Tampa Bay Lightning playoffs thread!

[BucBalla85]

Pittsburgh Penguins #4
          vs
Tampa Bay Lightning #5

Tampa Bay Lightning made the playoffs this year and will play against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh will have home ice and the first two games will be played there. The season series is tied 2-2 with both teams winning both games on their home ice. When Tampa played away vs Pittsburgh they would be coming off of a huge division game vs the Capitals the night before resulting in a blow out in both games in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is known for their defense and is also without star Sidney Crosby who is expected to be out at least for the first few games if not the whole series.

Tampa Bay is coming off their best season since their stanley cup win in 04 and are playing great hockey right now. It should be a battle as both teams are very well coached and are very hard working teams. Tampa holds the edge on offense and its pretty even in the Goal-tending as Roloson and Fleury are both very talented goalies and have both been to stanley cup finals. Roloson went to the Finals with Edmonton back in 06, losing to Carolina. Roloson was the MVP of that team but was injured early in that series. Right now the Lightning have been riding off of Vinny Lecaveliers great play since returning from injury and Marty St. Louis had an MVP season in getting 100 points for the first time of his career. Steven Stamkos had a slump after tearing up the stat sheet and was on his way to another scoring title before the slump occurred. He is coming off of 1 goal 1 assist game in the finale vs the Canes, who the Lightning eliminated from Playoff contention.

The key factor for the Penguins is their penalty kill as it is the best in the NHL, while TB is one of the top Power Plays in the NHL. If Tampa Bay continues to play well and convert on their Power Play then things should be tough on the Penguins. The keys for Lightning are their top players converting on their scoring chances. If Vinny Lecavelier, Marty St. Louis, and Steven Stamkos can find their scoring as well as secondary guys such as Simon Gagne, Ryan Malone, and Domenic Moore(who was a big piece for the Montreal Canadians playoff run last year) can provide secondary scoring then it will be tough on the Penguins as they have scored the least amount of goals in their season since the late 90s. Big keys on the bolts defense is staying healthy. Hedman and returning starter Jones will need to stay healthy as they are two very important Dmen for different reasons. Hedman has been a shutdown defensemen this season while Jones has been huge on the Penalty kill. Both teams are playing very good hockey right now as they have been hot closing out the season.

Conclusion: Tampa in 6

[BucBalla85]

Wheres the Lightning love? Huge win for the lightning last night. The games will now shift back to tampa for games 3 and 4. For those who dont know, we lost game one in a heartbreaker, but game 2 we came right back and killed them 5-1. The team has really played better than the pens for the whole series just got unlucky in the first game. They have the momentum after last nights win and will be back in tampa where they beat them both times in the reg season. Lets hope our fans are amped up!

[Morgan]

I walked out of the couple of games I went to during the season. I can't get too enthusiastic about the game- That being said, I'm always happy when a TB team wins.

[BucBalla85]

I walked out of the couple of games I went to during the season. I can't get too enthusiastic about the game- That being said, I'm always happy when a TB team wins.

You ever watch playoff hockey? Totally different animal. So fast and big hits everywhere. I have to say, Id rather watch a game 7 stanley cup finals game than I would the super bowl. Its that crazy.

[Morgan]

I've watched both TB's so far - while flipping over to watch the Rays game.

I'm not much different that most American sportsfans, I'm sure.

Ever notice how the NHL takes a back seat on US national spors news coverage to NFL, MLB, NBA, and even golf sometimes (except in Canada)?

[BucBalla85]

I've watched both TB's so far - while flipping over to watch the Rays game.

I'm not much different that most American sportsfans, I'm sure.

Ever notice how the NHL takes a back seat on US national spors news coverage to NFL, MLB, NBA, and even golf sometimes (except in Canada)?

No its true. I wish it wasnt though because Hockey is such a fun sport to watch. Its violent like Football, fast like basketball but probably even faster. A lot more exciting than baseball in my opinion. Im not sure why it takes a back seat. Maybe people think its hard to follow the puck. Ive heard that one before. Im not sure what it is. What dont you like about it or what made you leave the games during the reg season?

[germcanbuc]

Bit off topic (this was the only hockey thread I saw), but Im really hoping we (Habs) can put a stranglehold on the Bs tonight......Man I hate them.....

[germcanbuc]

Also morgan, youre right, up here in Canada, hockey is priority over pretty much anything else. Weve got elections coming up and theyve moved two debates already to not conflict with the playoffs because they know nobody will watch.

[JasonOfthetower]

I'll be there tonight. GO BOLTS!

[Morgan]

I'll be there tonight. GO BOLTS!

Heard a national reporter say that Tampa sportsfans come out in droves to support the Bolts only when they win.

[germcanbuc]

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I believe it. But what do I know, I live in Canada

[Morgan]

not a good start 2-0 Pens.

[dbucfan]

I'll be there tonight. GO BOLTS!

Heard a national reporter say that Tampa sportsfans come out in droves to support the Bolts only when they win.

Give it a break Java

[SnookAU]

I'll be there tonight. GO BOLTS!

Heard a national reporter say that Tampa sportsfans come out in droves to support the Bolts only when they win.

You needed to hear that from a "reporter"?

This is pretty much true anywhere in the country unless you're in a traditionally big sports town like Boston, New York or in this case, Pittsburgh.

I live in Atlanta which has almost 5 million people close to the metro area and they can't sell out any sport.  Falcons games aren't full.  Hawks games are a joke.  The Thrashers are about to leave due to poor sports attendance and the Braves start out great with good attendance early in the season, but it tails off.  They can't even sellout playoff games here recently. 

People are fair weather.  What else is new?

[BucBalla85]

Well its actually kind of true and not so much. Before and after the Lightning won the cup, they had one of the best sell out crowds for years before they traded richards and the new owners came in. The Bucs had that waiting list for years when they had that good defense. Prices kept going up and the quality of the team went down. Makes sense. Thats gonna get better as the new players make a name for themselves. The lightning wont have a problem as I think their new owners and staff are some of the best in the league and their president knows how to build a fanbase. They are just beginning with their run regardless of what happens in this playoffs. Last night was a bummer for sure but I think the Pens just played a great game and took advantage of their chances while we missed ours. Its gonna come down to that for the rest of the series. Both goalies have proven they can get scored on at will so I think its gonna come down to the way the puck bounces and who takes advantage of their chances. We also need to stay out of the box. We cant score when we are in the box. They just need to take advantage of their chances. They had them and some of them the puck just didnt end up where they would have liked it. Its ok they will bounce back. They need to win the next two games in a row though. We cant have a back and forth type series against this team.