Lightning's Skill Shows in Win Over The Red Wings

The Lightning overcame an shaky first period in which they were down 2-0 and went on to win the game 6-4 over the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't the best start to the game as it seem the Lightning couldn't get their legs going and looked slow mostly throughout the first period. Goalie Ben Bishop seem to struggled to find the puck early on and looked to be fighting the puck all night as he had some goals go in that he usually stops.

However, it didn't matter as the Lightning skill and speed was just too much for the Red Wings as the offense finally got things going especially in the third period. I thought Jonathan Drouin was the best player on the ice last night as he got things going with the first goal and added a assist which put the Bolts up two late in the third period.

Drouin's vision, Killer's finish. #DETvsTBL https://t.co/mGQkrqDVUp

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) October 14, 2016

Drouin is just so good with the puck on his stick and created many chances for himself and his teammates. There were other positives as the Lightning scored three powerplay goals which was awesome to see since the powerplay has been this team's weakness in the past. There was constant movement and shots were getting on net which is the recipe for success on the man advantage. Another big change that was good to see was Stamkos back on the left circle where he can fire that great one timer that he has. The Lightning went his way multiple times last night which created some good opportunities.

This was exciting start to the season as the Lightning showcased how good their offense can be. If this team can be consistent on the power play they could win well over 50 games this season. Next game is tomorrow against the New Jersey Devils who are little more skilled and an more complete team than the Red Wings, should be another exciting game.

High Expectations

The Tampa Bay Lightning  begin their 25th season tonight against the Detroit Red Wings and expectations are higher than ever this fall. The Lightning are coming off two seasons in which they made it to the Stanley cup final and eastern conference final respectively losing to the eventual cup winners in both seasons. Steve Yzerman and his staff had an busy off-season as they were able to sign back their core guys in Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Alex Killorn, and Nikita Kucherov. Basically have the same team coming back looking to get over the hump and win the ultimate prize being the Stanley cup. This team has it all, they just need to stay healthy and put it all together down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs.

The team has probably the best goalie duo in Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy whom both have been outstanding over the last two seasons. The team has a big decision to make regarding Bishop as he is entering the final year of his contract. Does the team trade him if the right offer appears and go with Vasilevskiy going into the postseason? I say they don't and let Bishop get one more shot at winning it all, and then in the off-season they can figure that out.

Lightning have what they need to win it all as they have scoring, solid defense, and great goaltending. I think the big keys throughout the season is going to be staying healthy and developing the powerplay enough to make it a strength. If they can do those two things the sky is the limit for this team as they have everything else in place. It all begins tonight, it's going to be a fun season as expectations are high but this team would want it no other way.

The Captain is Back!

The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed star forward and team captain Steven Stamkos to new 8 yr deal worth 68 million in which Lightning Gm Steve Yzerman announced last night. This is fantastic news for this hockey club as they have been on the cusp of winning a stanley cup the past two seasons. Most thought that Stamkos had played his last game with the Lightning after the game 7 loss to the Penguins, but that isn't the case anymore.  Stamkos has stated that he has unfinished business here and is determined to bring this city a stanley cup title again.

Excited to be back for 8 more years @TBLightning ! Here we go .....

— Steven Stamkos (@RealStamkos91) June 29, 2016

Tremendous job by Steve Yzerman and Stamkos's agent to get this done allowing Stamkos to continue his career in Tampa Bay. Stamkos's heart is with this organization and feels it has many great seasons ahead with hopefully multiple championships per tampabay.com.

"I grew up as a kid there," Stamkos said. "And this team is on the verge of hopefully competing for Stanley Cups for years to come and me being the captain and being a leader... I know the process took a lot longer than maybe both parties would have liked, but in every decision in life you want to make the best decision. 

The biggest news from this is that we could finally see Stamkos and young star Jonathan Drouin on the same line for this upcoming season which could be a very dynamic duo.

Few months ago, some wondered if #TBLightning would lose both @RealStamkos91 + @jodrouin27. Now they could be on same line next season

— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) June 30, 2016

 This is a great day for the Lightning and all of the fans in Tampa Bay. This team is going to be special during the 2016-17 season.

What to do With Stamkos?

Now since the Lightning are officially knocked out of the playoffs, it's time to discuss the off-season as it will be one of the biggest ones in franchise history. The big question is what will the team do with captain Steven Stamkos who is a free agent on July 1st and is free to sign with any team. The answer is simple the Lightning will do whatever is best for them, as general manager Steve Yzerman has done just that since he arrived in 2010.

The Lightning have a certain number in mind for Stamkos and probably wont go past that number due to the fact that key players like Hedman, Kucherov, Killorn, and Johnson will need new contracts as well. The Lightning are going to have to move some pieces around in order to create more cap space. One of the likely candidates is defenseman Matt Carle who has a big cap number and his play has been sub par to say the least. Yzerman will try to trade him but a buyout is more likely which would have the same effect.

In my opinion, I believe Stamkos will return as he is a big part of this team and it's hard to replace a guy like him. Again as I have said before Yzerman will do what he thinks is best for the team, and if that means keeping Stamkos then that is what will happen. Either way this is going to be one fun offseason for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Lightning Come Up Short Again

The Tampa Bay Lightning were so close yet again but come up short for the second consecutive season. Pittsburgh was just too strong and fast and at times really dominated the series as the Lightning just couldn't make the proper adjustments without goalie Ben Bishop. Even though backup goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy played outstanding throughout the series, the Lightning missed Bishop's ability to stop the other teams forcheck by being able to make outlet passes to the d-men or forwards to start the rush.

This team show signs of being able to outplay Pittsburgh but the inconsistencies that plagued this team all year came back to bite them in the ass, and unfortunately cost them the chance to play in the stanley cup finals again. The Lightning struggle to create any kind of rhythm offensively during game 6 or game 7 which ultimately cost them the series. Tip your hat to the Penguins, they played aggressive and were more smart with the puck and overall were just better than Tampa. Our key players were non-existent in the last two games as well, especially Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. In the playoffs your best players have to be the best players on the ice, and unfortunately for the Lightning that wasn't always the case.

With that being said, it is amazing that this team made it to game 7 of the eastern conference finals without their two best players in Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop. Hopefully Yzerman can find a way to keep the core players on this team intact for next season as they will have another great chance to win the cup in 2017. The team has probably found three young stars in forwards Jonathan Drouin, Nikita Kucherov, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy whom all have very bright futures ahead in this league. This team just needs to stay healthy come playoff time as it has the pieces to win the cup next season.

Lightning Are Back in the Eastern Conference Finals

The Lightning defeated the Islanders 4-0, winning the series 4-1 and are advancing to the eastern conference finals for the second straight season. This series got off to a shaky start for the Bolts as they came out flat in game 1 losing 5-3, but after that they were able to come up big in key situations leading them to 4 straight wins. Goalie Ben Bishop was outstanding again and pretty much won games 3 and 4 by himself along with some timely goals in overtime that help the Lightning take control of the series. Bishop was great again yesterday collecting his 5th postseason shutout, 4 of them have come in the clinching game.

This Lightning team will go as far as Bishop can take them, and right now it looks like he wants the stanley cup. He just makes everything look so easy and plays with great poise and confidence which makes him such a great goalie. Now it wasn't all Bishop as Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov were terrific as well and came up with huge goals during big moments of the games. This team just has everything flowing their way, and this is without one of their top D-man, and top goal scorer which is really impressive. The coaching staff led by Jon Cooper has done an outstanding job, and their job doesn't get any easier with the next opponent likely to be either the Penguins or Capitals. The good news is that Anton Stralman and JT Brown could be ready for the upcoming series which will only make our defense that much better along with more speed on the ice in Brown.

Back to yesterday's win, the team was flat out dominant and it was funny to watch the Islanders bench as they knew they couldn't do anything to stop it. Lightning were just the better team and it showed in this series, and at times the Lightning just looked unstoppable. Now the Lightning get the chance to rest and can prepare for the next opponent whom will be a much tougher test.

Islanders Play With Tons of Grit

The Lightning now know their opponent for round 2 and its not as favorable as their round 1 match up was. Lightning will open the best of 7 series at home against the New York Islanders likely on Wednesday. The good news for the Bolts is they were able to get some rest and might get a key defender back at some point during this series. Anton Stralman is looking likely to return at some point during this series which would be a big boost for the defense. The bad news is the Islanders have size and speed and play a full 60 minute game, playing with tons of grit and toughness. Islanders are coming off a tough series win over the Florida Panthers in which they displayed resiliency and made clutch plays throughout the series.

Islanders are led by John Tarvares, who is one of the top centers in the league and can take over games at times, Lightning need to watch him every time he is on the ice. Islanders have one of the better checking lines led by center Anders Lee, who is just a pest on the forecheck and makes life miserable for the opponent. Their blue line is led by Johnny Boychuck and Nick Leddy whom both are solid two way players and are dangerous on the powerplay. The biggest surprise for the Islanders has been the play of their goalie Thomas Griess who has been very consistent and was outstanding in the last couple of games against the Panthers.

Keys for the Lightning against Islanders will be to play to their strengths which is using their speed. Bolts must play a north and south game and get Griess moving east and west which should open holes on the net. Good news is the Lightning have Ben Bishop who is the surperior goalie and should give the Lightning a chance to win every night. If the Lightning can find consistency on the powerplay, they can dominate this series, but I have a feeling its going to be a 6 or 7 game series. Islanders will present many challenges, but the Lightning have the experience and the better goaltender. Lightning will have to do a better job at staying out of the penatly box and must be better offensivley 5 on 5. Game 1 is Wednesday, this is going to be a dog fight and should be an entertaining series.

Lightning Win Game 5 Advancing to 2nd Round

With goalie Ben Bishop leading the way, the Lightning found a way to win knocking out the Red Wings in 5 games.  Behind a 34 save shutout by Bishop and a clutch goal by Alex Killorn with less than 2 minutes left, the Lightning won 1-0, and are now moving on to the second round to face either the Panthers or Islanders. The Lightning were not at their best last night as it was struggle for them to get anything going offensively, but it didn't matter as Bishop was outstanding. Bishop basically said "I got this guys, just get me one goal", and that's what happen.

It seemed like every Red Wings shot was coming on a breakaway, and Bishop stop every one of them determined to end this series in 5 games. Bishop collected his 4th career shutout in the playoffs as three of them have came on series clinching wins. Bishop has been the best goalie in the league this year, and will need to continue to do so if the Lightning want to get far in the playoffs again. Bishop's size and athleticism is just so rare in a goalie, that at times he is just a brick wall on the ice. He just does a great job of being patient and letting the shots come to him, and overall is just a very smart player.

"You look for a goalie to keep you in it, and in a lot of sense he won us that game," Killorn said. "Second period, (three) breakaways and (if) they score on one, it's a completely different game."

Now with some time to rest before the next series, hopefully the team can fine tune some things especially on defensive zone coverage and their special teams. The next round will be challenging again, but hopefully the team can get healthier and with Bishop playing like he is, the Lightning have a chance against anyone.

.@Benbishop30 has been a brick wall tonight. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/qPQKSJx4le

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 22, 2016

Bolts Strike Late to Win Game 4

It wasn't pretty last night, but the Lightning managed to find a way, winning 3 to 2 over the Red Wings taking a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Lightning played their game last night using their speed and playing more of a north and south game which is key for them to have success. They came out strong in the first period, playing physical and putting constant pressure on the Red Wings D-men. The Bolts forwards played with a shoot first mentality totaling 14 shots on goal in the first period which was closed to what they had all for game 3 with 16 shots.

However, the big story of the game was the Lightning special teams as their powerplay accounted for all three goals. They were crisp with their puck movement and were assertive with their shots on goal as it look like they had finally figured out what to do with the man advantage. Jonathan Drouin and Nikita Kucherov were the best players on the ice last night and good things happen when they had the puck on their sticks. Kucherov score 2 goals and assist while Drouin had three assists including the game winner to Ondrej Palat which was a great play.

Palat goal pic.twitter.com/J9eboShgXR

— Stephanie (@myregularface) April 20, 2016

The combination of Kucherov and Drouin on the powerplay is tough to stop because both guys know what to do with the puck, and both are looking to make plays instead of waiting for something to happen. Only 21, Drouin is showing his potential in this series as he has been a force with the puck on his stick and it looks like he is going to be a big contributor going forward.

Ben Bishop was outstanding again and allowed the team to have a chance to win in the third period. He made big saves in critical moments and has been consistent in the series so far. Even after blowing a 2-0 lead, the team didn't panicked and just continued to play their game and came up with big plays at the right time. Huge win for the team and now have a great opportunity to end the series with game 5 back in Tampa on Thursday night.

Bolts Need Another Gear to Win Game 4

The Lightning looked real strong during games 1 and 2, winning 3-2 and 5-2 respectively, taking a 2-0 series lead against the Red Wings. The team played with determination and were in attack mode for both games which is key for the Lighting to have success. Now I'm thinking just play the same way in game 3 and this series is over with a 3 games to none series lead. Well that didn't happen as the Lighting would lose 2-0 to the Red Wings making it a 2 to 1 series lead for the Bolts. Game three was really frustrating for me to watch as the team was just sitting back playing not to lose, plus all the penalties which hurt our chances of getting into any kind of rhythm offensively. Lightning didn't use their speed and didn't forcheck aggressively like they usually do, that needs to change in game 4.

The Lightning need to find another gear if they want to win game 4 as the Red Wings will come out desperate tonight in attempt to tie the series. Tonight's first five minutes of the game are crucial for the Lightning as they need to come out fast and attack Red Wings Goalie Petr Mrazek early and often. Get that puck in deep and forcheck the hell out of the Red Wings defenders, and be physical, but smart at the same time.

Last game, our line of Johnson, Kucherov, and Killorn combined for zero shots, that just can't happen if the Lightning want to win, must get that line going early tonight. This team usually does a good job responding after a difficult loss, let's hope that continues tonight. One thing to watch for is look for the Lightning forwards to use some fake shot dekes against Mrazek as he is really aggressive and it's something the Lightning should take advantage of. Lightning just need to keep the pedal to the medal tonight and they should be up 3-1 in the series later tonight. Also let's just start the game with a Boyle Abdelkader fight and watch Abdelkader cry like a little girl again like he did in game three.

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Real Bolts Talk will be a blog that discusses key topics involving the Tampa Bay Lightning and much more. The blog will discuss the draft, free agency, player analysis, game analysis, and anything else related with the Lightning. All of this coming straight from a fan's perspective providing opinions and analysis concerning the Lightning.

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