It’s not over yet, but the season is winding down for the Tampa Bay Lightning. There will be no post-season play this spring, no miraculous run the the Eastern Conference final. But scattered amidst any disappointment there are bright spots – some of which may be surprising. Steven Stamkos continues to amaze the NHL and ...
Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman announced that he’s asked Pavel Kubina to submit a list of five teams he’d agree to play for – if a trade can be arranged. The 34-year-old defenseman’s contract pays him $3.5 million in 2011-12, and he will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. It’s critical to note ...
With their final regular season meeting now behind them, it’s fair to say that the Tampa Bay Lightning embarrassed their cross-state rivals in 2011-12. The Bolts posted a 4-1-1 record against the Florida Panthers this season, taking nine of a possible 12 points. Considering the two very different trajectories that the teams have followed this ...
Steve Yzerman is facing a dilemma. Does he trade players in an attempt to improve the the Tampa Bay Lightning before the NHL’s February 27 trade deadline, or does he stand fast and face increasing criticism that, in the words of The Hockey News senior writer Ken Campbell, “many of the team’s woes have to ...
USA Hockey wants to dramatically reduce fighting in Tier I-III junior hockey by handing offenders a game misconduct and an automatic suspension for the following game – and it’s hoping that Hockey Canada adopts similar measures. The proposed changes are based on rules used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and are a conscious ...
Steven Stamkos’ pursuit of another 50-goal season is a bright spot in a campaign of increasingly dim potential for Tampa Bay Lightning fans. Scoring 50 goals has long been a gold standard of individual accomplishments for NHL skaters. Difficult for even the truly great, it’s an accomplishment that conjures up images of the game’s most ...
In a recent piece that ran on Yahoo! Sports’ Puck Daddy blog, Harrison Mooney points out that the competitiveness of the Southeast Division has upended some expectations in the first half of the NHL season. “The only thing that’s unfolded as predicted is Tampa Bay occupying the space just below Washington”, writes Mooney. “The fact ...
Steven Stamkos remarked recently (via tweet from @TBLightning) that during “the second half of the season we’re at home a lot. We love playing in front of our home fans & we usually play well.” It was no idle observation, Stamkos put his finger on something statistically significant. The Tampa Bay Lightning will play far ...
Only 13 days after having his nose and orbital bone broken by a puck to the face, Martin St. Louis pulled off a seasonal miracle by not only suiting up against the San Jose Sharks on December 21, but also playing more than 20 minutes and scoring a goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning. While ...
When Steven Stamkos beat Columbus Blue Jacket’s goaltender Steve Mason with his patented one-timer on December 17, the 21-year-old center became the first NHLer to reach 20 goals this season, and the only player to repeat the achievement in consecutive years since Jaromir Jagr did it back-to-back-to-back beginning in 1994-95. Not only did the goal ...
