GDT: 3/24/18 - 7:00PM EDT - Tampa Bay @ New Jersey

[Bolt 45]

I'm sure that you would also keep Vasy over Rinne too. Well, at least Vasy tries.

You're right, I would.

 

[Stammertime91]

Yeah, he was great last year when the Ning had nothing to lose and he was shooting from everywhere and he got hot in the playoffs, but right now he's playing like he doesn't GAS. And I'd still take Matthews over Kucherov every day of the week.

Without looking up join dates and post history, I'm really skeptical at your criticism and sudden emergence here. Forgive me if I don't remember you, but it really seems like after Alfie came in here when we played Toronto about a month ago and smashed his Doritos coated stumpy fingers onto his keyboard - you surfaced. It wouldn't surprise me if you're really not a fan of the Lightning and you're just trolling all of us. At least that's what I think. Of course, I could be wrong.

Why the constant Matthews vs Kucherov obsession? Nobody here cares? Not even Peter Griffin. Take your Lightning quips and Toronto talk to their board if that's what excites you. Given that Matthews is one of the best centers in the league and we have arguably the best RW in the game, we wouldn't be better off if we could switch, but we cant, so what's it matter? It's like saying "derp give me Crosby over Stamkos any day derp" after we lose. Clearly you can make up these fantasy trades but it's all a pipe dream and a waste of time.

Your point was Kucherov taking nights off, I get it, but Toronto is where? And how many points does Matthews have? How good are their right wingers? Your point has flaws.

 

[Bolt 45]

Why is this the game to start panicking? It was a hard fought game from both teams. If there was a game to panic about it was Boston. This is just a loss in a hard fought battle.

Devils blocked a ton of shots tonight.

Exactly. NJ deserved this one. They played like a team fighting for its life, and we didn't match their effort.

 

[Stammertime91]

I think we beat Boston at least once, which means we only have to keep pace with them, which we've been able to do all year.

And some of our issues are self-inflicted. Whether it's incompetence or terrible luck, we knew a month ago that the Coburn-Sustr pairing was good for a goal against every time they suited up. Nothing's changed, including our willingness to send them out there together. We're spotting teams a goal, and we just finished losing a one-goal game. I'm still holding out hope that Coop's doing it on purpose so that our forwards have no choice but to play defense.

I mean, ultimately, if this team doesn't want it bad enough, what can you do?

I really don't like our chances against Boston. Admittedly my post makes it seem like an overreaction but I'm worried about how tight the other three play against us. The New Jersey games have probably been our toughest series this year. Not s good match up. Florida is a wacky game but we can probably get by them. Toronto comes down to goaltending and whether our defense can limit their chances. I feel we can beat Pittsburgh and whoever else emerges there but Boston is the one that grinds my gears. Plus I hate them so there's that lol. But yes you're right, our bottom pairing is almost a sure fire 1 GA each game and our team defense and penalty kill has been brutal. It's in their hands this year to show how bad they want it, especially guys like Stamkos, Hedman and some of the veterans.

Why is this the game to start panicking? It was a hard fought game from both teams. If there was a game to panic about it was Boston. This is just a loss in a hard fought battle.

Devils blocked a ton of shots tonight.

True on the blocked shot front. I don't think it's a game to panic, moreso, it's a gsme.to be bummed about. When they needed to put on a performance against Boston they didn't. When they needed to put in an effort tonight against a team that played the night before and won in overtime, they took about a third of the game off. Kinkaid played great and New Jersey played a pretty complete game. My worry is matching up against them in the playoffs. Obviously anything can happen and I feel we could edge them but that's not an easy series. When we played the Isles a couple years ago, you could look at them and see if you got by Griess and watched Tavares, you could get passed them. We did, and won the series easily. I look at their speed and their tenacity on both ends and it's a tough game. They have Kucherov zero space and blocked damn near every shot it seemed.

 

[Matt Watson]

Without looking up join dates and post history, I'm really skeptical at your criticism and sudden emergence here. Forgive me if I don't remember you, but it really seems like after Alfie came in here when we played Toronto about a month ago and smashed his Doritos coated stumpy fingers onto his keyboard - you surfaced. It wouldn't surprise me if you're really not a fan of the Lightning and you're just trolling all of us. At least that's what I think. Of course, I could be wrong.

Why the constant Matthews vs Kucherov obsession? Nobody here cares? Not even Peter Griffin. Take your Lightning quips and Toronto talk to their board if that's what excites you. Given that Matthews is one of the best centers in the league and we have arguably the best RW in the game, we wouldn't be better off if we could switch, but we cant, so what's it matter? It's like saying "derp give me Crosby over Stamkos any day derp" after we lose. Clearly you can make up these fantasy trades but it's all a pipe dream and a waste of time.

Your point was Kucherov taking nights off, I get it, but Toronto is where? And how many points does Matthews have? How good are their right wingers? Your point has flaws.

Conspiracy theories now? Really? Just a Lightning fan like the rest of you but not a no-nothing homer. Like to see the team that I spend my hard earned money on play up to their potential and it pisses me off when I see guys getting paid a boatload of money to do something the rest of us would do for free, or, actually, pay money to do, playing like they don't give a damn. That's all. This is a team with the talent to win a Cup but they're not playing like they want to be ready to make a run at it. So, there you have it. Go Bolts!

 

[Stammertime91]

Conspiracy theories now? Really? Just a Lightning fan like the rest of you but not a no-nothing homer. Like to see the team that I spend my hard earned money on play up to their potential and it pisses me off when I see guys getting paid a boatload of money to do something the rest of us would do for free, or, actually, pay money to do, playing like they don't give a damn. That's all. This is a team with the talent to win a Cup but they're not playing like they want to be ready to make a run at it. So, there you have it. Go Bolts!

It's just that I find it ironic. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of players to mention from any team you manage to hone in on, for starters, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and secondly, their best player Auston Matthews? Quite the coincidence. Couldve mentioned a winger on their team, or the usual position for position comparison and mentioned Patrick Kane - but no. You mentioned Matthews. I'll take 95 points and performing in the playoffs from Kucherov at the right wing spot, any day, over any other right wing in the league.

 

[Matt Watson]

It's just that I find it ironic. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of players to mention from any team you manage to hone in on, for starters, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and secondly, their best player Auston Matthews? Quite the coincidence. Couldve mentioned a winger on their team, or the usual position for position comparison and mentioned Patrick Kane - but no. You mentioned Matthews. I'll take 95 points and performing in the playoffs from Kucherov at the right wing spot, any day, over any other right wing in the league.

There's nothing ironic. First of all, I didn't start the Kucherov or Matthews discussion but when put to me I said I would take Matthews. And it wasn't about position, it was about overall value to their respective teams.

 

[Bolt 45]

I really don't like our chances against Boston. Admittedly my post makes it seem like an overreaction but I'm worried about how tight the other three play against us. The New Jersey games have probably been our toughest series this year. Not s good match up. Florida is a wacky game but we can probably get by them. Toronto comes down to goaltending and whether our defense can limit their chances. I feel we can beat Pittsburgh and whoever else emerges there but Boston is the one that grinds my gears. Plus I hate them so there's that lol. But yes you're right, our bottom pairing is almost a sure fire 1 GA each game and our team defense and penalty kill has been brutal. It's in their hands this year to show how bad they want it, especially guys like Stamkos, Hedman and some of the veterans.


True on the blocked shot front. I don't think it's a game to panic, moreso, it's a gsme.to be bummed about. When they needed to put on a performance against Boston they didn't. When they needed to put in an effort tonight against a team that played the night before and won in overtime, they took about a third of the game off. Kinkaid played great and New Jersey played a pretty complete game. My worry is matching up against them in the playoffs. Obviously anything can happen and I feel we could edge them but that's not an easy series. When we played the Isles a couple years ago, you could look at them and see if you got by Griess and watched Tavares, you could get passed them. We did, and won the series easily. I look at their speed and their tenacity on both ends and it's a tough game. They have Kucherov zero space and blocked damn near every shot it seemed.

For what it's worth, Boston's the team I'd least like to face, but only because it'll be an ugly, nasty series. But I guess I'm of the mindset that we're going to have to go through some tough teams no matter how it shakes out, so I'm not too worried about potential match ups. Not getting Jersey in the first round doesn't mean we wouldn't face them down the road. Same for every other team.

Plus, I don't want to duck anybody. I want to stomp through everybody. We have the talent to beat any team in a race to four games, so if we don't show up in the postseason ready to give it all, then we deserve whatever happens.

 

[Stammertime91]

For what it's worth, Boston's the team I'd least like to face, but only because it'll be an ugly, nasty series. But I guess I'm of the mindset that we're going to have to go through some tough teams no matter how it shakes out, so I'm not too worried about potential match ups. Not getting Jersey in the first round doesn't mean we wouldn't face them down the road. Same for every other team.

Plus, I don't want to duck anybody. I want to stomp through everybody. We have the talent to beat any team in a race to four games, so if we don't show up in the postseason ready to give it all, then we deserve whatever happens.

Pretty much. Normally I'd agree with you but I would be fake smiling my optimism at this point while yours is genuine lol.

Feel insane every loss, like, this will get better right? Right? RIGHT?

Cue my avatar of this is fine.

 

[Matt Watson]

For what it's worth, Boston's the team I'd least like to face, but only because it'll be an ugly, nasty series. But I guess I'm of the mindset that we're going to have to go through some tough teams no matter how it shakes out, so I'm not too worried about potential match ups. Not getting Jersey in the first round doesn't mean we wouldn't face them down the road. Same for every other team.

Plus, I don't want to duck anybody. I want to stomp through everybody. We have the talent to beat any team in a race to four games, so if we don't show up in the postseason ready to give it all, then we deserve whatever happens.

I agree, I'm not so concerned about who the first round opponent is, but maybe not for the same reason: Right now, there isn't one of them that we are playing better than (except for maybe Philly - yes, it could still be Philly), which is not the same thing as saying we are not better than them.

 

[Bolt 45]

Pretty much. Normally I'd agree with you but I would be fake smiling my optimism at this point while yours is genuine lol.

Feel insane every loss, like, this will get better right? Right? RIGHT?

Cue my avatar of this is fine.

Lol. I guess I'm just in wait-and-see mode, because we haven't played a playoff game yet. It's weird. I almost feel like a scientist curiously waiting for the results of an experiment. Good or bad, I'm really just curious to see what this team looks like in the playoffs.

 

[Bolt 45]

I agree, I'm not so concerned about who the first round opponent is, but maybe not for the same reason: Right now, there isn't one of them that we are playing better than (except for maybe Philly - yes, it could still be Philly), which is not the same thing as saying we are not better than them.

I think you necessarily have to adjust for our position in the standings though. This team has effectively been a lock for the playoffs for months now. We've been playing a ton of meaningless games, and to me the core guys on this team look more bored than lazy. The way they turned it on against Toronto showed me some of what I needed to see, and I'm confident that we'll look a lot different against Boston on Thursday too.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

Pretty much. Normally I'd agree with you but I would be fake smiling my optimism at this point while yours is genuine lol.

Feel insane every loss, like, this will get better right? Right? RIGHT?

Cue my avatar of this is fine.

I just think back to 2016, where everyone on here was down on the team and expectations were low. It took one game in the playoffs to change everyone's mood.

 

[Todd1a]

Guys I tried looking up Taylor Hall his playoff stats and he has none lol he has yet to play one playoff game in his career

 

[Matt Watson]

I think you necessarily have to adjust for our position in the standings though. This team has effectively been a lock for the playoffs for months now. We've been playing a ton of meaningless games, and to me the core guys on this team look more bored than lazy. The way they turned it on against Toronto showed me some of what I needed to see, and I'm confident that we'll look a lot different against Boston on Thursday too.

I'm not as optimistic, but I hope you're right.

 

[CupsOverCash]

Are the playoffs here yet?

 

[Matt Watson]

Lol. I guess I'm just in wait-and-see mode, because we haven't played a playoff game yet. It's weird. I almost feel like a scientist curiously waiting for the results of an experiment. Good or bad, I'm really just curious to see what this team looks like in the playoffs.

It's a good point. There are sort of two camps out there; the first round bouncers and the switch flippers. The bouncers look at this team and see inconsistency, average to poor goaltending (of late), a defense that can't seem to get it's act together, a horrible PK and think, no way. The flippers, on the other hand, see a ton of talent just waiting to unleash itself in games that really matter. Be interesting to see who's right.

PS. The bouncers, in their hearts, they're really flippers too.

 

[Hoek]

Yeah, he was great last year when the Ning had nothing to lose and he was shooting from everywhere and he got hot in the playoffs, but right now he's playing like he doesn't GAS. And I'd still take Matthews over Kucherov every day of the week.

No true Lightning fan calls them the Ning. The truth has leaked out.

 

[Matt Watson]

No true Lightning fan calls them the Ning. The truth has leaked out.

Is that true? I don't know, my neighbor calls them the Ning and he cries every time they lose. And he's 47 years old.

 

[These Are The Days]

No true Lightning fan calls them the Ning. The truth has leaked out.

Pit of misery for those who call them the Ning

 

[gg720fla]

Between everyone crying about them being underachievers or ready to turn on the switch in the playoffs and being a different team then what we've seen the last few months, I have one thought when we get to the playoffs. If we get bounced early because of all the deficiencies we've seen lately (not correcting ones that need immediate attention), I have one person to blame and that is COOPER! I hope Yzerman feels the same and takes the necessary action if that happens to get this team playing like it surely looks capable of doing.

 

[RussianGuyovich]

If we get bounced in the first round, and there aren’t any extreme reasons (injury, etc.) you definitely Fire bowness first. And coop is on notice.

 

[Matt Watson]

Between everyone crying about them being underachievers or ready to turn on the switch in the playoffs and being a different team then what we've seen the last few months, I have one thought when we get to the playoffs. If we get bounced early because of all the deficiencies we've seen lately (not correcting ones that need immediate attention), I have one person to blame and that is COOPER! I hope Yzerman feels the same and takes the necessary action if that happens to get this team playing like it surely looks capable of doing.

I don't know what to make of Cooper. Some of his decisions are puzzling at best and he definitely bears a lot of the responsibility for the defensive weakness and the horrible PK, which to my eye have more to do with personnel choices and scheme than with effort. But, his record is good and I'm not ready to cast him adrift yet, though you are right, this playoff run is the acid test. The team is as healthy as any in the league now (every team is banged up to some extent at this point) and he has talent to burn. If they go nowhere, he's got to go.

The one caveat to that is, if Vasy just sh#ts the bed and the rest of the team plays well, then I might have to think twice. I am not in the camp of people who believe Vasy has been mismanaged. I just think he is a young goaltender, a tremendously talented one, in his first year as a #1 and he is having some growing pains.

 

[Lightning1995]

At this point we’ll just have to see come playoff time. Would I still pick the Lightning over NJ in a 7 game series? I would. But I’d be worried. Will the Lightning win the Atlantic and avoid Toronto in round 1? Maybe, flip a coin. Does it matter that much given NJs 3-0 record against TB this year? Yeah, I think it does, I’d still rather face NJ.

Would I pick the Lightning in 7 games against Boston? Nope, but certainly it’s no slam dunk either way.

 

[CupsOverCash]

At this point we’ll just have to see come playoff time. Would I still pick the Lightning over NJ in a 7 game series? I would. But I’d be worried. Will the Lightning win the Atlantic and avoid Toronto in round 1? Maybe, flip a coin. Does it matter that much given NJs 3-0 record against TB this year? Yeah, I think it does, I’d still rather face NJ.

Would I pick the Lightning in 7 games against Boston? Nope, but certainly it’s no slam dunk either way.

I don't think anybody was expecting us to be favorites. Not until we started tearing up the league in the beginning of the season. After that expectations went way up as they should have. We've come back to earth and other teams have played better. It's how it is in this league. Not easy to win either way.