GDT: 3/6/18 - 7:30PM EDT - Florida vs Tampa Bay

Sky04

Registered User
Jan 8, 2009
28,955
17,897
He plays like a 33 year-old Steve Yzerman, aside from the faceoffs. I've never seen a player look so much like him. The slick finesse matched with the high level defensive awareness, risk averse plays.

We literally just played against one... I thought Barkov was noticeable on both ends of the ice - guy seems like he's been in the league for awhile but is only 22 playing above PPG and is a favorite for the Selke.
 

These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
34,118
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Tampa Bay
God this team literally cannot hold a lead to save its life. Mark my words if we win a Cup it's gonna have to be done with no less than something like 7 OT wins. If we didn't have McDonagh in the wings I'd be "this close" to calling for Cooper's head. From a lack of composure, bad goaltending, untimely penalties to overall poor execution of game plan this team needs the biggest and swiftest kick it could ever get. I'm not saying we did bad tonight but this team always has some sort of excuse and it's been like this for almost a month now.

I am absolutely terrified to think of what is going to happen to us. We're gonna be up 4-1 against someone in an elimination game and lose the damn thing .
 

letsgrowcactus

Registered User
Jan 21, 2017
4,699
4,793
Already saying they want Tampa in the first round even though they went 1-3 against the Bolts this season and are 25 points behind them in the standings. They’re not a team I particularly worry about it they do make the playoffs because the Bolts will have McDonagh and Palat by then.
As a FLA fan, that's by no mean a disrespect to your team. My reasoning:
First of all, playing Tampa means we made the playoffs (Yipee!!) - the Lightning are our most likely opponent, simply meaning we managed to grab Wildcard 2. Also, our other realistic options as of now are Washington and Pittsburgh, with a much smaller chance of Boston and Philly. Boston always, always kills us in regular season. Pittsburgh has struggled but they just won two cups and Washington always chokes in the second round of the playoffs but wins the first. Realistically, unless we get Philly we most likely lose in the first round... so why not play Tampa and get a bit of a friendly rivalry started?

Also, don't look at the points and standings - this team was a disaster until mid-December; this is the only time we played Tampa since then.
 

JoVel

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Jan 23, 2017
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I'm glad we gave up that lead so that Point goal was made possible. Holy shit what a goal that was and Rick losing his mind is just brilliant.
 

DFC

Registered User
Sep 26, 2013
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We literally just played against one... I thought Barkov was noticeable on both ends of the ice - guy seems like he's been in the league for awhile but is only 22 playing above PPG and is a favorite for the Selke.

Barkov doesn't actually look like Yzerman on the ice though. Point really does. The way he moves, the way he thinks the game. It's all eerily similar.
 

DrMartinVanNostrand

Kramerica Industries
Oct 6, 2017
4,508
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Tampa, FL
Lightning have been outshot in at least seven of their last eight games and their last five in a row. They have blown 3rd period leads in their last five games and very nearly did in the two previous games where they led in the 3rd period (the games at Washington and Ottawa). Two of those five blown leads were two-goal leads in the 3rd period, at that. Not coincidentally, they also haven't actually won a game in their last six games now.

These are problematic trends. The Lightning have picked up 11 of the last 12 points, more-or-less, on pure luck. Winning five of six OT/SO decided games is luck as much as it is anything else. The've scored 14* goals in the last three games despite only putting about 80 shots on net. That's an opponent S% of about .825, which is not going to sustain itself; that's actually quite pathetic to be perfectly honest.

There is defensive help on the way and I get that, but it's not like injuries don't exist come playoff time. Sometimes you have to figure out ways to play well despite not having the full Gala XVIII (to steal and paraphrase a soccer term) at your disposal. Lightning haven't played well whatsoever of late. There's still a month of get some of these issues fixed, thankfully. Hope they do, because this level of play is gonna see them beaten by Florida in the first round otherwise. Panthers were clearly the better team tonight.

*OT shot totals and goals not counted
 
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Maelmoor

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On one hand you could be troubled by the inability to hold onto a lead and our defensive efforts as of late.

On the other hand it's really difficult to keep up momentum when you are in the position like we are, it's natural that that edge and attention to detail can be a bit lost, compared to teams fighting for their lives. I'm still impressed that we manage to keep winning these tight games, I wouldn't just call it luck.
 

LightningStrikes

Champa Bay Lightning
Nov 24, 2009
26,061
9,771
I wonder if our ROW is going to bite us. We have 96 points in 67 games with 41 ROW. Boston has 90 points in 64 games with 38 ROW. If they win the three games they have in hand in regulation we're tied at 96 points and 41 ROW and the #1 seed is up for grabs. We're safe but not that safe.
 

These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
34,118
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Tampa Bay
Lightning have been outshot in at least seven of their last eight games and their last five in a row. They have blown 3rd period leads in their last five games and very nearly did in the two previous games where they led in the 3rd period (the games at Washington and Ottawa). Two of those five blown leads were two-goal leads in the 3rd period, at that. Not coincidentally, they also haven't actually won a game in their last six games now.

These are problematic trends. The Lightning have picked up 11 of the last 12 points, more-or-less, on pure luck. Winning five of six OT/SO decided games is luck as much as it is anything else. The've scored 14* goals in the last three games despite only putting about 80 shots on net. That's an opponent S% of about .825, which is not going to sustain itself; that's actually quite pathetic to be perfectly honest.

There is defensive help on the way and I get that, but it's not like injuries don't exist come playoff time. Sometimes you have to figure out ways to play well despite not having the full Gala XVIII (to steal and paraphrase a soccer term) at your disposal. Lightning haven't played well whatsoever of late. There's still a month of get some of these issues fixed, thankfully. Hope they do, because this level of play is gonna see them beaten by Florida in the first round otherwise. Panthers were clearly the better team tonight.

*OT shot totals and goals not counted

I'd be afraid to see the metrics on "when leading" because it has to be amongst the worst in the league. This Lightning team hasn't closed down a game in 7 of its last 8 games. They've had to hang on for dear life giving up 30+ shots in the contest.

Take it for a grain of salt, we REALLY DO get everyone's best shot every night, every team in the league REALLY IS trying to put us down every night. And it REALLY IS hard to sustain that effort every single night. But there is a major difference losing a hard fought 3-2 contest than to win a game 5-4 in OT when we were up 3-0 going into the 3rd period. One sharpens the winning edge despite loss and the other just teaches the team it doesn't matter how you play as long as you win.

It's not like we are intentionally lazy or anything like that but this team up 2 goals you know it's going down to the last minute like clock work
 

MattM92

Registered User
Dec 8, 2010
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FL
When is this coaching staff going to realize that they need to line match? They had Coburn-Sustr out there against the Barkov line for the first part of the game last night. Then they finally wised up and switch to having Hedman out there whenever Barkov was on the ice, but kept the Stamkos line out there. They were getting eaten alive. FINALLY they started matching the Miller-Point-Gourde line up with the Barkov line. Sustr should be playing against 3rd and 4th liners. He is not a shutdown defenseman.
 

MattM92

Registered User
Dec 8, 2010
6,925
516
FL
When is this coaching staff going to realize that they need to line match? They had Coburn-Sustr out there against the Barkov line for the first part of the game last night. Then they finally wised up and switch to having Hedman out there whenever Barkov was on the ice, but kept the Stamkos line out there. They were getting eaten alive. FINALLY they started matching the Miller-Point-Gourde line up with the Barkov line. Sustr should be playing against 3rd and 4th liners. He is not a shutdown defenseman.

It shouldn't take mid game adjustments to recognize that Barkov vs Sustr is a mismatch. You're the home team with last change, it should NEVER happen.
 

HoseEmDown

Registered User
Mar 25, 2012
17,452
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The only time the Barkov line scored against Sustr was the bad angle shot from the goal line. When Hedman and Girardi were against them it was a shooting gallery. Hedman and Girardi together is not a good mix, they have been letting a ton of shots against and are the top PK unit who's been getting abused.
 

AlphaCatalyst

Elite Fan
Jun 27, 2007
14,921
7,126
Calgary
I'd be afraid to see the metrics on "when leading" because it has to be amongst the worst in the league. This Lightning team hasn't closed down a game in 7 of its last 8 games. They've had to hang on for dear life giving up 30+ shots in the contest.

Take it for a grain of salt, we REALLY DO get everyone's best shot every night, every team in the league REALLY IS trying to put us down every night. And it REALLY IS hard to sustain that effort every single night. But there is a major difference losing a hard fought 3-2 contest than to win a game 5-4 in OT when we were up 3-0 going into the 3rd period. One sharpens the winning edge despite loss and the other just teaches the team it doesn't matter how you play as long as you win.

It's not like we are intentionally lazy or anything like that but this team up 2 goals you know it's going down to the last minute like clock work

EDIT looked at wrong year.

When leading after the 1st we have lost 4 times in regulation and once in OT

When leading after 2 we have 1 regulation loss and 2 OT loss.

We have a good OT/SO record so no real way of knowing how many we salvaged.

When trailing after 2 we have managed to win 6 which is only 1 behind NJ for best.
But our win % is tops at .300 tied with Vegas. So if we are trailing going to the third we have the best chance to pull out a win.

NHL.com - Stats

Also found this site.

Although they don't count the games where a team blew a large lead (e.g. from 4-1 to 4-4) and then still managed to win 5-4. So again no way of knowing how many we blew only to salvage with a win.

Statistics for NHL teams winning while trailing during the game

Total times of leading/trailing/tied for the NHL teams per season
 
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These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
34,118
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Tampa Bay
And for what it's worth that was Peckham's best goal call of the season. He's gotta be much closer to 70 years old as opposed to 60 and so the human voice isn't going to be able to roar in such a electrifying fashion like forever so it was a pleasant surprise to be taken back to the Vinny/Marty days when he'd call yet another globetrotter goal in the same fashion. Or I could just be totally wrong and Peckham has purposely dialed it back and could call every goal like that no problem. In either case he sounds just like he did 30 years ago doing Whalers games. Or at least the old youtube footage I dig up leads me to believe that.

God he's so great
 

LightningStrikes

Champa Bay Lightning
Nov 24, 2009
26,061
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To think that 6 months ago I could never have imagined the Lightning offense without him.

#Pointeffect #Yanni
Who would have thought that he was indeed carried by his linemates (at times at least)? I mean, sure, he's got great talent, wowing hands and passing skills and what not. But now on a much worse team it gets apparent that he can't play a 200-foot game and won't give his all for a full game, each game. Instead he's floating and comes off as entitled and immature.

Meanwhile guys like Gourde and Point battled through and leave it all on the ice each shift and get rewarded.
 
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These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
34,118
19,679
Tampa Bay
EDIT looked at wrong year.

When leading after the 1st we have lost 4 times in regulation and once in OT

When leading after 2 we have 1 regulation loss and 2 OT loss.

We have a good OT/SO record so no real way of knowing how many we salvaged.

When trailing after 2 we have managed to win 6 which is only 1 behind NJ for best.
But our win % is tops at .300 tied with Vegas. So if we are trailing going to the third we have the best chance to pull out a win.

NHL.com - Stats

Also found this site.

Although they don't count the games where a team blew a large lead (e.g. from 4-1 to 4-4) and then still managed to win 5-4. So again no way of knowing how many we blew only to salvage with a win.

Statistics for NHL teams winning while trailing during the game

Total times of leading/trailing/tied for the NHL teams per season

We can dig ourselves out of any hole we dig no problem. My concern with the coaching staff is that it keeps happening repeatedly. Cooper made the adjustment to a more conventional trap as opposed to a 1-3-1 where he'd hope to not only protect a lead but keep the play open just enough pile on more goals if we could get them. At the beginning of the year we'd shut it down and that would be it. Now we go up by 2 and I don't know whether to laugh, cry or wind my watch.

There is a very big leadership issue somewhere in the frequency of all this. I don't know if it's the coaching staff or the locker room but it's going to be our downfall if we play like this in the playoffs. If this Lightning team has taught me anything over the years its that we are creatures of habit. If we make a habit 3-1 turning into 3-3 and daring the other team to beat us in OT then I cannot imagine we're gonna get too far in the playoffs.

Winning sweeps everything under the rug but this is really starting to worry me.... A LOT
 

LightningStrikes

Champa Bay Lightning
Nov 24, 2009
26,061
9,771
Member the good old days, when we were the team that was down 1-3 after 2 periods and went on to win it 4-3 in the final minute of the game?
 
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These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
34,118
19,679
Tampa Bay
Who would have thought that he was indeed carried by his linemates (at times at least)? I mean, sure, he's got great talent, wowing hands and passing skills and what not. But now on a much worse team it gets apparent that he can't play a 200-foot game and won't give his all for a full game, each game. Instead he's floating and comes off as entitled and immature.

I was willing to deal with it because he was like a godsend to our offensive chemistry.

Stamkos can't play well with anyone else but Kucherov

Johnson can hardly play without Palat

Palat takes til January to get rolling

Killorn can't play with anyone for weeks at a time

Callahan can hardly play offense at all

Namestnikov had tunnel vision

None of that mattered when we had Drouin because he could click with just about anyone and our PP went from almost worst to 1st as soon as he took to the ice. He couldn't play a 200 foot game to save his life but by God was he great with Stamkos, Kucherov and Point. Suddenly we have 2 pairs we could put together that could score at any time. But then something happened I never expected in a million years. We got 2 guys who could score no matter what and who they played with in Point and Gourde.

Suddenly.....

We were able to keep Stamkos and Kucherov together, Namestnikov for all his tunnel vision could piggyback off them, Killorn could get hot and cold and we'd welcome his production and in the meantime Palat and Johnson could struggle all they wanted without consequence and Callahan could slot in the bottom lines. I swear on Yzerman I never.... EVER expected Point to get this good this quickly and I thought Gourde would be back in the minors by February and we were gonna break the "we score 1 goal or less" mark 20 times this year.

Everyone here knows Stamkos and Kucherov are great. Everyone here knows they're 30 goal 80 point players that are marquee faces of the league. But our true MVP? I honestly cannot decide if it's Point or Gourde simply for the flexibility they provide us. It was Jake Dotchin all over again on offense but THIS time it's for real!
 

AlphaCatalyst

Elite Fan
Jun 27, 2007
14,921
7,126
Calgary
We can dig ourselves out of any hole we dig no problem. My concern with the coaching staff is that it keeps happening repeatedly. Cooper made the adjustment to a more conventional trap as opposed to a 1-3-1 where he'd hope to not only protect a lead but keep the play open just enough pile on more goals if we could get them. At the beginning of the year we'd shut it down and that would be it. Now we go up by 2 and I don't know whether to laugh, cry or wind my watch.

There is a very big leadership issue somewhere in the frequency of all this. I don't know if it's the coaching staff or the locker room but it's going to be our downfall if we play like this in the playoffs. If this Lightning team has taught me anything over the years its that we are creatures of habit. If we make a habit 3-1 turning into 3-3 and daring the other team to beat us in OT then I cannot imagine we're gonna get too far in the playoffs.

Winning sweeps everything under the rug but this is really starting to worry me.... A LOT

As I mentioned those stats don't show all the times we blew a lead only to recover. So I fully agree with you the recent trend of needing to salvage a win after blowing a lead is absolutely worrisome.

Member the good old days, when we were the team that was down 1-3 after 2 periods and went on to win it 4-3 in the final minute of the game?

Tampa Bay area Pacemaker Sales went up 390% those years.
 

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