Stamkos these playoffs?

[dechire]

It's definitely a mental issue rather than a physical one and that's a good thing. It means the only thing keeping him from dominating is getting his head sorted out. If it was a leg problem he might never be able to play to his full potential again. Right now he's inconsistent and frequently overthinking but sometimes he stops thinking and suddenly looks like his old self again. Honestly I'm happy that he picked a contract year to have these issues and that Johnson, Palat, Kucherov, etc are able to cover for him. I expect him to look like himself again next year hopefully after he signs a long-term extension for under 10m

 

[Werewolf]

Give Stammer two grinders (Killorn/Callahan) and you have a one man show on that line. He is not a playmaker...he is not paid to be Crosby nor Giroux. He is paid to be the best sniper in the world. Give him a playmaker like Filpulla and you get beastmode Stammer. Give him Killorn and Callahan all season and you get Stammer on grindermode.

 

[Werewolf]

 

[JackHughes86]

stamkos just had a nice hit and he had 2 points last game

 

[Sky04]

Now this is an amazing game from Stamkos.

 

[FosterHewitt]

He is lighting it up tonight

 

[DFC]

Now this is an amazing game from Stamkos.

This is the guy we've been waiting to see. Great game from him so far. More of this please.

 

[Get North]

Good game but Stamkos isn't in his usual spot on the PP. Is it because of the coaching change from Boucher to Cooper or the emergence of Johnson? Or a little bit of both?

 

[DFC]

The real Slim Stamkos finally stood up tonight. If he can bring that kind of game to the table, we'll be in good shape. That was probably his most complete game of the year.

 

[The Macho King]

Good game but Stamkos isn't in his usual spot on the PP. Is it because of the coaching change from Boucher to Cooper or the emergence of Johnson? Or a little bit of both?

Well, it wasn't working during the regular season. I think part of it is Stamkos wanting to be more than a shooter, part of it is no real RH option to feed him one timers from the point. Whatever - it's working now.

 

[CupsOverCash]

The real Slim Stamkos finally stood up tonight. If he can bring that kind of game to the table, we'll be in good shape. That was probably his most complete game of the year.

That's how he played last year pre injury. Great to see.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Set the tone his first shift almost killed Hayes

 

[Deen]

Won me a Pro-line playing props tonight by whooping Nash two points to zip. I think he is doing just fine.

 

[Emperoreddy]

If Stamkos is waking up with the triplets playing the way they are...watch out.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

I'm pretty sure that Stamkos plays against better competition on a nightly basis and doesn't have as good of (offensive) linemates as Johnson. Both are great though.

 

[Deen]

I'm pretty sure that Stamkos plays against better competition on a nightly basis and doesn't have as good of (offensive) linemates as Johnson. Both are great though.

Johnson is just holding the candle until Stamkos is ready to blow it out. Tampa wins this year. Not even a Tampa fan, but I think he will peak at the right time and force them to the cup.

 

[DFC]

I'm pretty sure that Stamkos plays against better competition on a nightly basis and doesn't have as good of (offensive) linemates as Johnson. Both are great though.

The first part of your statement is false (the Triplets play the better competition with regularity). The second part is true though. With TKO all on the same line, and Coop's reluctance to play Drouin, it doesn't leave a lot of creativity for Stamkos's wingers.

He was phenomenal tonight. But no coach in their right mind can focus on him when TKO is torching them for 3-4 goals per game.

 

[VinikToWinIt]

I'm pretty sure that Stamkos plays against better competition on a nightly basis and doesn't have as good of (offensive) linemates as Johnson. Both are great though.

 

[SAK11]

Tampa fans are negative in regards to Stamkos because they've seen how great he can be. Compared to those great years he was nowhere near the same level this season. It's the same way Pittsburgh fans have been hard on Crosby this season if you read through their message board, or how Sens fans were hard on Karlsson last season and the first part of this one. When you have a star who does not play as they have in the recent past, it's frustrating. Of course superstar players won't become absolute garbage, but even being 'good' is not good enough.

I will say, Johnson has the much better linemates- Palat and Kucherov are studs, and Stamkos lost St.Louis who he had great chemistry with and who obviously helped him greatly. That loss, plus whatever mental or physical challenges he's facing coming back from that bad injury last season are likely playing a large role in his lesser play this year.

I'm curious Tampa fans, going forward the next few years, which player do you think will be better, and which player do you value more, Johnson or Stamkos? Doesn't matter much since they're both on your team [must be nice], but I'm interested to hear anyway.

 

[CarpeNoctem]

Totally awful first round, below average (for him) in the second round, and now he's stepped it up in the third round.

 

[VinikToWinIt]

Tampa fans are negative in regards to Stamkos because they've seen how great he can be. Compared to those great years he was nowhere near the same level this season. It's the same way Pittsburgh fans have been hard on Crosby this season if you read through their message board, or how Sens fans were hard on Karlsson last season and the first part of this one. When you have a star who does not play as they have in the recent past, it's frustrating. Of course superstar players won't become absolute garbage, but even being 'good' is not good enough.

I will say, Johnson has the much better linemates- Palat and Kucherov are studs, and Stamkos lost St.Louis who he had great chemistry with and who obviously helped him greatly. That loss, plus whatever mental or physical challenges he's facing coming back from that bad injury last season are likely playing a large role in his lesser play this year.

I'm curious Tampa fans, going forward the next few years, which player do you think will be better, and which player do you value more, Johnson or Stamkos? Doesn't matter much since they're both on your team [must be nice], but I'm interested to hear anyway.

You're right. When fans diss the performance of their stars, it's generally compared to past performance or what they are capable of.

I absolutely love Johnson, but in my opinion the answer is still Stamkos.

Side note: He was phenomenal tonight.

 

[Deen]

Tampa fans are negative in regards to Stamkos because they've seen how great he can be. Compared to those great years he was nowhere near the same level this season. It's the same way Pittsburgh fans have been hard on Crosby this season if you read through their message board, or how Sens fans were hard on Karlsson last season and the first part of this one. When you have a star who does not play as they have in the recent past, it's frustrating. Of course superstar players won't become absolute garbage, but even being 'good' is not good enough.

I will say, Johnson has the much better linemates- Palat and Kucherov are studs, and Stamkos lost St.Louis who he had great chemistry with and who obviously helped him greatly. That loss, plus whatever mental or physical challenges he's facing coming back from that bad injury last season are likely playing a large role in his lesser play this year.

I'm curious Tampa fans, going forward the next few years, which player do you think will be better, and which player do you value more, Johnson or Stamkos? Doesn't matter much since they're both on your team [must be nice], but I'm interested to hear anyway.

The only reason Johnson has been so successful is because the other teams are trying to shut Stamkos down. That is why secondary scoring is so important. Stammer is figuring out how to work around this.

 

[Love]

Once Drouin becomes an NHL regular and is placed firmly on a line with Stamkos, I have a feeling 50+ goal, 90+ point Stamkos will be back.

He put up 43 goals this season with pretty poor line mates. The two best wingers on the team are attached to Tyler Johnson, so we'll see how he looks in the future once Drouin-Stamkos becomes an inseparable pair.

 

[The Macho King]

This. Gosh it happens every freaking thread.

 

[The Macho King]

The only reason Johnson has been so successful is because the other teams are trying to shut Stamkos down. That is why secondary scoring is so important. Stammer is figuring out how to work around this.

You think teams are saying "hey, I know this line is the top scoring line in the playoffs, and was the top scoring line all season, but we're not going to focus on them."