipped slapshot directly in the face, skates off the ice doing his best to hold his perfusely bleeding, shattered nose together with his hands, and then a few minutes later returns to the ice with a cage on ready for his next shift like nothing happened. Just another example of why hockey players are the toughest athletes around:
And why soccer players certainly are not:
Anyway, the Lightning squad represents the best of what hockey has to offer, and the team has a lot to be proud of. It's too bad we won't get to see them contend for a Stanley Cup this year, but expect them to be right back in the race again next year.
Tim Thomas' save on Steve Downie is the kind of save the can define an entire series. Absolutely incredible. The Bruins have no choice but to raise their standard of play after watching their goaltender make a save like that. In Brad Marchand's post-game press conference, he commented on the fact that in the final ten minutes of the third period when things were starting to get hectic, Thomas appeared to be poised and calm. This has a contagious effect on the entire hockey team, and it's obvious that the Bruins have the utmost confidence in their goaltender. This confidence allows the five other skaters on the ice to take risks and chances knowing that Thomas has their back. "With their goaltender, we're not nervous, we're expecting that," said Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher after Game Five. Not only does Tim Thomas' performance earn the confidence of his own team, it drains the life out of the opposition. Steve Downie remained on the bench reflecting on what could have been long after the game was finished:
The goaltending situation for the Lightning has not been as straightforward as it has been for the Bruins. I believed that, despite being pulled in Game 4, Dwayne Roloson would still start Game 5. Clearly, I was wrong. Roloson watched the game from the bench in favor of Mike Smith who made 17 saves on 19 shots.
The good news for Tampa Bay is that Roloson is 6-0 in postseason elimination games. We'll find out at 8:00 PM EST tonight if he can keep that streak alive. I believe that this series will take seven games to decide, and that the Bruins will eventually emerge victorious to play the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup finals.
Tampa Bay Lightning fans formed a human lightning bolt at the airport to show support for their team as they begun their flight to Boston for game five:
The Bruins vs. Lightning match-up has evolved into a promising series as we head into game five tonight in Boston. One of the big questions heading into tonight's game is whether or not Dwayne Roloson will be getting the start, despite giving up three goals on nine shots in the first period of game four. He was replaced by back-up Mike Smith who stood perfect for the remainder of the game and allowed Tampa Bay to score five unanswered goals to even up the series. According to an NHL.com article, all indications suggest that Roloson will be starting. According to Lightning coach Guy Boucher:
I don't think we have a situation. We have a goaltender that has taken us here and has played really well and is preparing for (Monday). And you've got a goaltender that came in relief, and he's done really well. Every time we've asked Smitty to come in, he's played well. We've got a goaltender that's taken us here, knows how to win and knows how to bounce back. I don't feel there's a situation there.
Goaltender Mike Smith seems to be in agreement with Boucher:
I don't expect to (start Game 5). But I'll be ready to. Roli's carried us through the playoffs this far and I don't expect anything less than for him to come back and have a great game.
I fully support Dwayne Roloson getting the start tonight. He deserves it. The 41-year-old goaltender has carried his team throughout the playoffs to date, and, for the most part, has been phenomenal. I believe that he understands this is most likely his last year to win a Stanley cup, and I'm sure that's not something he's taking for granted. Expect Roloson to play and stand on his head tonight. At the same time, however, note that the Lightning have outscored the Bruins 7-0 when Mike Smith has been in net, and Mike Smith has yet to allow a goal on the 27 shots he has faced. While I think that Roloson will, and should, get the start tonight, I don't think it's an obvious or easy decision for Boucher to make.
The most critical area for the Bruins to improve in is their special teams. Special teams can make or break a series. The puck movement on Tampa Bay's power play in game four was nothing short of impressive. The Lightning's power play percentage is at 23.7% for the series, compared to the Bruins who are operating at just 7.7%. It seems to me like these stats are the result of a dominant Tampa Bay power play with Stamkos, Lecavalier and St. Louis, combined with a struggling Bruins penalty kill. The Bruins are killing off just 81.8% of penalties, versus the Lightning who are killing off 92.8% of theirs. This is clearly a problem the Bruins must address and improve to be successful moving forward.
The Bruins will also need to pay special attention to Teddy Purcell who scored the first two goals for Tampa Bay in game four that started their comeback. Sean Bergenheim had the third goal of that same game, and he now leads the league in postseason goals.
In other news, Ben Eager, who began the 2010-2011 season with the Atlanta Thrashers, is apparently very supportive of the decision to move the franchise to Winnipeg. More about my thoughts on this topic later. Let's just say that Eager and I haven't exactly been seeing eye-to-eye lately...
Derek Boogaard has been respected as one of the toughest players in the NHL (which is saying something) for many years. What fans - and even teammates - didn't know, was that Boogaard was fighting another battle off of the ice.
News broke of Boogaard's death last week, but no specific details regarding the cause were released until today. I had a suspicion that his death was drug or alcohol related when I learned that foul play was ruled out.
This is an extremely unfortunate situation, and my thoughts and prayers are still with his family.
Derek Boogaard was heavily involved in a non-profit organization called Defending The Blue Line that helps "children of armed service members stick with hockey programs." In lieu of flowers, the family of Derek Boogaard requests that any donations from fans in Derek's memory be made to Defending The Blue Line. This is a terrific program and all donations go to support a worthy cause.
Please note that in lieu of flowers, the family of Derek Boogaard requests that any donations from fans in Derek's memory be made to Defending The Blue Line.
The Boogaard family would like to see Derek's legacy live on by supporting military kids and the game he loved.
Donations can be mailed to:
Defending The Blue Line
c/o Boogaard Booguardians Memorial Fund
1206 N. Frontage Road, Suite B
Hastings, MN 55033
Vancouver’s 7-3 victory over San Jose had a lot of resemblance to the “pond hockey” style we saw in game two of the Boston vs. Tampa Bay series. There was certainly no shortage of action at the HP Pavilion Wednesday night.
Kevin Bieska of the Vancouver Canucks kept himself busy tonight earning the classic Gordie Howe hat-trick: a goal, assist, and, of course, a fight. Bieska had a beautiful breakaway goal that beat San Jose’s Antti Niemi on the ice through the five-hole. The cross-ice pass from Higgins to send Bieska on his way was almost as nice as the goal itself.
Bieska’s fight was against Patrick Marleau – not the man you would expect to find squaring off. With just a few minutes left in the second period, it was obvious that Marleau was trying his best to fire up the bench and bring some life to his team, and for that, I give him credit. When Marleau, a finesse player who hasn’t fought since 2007, decides to drop the gloves in the Western Conference finals, I would expect his team to rally behind him. Instead, the Sharks came out flat to start the third period, and obviously went on to lose the game by four goals.
San Jose should be disgusted with Ben Eager’s performance tonight. Eager embarrassed himself, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t see the ice in game three. If I was Coach Todd McLellan, I would sit him. There’s a difference between playing hard and playing stupid. Tonight, Eager was just stupid. His only positive contribution to his team was his a goal with just over two minutes left in the game, and he even found a way to screw that up. After he scored, he continued to stand over Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo talking trash to follow-up his lame celebration. When Luongo was asked after the game what Eager had said to him, Luongo responded with “we’ll keep that between me and him, but it’s good that he’s on the ice because he takes penalties.” And penalties he took; Ben Eager’s name appears on last night’s penalty summary six times. I hope Eager is humiliated by the way he let his emotions control his every move tonight. He should consider himself fortunate if he dresses in game three, and make sure this appalling display of hockey never happens again - his team clearly cannot afford it. His team needs him to channel that emotion into something productive. He had 20 penalty minutes in roughly 11 minutes of ice time.
We've seen that before with Kevin. It's sad that someone's gonna sign him for big money when he's a phony. He goes after our top players. He's been asked many times -- by lots of players throughout the League (to fight) -- and he's declined.
Marleau clearly wanted that fight to shift the momentum of the game. It looks like Eager decided to add on to the embarrassment after the game.
The frustration of the entire San Jose squad was evident by the scrums at the end of the game.
I couldn’t help but feel bad for Antti Niemi. He had absolutely no help from his team in the defensive zone. Like Dwayne Roloson Tuesday night, Niemi still had some incredible saves, and I expect him to rebound for Friday’s game three in San Jose.
In other news, the Vancouver fans don’t have to worry any longer about when the Sedin twins are going to start producing again. Daniel had two goals - both off of the power play - and Henrik had three assists. The Canucks put on a passing clinic all night long, and their impressive puck movement on the man-up resulted in three power play goals in total. The Sharks are going to have to drastically cut down on the number of penalties they take in game three to limit the amount of time Vancouver spends on the power play. You can’t win hockey games when you spend the entire game killing penalties.
There was enough action to keep me up writing all night long.
What do Tyler Seguin and I have in common? Well, we're both 19 years old - and that's about where the similarities end. While I try to enjoy the last few weeks of high school with my friends before graduation, Seguin is trying to win a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins. The second overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft scored the first playoff goal of his career in game one of the Eastern Conference finals, his first career playoff game, and carried that momentum right into game two. Seguin stole the spotlight in Boston's 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night with two goals and two assists - all in the second period.
After the game, Seguin was fairly humble about his performance. He got the chance to play in this series to begin with because Patrice Bergeron is out with a concussion. Seguin commented about what it's like to play after not seeing any ice time in the first two rounds:
It’s definitely tough watching from above. I try to take everything in and learn as much as I can, but it's hard sitting there and not being able to help out the boys. I wanted to take advantage of any opportunity I got.
In the same post-game press conference, Seguin mentioned the support he received from older, more experienced teammates, and commented numerous times on his desire to simply seize any opportunities given to him. He referred to his rookie season as a learning curve, and said that he felt "more confident and more poised" as the season progressed.
Although Seguin has been spectacular in game one and game two, I would be cautious to say that the learning curve is over just yet. It will be interesting to see how he performs from here on out.
Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher referred to the lack of structure in game two as "pond hockey," and went on to say that "even if we would have won that game, we certainly would not have been happy with the way we played."
Roloson didn't have the kind of game that fans have almost began to take for granted from him, but it's just one game out of a best of seven series. Expect him to have a solid game three and four when the series moves down to Florida. Roloson let in 6 goals on the 27 shots he faced, but still managed to come up with some impressive saves, especially in the first period. He was replaced by Mike Smith at the start of the third period.
Guy Boucher on Dwayne Roloson in game two:
Notable Performances
Boston Bruins:
Tyler Seguin - 2 goals, 2 assists; +3; first star of the game
Michael Ryder - 2 goals, 1 assist; +2; third star of the game
Nathan Horton - 1 goal, 2 assists
Tampa Bay Lightning:
Steven Stamkos - 1 goal, 2 assists; -1
Vincent Lecavalier - 1 goal, 3 assists; +1; second star of the game
Martin St. Louis - 1 goal, 1 assists; -1
If tonight proved anything, it proved that this is going to be one crazy series. Don't be surprised if it takes seven games to declare a winner.
