Post-Game Talk: Lightning def. Canucks - 4-2 (Highmore, Motte)

[Ducati Boy]

Bolts fan here.

I think TB players and fans were expecting another game like Buffalo, where they could still control playing at half pace, but kudos to the Canucks. They looked like a playoff team and probably had the edge in play overall. Hope you guys claw your way back in to the playoffs.

 

[Hammer79]

When you're coached for years like you're shit team, contenders beating you causes a mental battle "back to the mean" from you came. This is a hard process that's gonna be filled with mental lapses and some poor execution. There was plenty of that tonight but believe me, you guys handled yourselves immaculately with the creativity you had out there. I hate to be all "Look what we did to Calgary" but you're a non-muffin shot away from Boeser from a tie game.

You're right about what you're seeing in that they fell very short of Tampa but I'm seeing the positives in that under Green Tampa wins 5-1. That's not to throw stones in your house either. That's just how bad things were getting



You're getting there. Trust me. It's about your team believing it

I don't know man, I think this 'I come in peace' stuff is pretty patronizing. "Don't worry, you'll be good at hockey soon" as if we aren't sophisticated enough to know where our team is at or seen a winning team before. I know you are trying to be gracious, but it comes off very patronizing.

Tampa only had to show up in spurts to win this, and it's due to trends we've seen all season with our top players. It isn't news to us that Bo is not playing up to captain material or that EP can't handle the puck anymore, or that BB is slow and not hitting his targets. What is news is Garland all of the sudden becoming ineffective, but that may be due to being stapled to EP's line.

We went on a streak taking care of teams in the middle of the standings, many coming in off back-to-backs in Seattle or Calgary or missing key guys due to COVID. We took care of business, but this road trip is where the rubber hits the road and we are stuck on the starting line.

 

[wonton15]

I’m also done with Hunt and Poolman. Just completely useless. Hunt shouldn’t be seeing PP2 over Podkolzin either.

 

[mathonwy]

I wish Green got the hard part of the schedule instead. So many easy points were wasted early in the season.

We should have WAY more points than we currently have.

Garbage owner is garbage

 

[NYVanfan]

We should have WAY more points than we currently have.

Garbage owner is garbage

Yeah if theyd just been average bad rather than historic bad the first part we would be in a PO spot after that run. Now its seriously uphill. Anyway if EP doesnt snap out of it soon wont matter, theyre going nowhere anyway.
Agree about Hunt ..poolman has looked ok, but that play on the 2-0 was horrendous.

 

[VanJack]

It's too bad.....Canucks deserved a far better fate in this one....actually outplayed the Bolts for stretches of this game. But just seems the Canucks need three or four chances to score, while teams like the Panthers and Lightning need only one chance to bury it.

Of course going 0-4 on the pp and getting only three shots on goal doesn't help either. But the reality is the Canucks' only two goals tonight came from fourth liners. If guys like Pettersson, Miller, Boeser or Horvat don't score, this team doesn't really stand a chance.

And there's no way of sugar-coating it. Pettersson is having a crushingly disappointing season. If he doesn't pick it up, that new contract is going to be a black hole under the salary cap.

But the reality is they're below .500 again. The sad thing is this edition of the Canucks under Boudreau is probably good enough to be a playoff team, but are likely doomed by their awful start under Green. As the old saying goes, 'you can't make the playoffs in the first 25 games, but you can certainly drop out of it and end up chasing the entire season.

 

[rypper]

Honestly towards the end it seemed like the lightning were like "ok that's enough playing around," found another gear and completely nullified the powerplay and closed out the game. They're really on a whole other level.

 

[Johnny Canucker]

There won't be a full rebuild. That ship has sailed. We need to rebuild the defence around Hughes and get rid of the stupid contracts Jim left us with. It will be very hard but maybe JR can pull it off.
JR and Bruce are not here to tank. They are here to try and get something out of this core for the next 16 months. There is a reason Bruce has a 2 year contract.

What you said is the opposite of what the president / GM says lol. There are articles shortly after his hiring literally using the word rebuild.

 

[Johnny Canucker]

EP40/Horvat/Garland was very good tonight. 8 to 2 on scoring chances, 4 to 1 on high danger corsi.

It's just one of those games that didn't go their way, but they absolutely deserved to be in it. Can't say the same for a lot of their losses this season.

What does the Corsi say about missed breakaways and point blank chances for a 7.25M man?

 

[God]

What does the Corsi say about missed breakaways and point blank chances for a 7.25M man?

Literally every star player has these in their logbook of scoring chances? You don't remember any of the Sedins' missed breakaways or powerplays that didn't convert?

 

[Grub]

Pettersson is just absolutely trash right now. I think it's time to get worried. Just not the same player we saw 2 years ago.

 

[Dab]

I’ve said for a couple years EP40 makes a better winger than center and that’s really a tough pill for this franchise and it’s fans to swallow.

 

[Gstank]

I’ve said for a couple years EP40 makes a better winger than center and that’s really a tough pill for this franchise and it’s fans to swallow.

I mean he didnt even take faceoffs during his first two years, that was Miller job so it makes a lot of sense that he is a winger. Especially this year he seems much more comfortable playing on the half walls where he can have time to read the play then down the middle where its him vs 2 defenders who both outweight him by 30+ pounds.

So basically what we have is

C
Miller
Horvat

LW
Petey
Hoglander
Podz
Motte
Dickenson

RW
Boeser
Garland

Now the question is will Petey be a ppg winger or has that ship sailed completely and is it better to trade him while some teams still see him as a 1C

 

[John Johnson]

I’ve said for a couple years EP40 makes a better winger than center and that’s really a tough pill for this franchise and it’s fans to swallow.

Wasn't he playing on Bo's wing tonight? Still didn't look that great.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

 

[Rick Rocket]

God, hunt sucks

 

[Tomatoes11]

One thing I noticed about Ep is he stops skating a lot now. Seems like he has forgotten to always move his feet at all times like he did in his first 3 seasons.

 

[VanJack]

Before this season I was one of those who always felt that NHL coaches were largely overrated in terms of their impact on their teams. It was ultimately up the players and the GM who assembled them, to really impact what kind of team you had.

But that was before Boudreau. Since he took over 12 games ago it's almost unfathomable that the team leader in Corsi is none other than Uho Lammikko. Yes really....it was reported on the broadcast by Shorthouse and Garrett.

Lammikko!? The same guy who was so bad under Travis Green that he played his way into the press-box. But now he's anchoring a pretty effective fourth line with Motte and Highmore.

It can't be a co-incidence that so many players are playing light years better than they were at the start of the season. Could be the guy behind the bench is actually more important than I thought.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

I actually thought that was one of Pettersson’s better games that he’s had recently. Hopefully a baby step in the right direction.

Again - can’t fault the effort. They certainly hung in there and battled. Tampa, like Florida, is just crazy deep and talented.

Props to the fourth line of Motte/Lammikko/Highmore. They’ve had a few really productive games in a row. Just too bad they’re providing secondary scoring on nights when our primaries are getting shut out completely.

 

[mathonwy]

I actually thought that was one of Pettersson’s better games that he’s had recently. Hopefully a baby step in the right direction.

Again - can’t fault the effort. They certainly hung in there and battled. Tampa, like Florida, is just crazy deep and talented.

Props to the fourth line of Motte/Lammikko/Highmore. They’ve had a few really productive games in a row. Just too bad they’re providing secondary scoring on nights when our primaries are getting shut out completely.

Yup. 4th line has been relentless and getting the jump on the opposition defenders

 

[sting101]

One thing I noticed about Ep is he stops skating a lot now. Seems like he has forgotten to always move his feet at all times like he did in his first 3 seasons.

He's obviously struggling to hit the corners, his confidence and timing has been off but the toughest thing to watch is him not moving his feet and playing with speed. Him and Boeser better find new gears if this team is gonna do anything but golf come Aprils.

It looks like they spent their off seasons in a boy band or something because they used to be 2/3rds of a good top line now they are just killing this team given their roles and cap space allocations

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Canucks should have won this game,I think they deserved to…The amount of flubbed shots by EP,Boeser and Bo was disconcerting.

If they can keep up this level of play,and outshoot their opponents..they should win their fair share..

May be too little too late though..

 

[Diversification]

I don't know man, I think this 'I come in peace' stuff is pretty patronizing. "Don't worry, you'll be good at hockey soon" as if we aren't sophisticated enough to know where our team is at or seen a winning team before. I know you are trying to be gracious, but it comes off very patronizing.

Tampa only had to show up in spurts to win this, and it's due to trends we've seen all season with our top players. It isn't news to us that Bo is not playing up to captain material or that EP can't handle the puck anymore, or that BB is slow and not hitting his targets. What is news is Garland all of the sudden becoming ineffective, but that may be due to being stapled to EP's line.

We went on a streak taking care of teams in the middle of the standings, many coming in off back-to-backs in Seattle or Calgary or missing key guys due to COVID. We took care of business, but this road trip is where the rubber hits the road and we are stuck on the starting line.

I didn't think it was a patronizing post. Rather, I think that TBL fans came into the game thinking that they were going to face a terribad team but instead found that their team had really put in the effort to pull out the win. That's more surprise than anything.

I tend to think these types of comments are enlightening. When you're the fan of a top team, you see them on cruise control quite often because the level of competition with the poor teams is just that lackluster. So when the Canucks can actually push them, they would be the ones to know it rather than us.

This is not to say that your points regarding top 6 production and overall roster construction are not valid; they are. It's that the team we had in the first 25 games under Green is markedly different under Boudreau. And as a fan of the team, that's all I can really hope for. That perhaps we are starting to turn the corner and will reach that next level, which is to be a perennial playoff team (although probably not until next season). We can nitpick more about the finer points once we get there.

 

[mathonwy]

Honestly played well enough to win but just flubbed too many chances and let in a 2 on 0 that shouldnt have happened.

More or less doesnt affect my faith in this group at all, but they gotta be more clutch against these teams.

Keep working hard and clutch will happen eventually.

Clutch = Petey

Petey gotta work through whatever he’s going through or we give up on him and ship him off because that’s obviously what a good tight locker room does. Right Johnny Canucker?

 

[mathonwy]

Honestly towards the end it seemed like the lightning were like "ok that's enough playing around," found another gear and completely nullified the powerplay and closed out the game. They're really on a whole other level.

Tampa knows who their 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th line are and has 2 cups.

After 8 long years, we finally got our head out of our ass.

All things considering, boyos did good.