The Final Push for the Lightning.

 With just 15 regular season games remaining, the Tampa Bay Lightning are embarking on another quest to capture the Stanley Cup. At the moment, the Lightning find themselves in a tight race for the Atlantic Division. They currently trail the Buffalo Sabers by four points, despite having played two fewer games which is a crucial advantage as they head into the home stretch. Meanwhile, the Bolts also sit six points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Eastern Conference. Six points do not make it out of reach, but every upcoming game is vital if they want to make up the six point deficit in order to grab home ice advantage in the Eastern Conference.

The recent Winter Olympics break could prove beneficial, especially for those players who didn’t participate. For those who stayed behind, it was a chance to rest their bodies and clear their minds. On the flip side, for those who played in the Olympics, one can hope there won’t be a hangover factor after playing high-intensity hockey on an international stage and then returning back action with little or no rest.

As the playoff picture starts to take shape, the players’ health is vital. Whenever a player gets checked hard or leaves the ice hurt, it draws a collective breath from the fans. Now is not the time to lose someone to a long term injury. The difference between a deep playoff run and another early exit often relies to who’s still standing.

The hope is for the Lightning to finish the season strong and get some sort of home ice advantage. Hopefully the Lightning finally break their three-year streak of disappointing first-round exits, and capture their fourth Stanley Cup. The Bolts have been there before. It’s time for them to do it again.

Magnificent Time for Tampa Bay Sports Fans

 

It has been a very difficult year for many during this pandemic. Florida is no exception but, if there has been a silver lining for the sports fans in Tampa Bay thanks to a historic showing by their professional teams. For local fans such as myself, the Lightning, Rays, Rowdies and the Bucs have given the local fans a great period to be a sports fan.

Being a sports fan in Tampa Bay (City of Tampa and its neighbor across the bay, Saint Petersburg) is not the same as say, being a sports fan in Los Angeles or New York. Those cities have seen their share of champions over the years by their teams. Meanwhile, fans in this area can count on one hand the number of titles won by their teams prior to the pandemic. The Buccaneers (2002) and Lightning (2004) each won once in their respective leagues while the Tampa Bay Rowdies have won the championship twice (1975 & 2012). The Rays came close in 2008 but lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. An honorable mention for the defunct Arena Football team, Tampa Bay Storm who won five Arena Football titles in their history, before the league went bust. Although Arena Football is not up there with the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL, it was an enjoyable niche sport for us football fans down here.

TAMPA BAY SPORTS FOR THE WIN! 🙌

🏈 @Buccaneers
🏒 @TBLightning
⚾ @RaysBaseball
⚽ @TampaBayRowdies @SportsTampaBay #TampaBayLV @TampaBayLV pic.twitter.com/Idndlp2vrE

— 10 Tampa Bay (@10TampaBay) January 24, 2021

Ever since the area was awarded professional sports franchises in the late 70s, this area has not enjoyed a history of successful winning teams. It always felt that one team was doing well while the others were struggling. That narrative changed this year when the Lightning finally got over the hump and won their second Stanley Cup. The Rays and Rowdies, who share the same owner, both managed to make it to their respective finals. The Rays came up short against the L.A. Dodgers in the World Series but their run to the World Series will never be forgotten by the fans. The Rowdies made it all the way to the USL Final, to be played in Saint Petersburg, but a day before the Final, the USL canceled the Final after some Rowdies players and staff tested positive for COVID-19. The reality of the pandemic, especially in Florida, reared its ugly head and snapped us back to reality, but Rowdies fans can only hope for more positive results from their beloved club.

The Buccaneers recently joined the party after defeating the Green Bay Packers to play in the Super Bowl. It would be quite an achievement to watch the cycle culminate with the Bucs winning the Super Bowl, in their own stadium, and give us two titles from four. Los Angeles already saw the Dodgers and Lakers win championships and it would be nice to rub elbows with the big boys if Tampa Bay can claim to boast two champions of their own. Though it will not replace the pain and losses we have suffered during these tough times, it has been a positive distraction for the sports fans of this area.

Thank You, Lightning.

 

Rejoice Lightning fans, your Tampa Bay Lightning are champions once again. Following many years of frustration and disappointment, the Lightning have reached the pinnacle for the second time in their history. This current Lightning team had dealt with comparisons with the 2004 team ever since they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015 Stanley Cup Finals. Last year’s shocking and humiliating sweep in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets was on the back of the minds of many Lighting fans when the puck dropped for the 2019-2020 NHL season. It was Stanley Cup or Bust for this team that were consistent in disappointing their fans for the last 6 years. Thankfully, the pain is over as fans and the team can celebrate being the champions.

 Lightning fans can celebrate the team’s second Stanley Cup as a coronation of their many years of great results. There was talk that perhaps this team seemed destined to never get over the hump. Yet, the Lightning are the 2019-2020 Stanley Cup Champions. Some have alluded that this title should come with an asterisk, and somewhat lessen the achievement because it was won in a bubble. I beg to differ and would counter that the Bolts winning the Stanley Cup in the bubble was the most difficult grueling way to win the Stanley Cup. They absolutely deserve the recognition they deserve as worthy champions.

Speaking of recognition, many deserve praise and thanks for bringing home the second Stanley Cup.

Thank you, Jeffrey Vinik for being a great owner. Mr. Vinik bought the team from the ownership group headed by Oren Koules, the producer of the Saw horror franchise, and Len Barrie, who truly were a horror show. Thankfully, Mr. Vinik came in and changed the culture by surrounding himself with the right people and has done a magnificent job in giving back to the community and honoring others through the team's Lightning Community Heroes.

Thank you, Julien BriseBois, the General Manager who made the right moves in the offseason and during the season. Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Shattenkirk, Patrick Maroon, and Zach Bogosian were new additions to the team via free agency and trades. All these acquisitions helped snap the team from the doldrums following last season’s shock exit in the playoffs.

Thank you, players for a great historic season. Alex Barre-Boulet, Anthony Cirelli, Tyler Johnson, Cedric Paquette, Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, Mathieu Joseph, Alex Killorn, Pat Maroon, Ondrej Palat, Gemel Smith, Alexander Volkov, Carter Verhaeghe, Barclay Goodrow, Nikita Kucherov, Mitchell Stephens, Luke Witkowski, Braydon Coburn, Cal Foote, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev, Zach Bogosian, Erik Cernak, Luke Schenn, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jan Rutta, Spencer Martin, Curtis McElhinney, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Scott Wedgewood. They were hitting on all cylinders from January until the lockdown. Once the playoffs started, they were dominant and lost only four lost games in all four rounds. Special mention to Steven Stamkos whose only shift in the entire playoffs was one for the ages. The captain had been  struggling with his recovery from hernia surgery, but that one shift where he scored was inspirational to the team. It had to be difficult for the captain to not be able to be on the ice and deal with all the talk about his whereabouts, but the face of the franchise can now celebrate being a Stanley Cup champion.

Thank you, Jon Cooper for assembling a great staff of coaches and getting this team over the hump. An awesome coach who tolerated so much doubt from many, including from me, after so many disappointments these last few years. The comparisons with Tony Dungy are no more and he can celebrate joining Jon Gruden, and John Tortorella on the Mount Rushmore of Tampa Bay coaches. Anyone else notice a pattern regarding the coaches?

Thank you, Rick Peckham for being the voice of the Lightning on the TV since my arrival to this country in 1995, which coincidentally is when Peckham was hired by the Lightning. Lightning games will be different without Peckham's voice, and he missed by many. The Bolts winning the cup is the perfect sendoff for him and I wish him a happy retirement.

Thank you, Canada, for hosting these games. 

And finally, thank you, Steve Yzerman for building this. As I eluded to earlier, when Mr. Vinik bought the team, he surrounded himself with the right people, and one of those people was Yzerman, who as the General Manager until he stepped down during the offseason, played a significant part in the turning the team’s fortune around. He is responsible for a majority of the names that will be engraved on the Stanley Cup. Lightning fans owe him a huge debt of gratitude that will d never be forgotten.

From Force to Farce, Lightning Need to Wake Up.

Last season’s playoff exit to the Columbus Blue Jackets by the Tampa Bay Lightning still stings. While I was visiting the team store, I cringed when I saw a puck for sale commemorating last season’s record 62 regular season wins. Last season was a painful and unbelievable experience for Bolts fans, including yours truly, where I just want this current season to end already so we can get to the playoffs. Nevertheless, we can’t think about the playoffs based on the Bolts sub-par start to this season, which is alarming and perhaps indicates that the Lightning have yet to recover from that disappointment.

Last night, the Lightning hosted the Colorado Avalanche following back to back wins on the road against Montreal and Boston. This felt like a home opener since this was only their second game on home ice since the puck dropped on October 3^rd. What the fans witnessed last night was a lifeless performance where Lighting looked second best for the majority of the game in a 6-2 loss. Even though they had many shots on goal, those shots were tame and the level of intensity was not there. This wasn’t the first time that the Bolts had lost badly this season, which begs the question if teams have learned how to play the Bolts courtesy of the Blue Jackets.

Since his hiring, Jon Cooper has been a phenomenal coach for the Lightning. The team is exciting to watch and the fans have a winning product on the ice. Nonetheless, it’s hard to ignore the fact that over the years, this team has failed to delivered in the playoffs. Last season’s first round sweep exit was devastating but not surprising since the warning signs were visible throughout that season.

Last season, the Lightning may have won 62 games, but the one main issue noticed by many was that the Lightning did not play focused the entire 60 minutes of a game. Eight games into this season, that same concern is still visible. Recently, Lightning Television broadcast analyst Bobby 'The Chief' Taylor stated that the Lightning need to start outplaying teams and not outscoring them. That’s exactly how last season played out with the Lightning either blowing out teams or staging a frantic comeback after being down a couple of goals to grab a victory. That may work during the regular season where you may face the team in November and then again in April. However, playoffs hockey is a best of seven playoffs series, so it’s not easy to pull off the same trick against a team over seven games during two weeks, and that’s what happened against the Blue Jackets in the playoffs last season.

The Lightning are still trying to outscore teams and not outplay teams without the same success as last season. However, when it isn’t working, one wonders if they are shell-shocked and thinking back to last season’s playoffs collapse. Jon Cooper and the players need to outplay teams the entire 60 minutes and come playoff time, they need to differentiate between regular season hockey and playoff hockey, where referees call the games differently. Before thinking of the playoffs, the Bolts need to be tough and cut down the penalties and the number of shots on their goal. This is a deep talented team and anything less than a cup is a disappointment as we rue the wasted talent at our disposal. It’s still early but the Bolts need to get their act together now and get over last season’s disappointment or risk facing more disappointment.

Time for the Lightning to Strike!

Playoffs time is upon us and for us Tampa Bay Lightning fans, expectations are high and anything but the Stanley Cup will make this season an utter disappointment. The team finished the season with the best record in the league and also tied the Detroit Red Wings record of most wins in a season. However, all of those accomplishments will amount to nothing if the Bolts fail to win the Stanley Cup. Moreover, failure to win the Stanley Cup will only further strengthen the whispers about  Lightning’s coach, Jon Cooper comparisons with another well-known coach in Tampa Bay Sport’s history, Tony Dungy, and will lead to calls for Cooper's head. 

There is a poor paraphrase of a line from one of William Shakespeare’s play that rings true today; “Expectation is the root of all heartache." Expectations are sky high for Lightning fans this season. Last year’s bitter playoffs exit to the Washington Capitals frustrated me and other Lightning fans. This was the second time in three season that the lost in the Conference Finals, the other being against the Pittsburgh Penguins, after reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015. What made those eliminations so bitter was the fact that on both occasions, the Lightning lead the series 3-2 and yet failed to win one more game to advance to the Finals. Furthermore, both the Penguins and Capitals went on to hoist the Cup. 

After last year’s elimination, it was hard not to compare Jon Cooper’s shortcomings with that of another well-known coach in Tampa Bay sport’s history; former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy. Dungy had one of the best teams in the NFL but he could not get the team over the hump and guide his team to the Super Bowl. He was dismissed and his successor, Jon Gruden, coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl in his first season and won the big prize that many in Tampa Bay thought would never happen. A year later, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004 under the coaching of John Tortorella.

Fast-forward to today and the Lightning are trying to reach the Finals for the first time since 2015 when they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks. Jon Cooper has been trying to return to the Finals again and after those two bitter eliminations to the Penguins and Capitals in recent history, this season felt that the promised land was within reach. Former General Manager Steve Yzerman has assembled a great team for Jon Cooper and Cooper has done a remarkable job of coaching the great talent at his disposal and made them contenders. This is one of the deepest teams that I can ever recall in Lightning history.

However, the Bolts are already down 2-0 to the Columbus Bluejackets who are coached by none other than John Tortorella. With the exception of the first period of this series, the Lightning have been outplayed and out-coached by the Bluejackets. Panic has already crept in the Lightning fan base and tonight’s game is a must-win for the Bolts if they wish to win anything this year besides the accursed President’s Trophy. It’s not uncommon to see teams rebound after being down 2-0 in a series; but it is not something that we have seen the Lightning do often in their history. Nonetheless, failure at this stage or in the Final will not erase doubts that Cooper is not the man to get this team over the hump. It’s time for the Lightning to strike or else it will be for whom the bell tolls for Jon Cooper and the Lightning.

Blame the Owners for the NHL Lockout.

Christmas is almost upon us and we are still waiting for the NHL owners and players to reach some sort of agreement so that we hockey fans can enjoy some hockey again. As is customary whenever there is a lockout in a professional league, fans are often asked to pick a side; owners or players. Some fans would pick neither and blame them altogether for what has happened. However, I put the blame squarely on the NHL owners.

We had a lockout a few years ago and when both sides reached an agreement, the NHL owners were declared the victors. They got their way in terms of salary cap, salary reductions and the sharing of profit. Well fast forward to now and the owners are back to asking the players to give up more because the current deal isn’t good enough.

Just like I mentioned here during the NBA Lockout last season, the players have every reason to object to conceding more power to the owners. It’s not about greed but about principle. How many times can you keep being forced into accepting bad deals? The owners cannot have my sympathy when they overspent and failed to remain fiscal. It’s hard for me to sympathize with them when a team signs players to $100,000,000 deals that most of the public wouldn’t recognize if they stood in front us at the Wal-Mart checkout lane.

Sadly, the players will have to sacrifice some more again. The good news, it will be on their terms.  For the love of this sport, they have to reach an agreement. However, one of their conditions should be that Gary Bettman must step down. It’s high time this league got a worthy commissioner.  Any new deal would be worthless if that man is allowed to return and be commissioner of this league.

Hopefully a deal can be secured and we’ll have a half season like we had back in 1994-1995. If not, then the owners are the ones who will be killing this league. Us hockey fans have other ways to get over the absence of the NHL via minor league hockey, college hockey or busting out with the NHL ’96 on the Sega Genesis (yeah, fighting is one reason why I picked ’96 over ’94). Get it together NHL Owners and reach a deal with the players this time and then dump Gary Bettman. I want to see my beloved Tampa Bay Lightning back in action.