I hope it is Vasy but I think it will be Bish, not that I have anything against Bish but Vasy has played well in both games he's started and the team has one both of the games he's started. Hopefully Drouin will feature tonight also expect a recall of a defenseman sooner rather than later with Nesterov re-assigned to Syracuse. I imagine it will Koekkoek but I would like to see us give Witkowski an opportunity. I've always been impressed by Witkowski, I like his physicality & grit, he makes a good first pass, he's a good skater and plays just a simple game hockey game and therefore doesn't really make many mistakes.
So frustrating, Lightning played well but get nothing to show for it as Dubynk stands on his head. Hockey is a strange game, you look at this 4 game road trip and the 2 best games the Lightning played were last night and the game vs the Red Wings and the bolts losed both of those games.
Seems to me, teams are checking the Triplets line a bit more this year using their better defensemen and shut down forwards.
Not that teams "ignored" TB's second line last season, but let's face it....most were committed to shutting down the Stamkos line, making life miserable for him, meanwhile, Tyler Johnson and his boys racked up the points...and oftentimes did it against the opposing team's 'less ideal' defenders.
Add on top of that, the whole team, for WHATEVER reason, is just plain snake bit.
I don't know that there is a stat for it, but I am willing to bet, the flippin Bolts lead the league in hit posts, crossbars, and shanked shots on wide open nets.
Long run into the post season (aka the Stanley Cup hangover...or in this case, the Runner Up Hangover), with a short turnaround for the season to start again probably plays into it.
Maybe, perhaps, the whole Stamkos thing brewing in the background....guys maybe worried about who is getting shipped out so Stammer could stay, or the team is just prepping for life without #91.
Hey, not looking to make excuses for the Bolts.....at the end of the day, they are a talented team that just needs to perform....just offering some possibilities.