Lightning 2009-2010

[larrivee 3]

I hate all things Boston as much as the next REAL Tampa resident. Unfortunately there are a bunch of punks who root for the wrong teams.

Yankees fans count as punks too =)

[Cobra2717 0]

I dunno, dude's a minority owner of the Red Sox. Might have to quit on general principle...LOL

Oh come on nowwwww LOL.

Just poking my head in to comment on how ridiculous Stamkos is on the point during the powerplay. That one timer is starting to seem almost impossible to stop.

[larrivee 3]

Oh come on nowwwww LOL.

Just poking my head in to comment on how ridiculous Stamkos is on the point during the powerplay. That one timer is starting to seem almost impossible to stop.

Yeah, he is turning into quite the beast. Probably doesn't hurt that he's got Adam Oates coaching the PP.

[larrivee 3]

How was that backhand while falling down goal by Stammer tonight? Damn!

We're now 9-1-2 in our last 12.

[TBLfan 25]

I am still AMAZED at how good Downie has continued to be, he works soo freaking hard and is such a smart player. He's really grown up here in Tampa, two years ago I would have never guessed this guy would still be in the NHL.

Kurtis Foster, JESUS CHRIST what a shot. I wouldn't be surprised if he had the hardest shot in the NHL. I really like him on the team, he's great on the point on the PP and he's solid at defense, as well as a solid winger. A real utility player and an above average skater. I have no idea how he's able to get off such a hard slap shot soo quickly, his shot makes Meszaros' shot look average and that is definitely saying something.

Stamkos on the point during the PP is a blessing, he's a true sniper with a great one-timer. He's one of the few guys I trust carrying the puck up the ice through the neutral zone and he's the youngest guy on the team!

Malone, is a beast but anyone that saw him in 07-08 for Pittsburgh already knows that.

But seriously, what the hell do the Lightning do when Hale and Ranger return?

Bruins up 5-0... Steve Downie draws Chara into taking 4 mins in penalties because he pushed Chara after Chara checked him. Lightning score goal 1 with Chara off the ice, Downie in front of the net on his first shift after drawing the call. St Louis then scores number 2 on a 4-on-3. Downie deflects a Hedman shot for goal 3. Downie digs out a puck and jams it home for goal 4.

Downie, single handedly got this team going from being down 4-0 being outshot 21 to 13 in the first period... Steve Downie is officially a badass.

[gxc999 7]

Despite losing, I was really proud of our comeback effort tonight...

[chippa13 1844]

Bruins up 5-0... Steve Downie draws Chara into taking 4 mins in penalties because he pushed Chara after Chara checked him. Lightning score goal 1 with Chara off the ice, Downie in front of the net on his first shift after drawing the call. St Louis then scores number 2 on a 4-on-3. Downie deflects a Hedman shot for goal 3. Downie digs out a puck and jams it home for goal 4.

Downie, single handedly got this team going from being down 4-0 being outshot 21 to 13 in the first period... Steve Downie is officially a badass.

Obviously, 2 completely different views of Downie and Chara's little skirmish. Downie didn't just push Chara, he kept at him and seemed to be the agressor and interested in throwing down but then Downie learned that when you kick the tiger in the ass then you'd better be ready to deal with its teeth. I doubt Downie cowering at Chara's feet really was the impetus for Tampa's comeback last night. It was more a case of Boston letting up a little, Smith holding the fort, and Tampa ramping up its game. Downie clutching onto Zdeno's ankles for dear life, nah, not really a fire starter.

Every now and then I wish that Jack Johnson connected on the elbow that wasn't.

[Law Goalie 147]

The game may have turned around at that point, but I'm really not seeing spectacular inspirational value there.

I didn't look so much like Downie was trying to grab Chara's ankles -- more like trying to fellate him while soaking up a half-dozen reverse donkey-punches.

(For some reason, the Youtube embed isn't working.)

edit: Thanks, Chadd - I thought *did* use the link in the embed box... oh well.

[Chadd 916]

Fixed it for you. You have to use the link in the "embed" box, not the URL box.

[TBLfan 25]

Obviously, 2 completely different views of Downie and Chara's little skirmish. Downie didn't just push Chara, he kept at him and seemed to be the agressor and interested in throwing down but then Downie learned that when you kick the tiger in the ass then you'd better be ready to deal with its teeth. I doubt Downie cowering at Chara's feet really was the impetus for Tampa's comeback last night. It was more a case of Boston letting up a little, Smith holding the fort, and Tampa ramping up its game. Downie clutching onto Zdeno's ankles for dear life, nah, not really a fire starter.

Every now and then I wish that Jack Johnson connected on the elbow that wasn't.

Looked to me like Downie went at him, pushed him a couple times, then Chara grabbed him and wouldn't let go. Finally Chara let go and Downie punched at Chara's arm, then Chara just went after him. Downie was the aggressor, he was looking to draw Chara into taking a penalty and he did so successfully, drawing 4 mins.

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

We called it a MMA takedown.

He went for his legs.

We sat 7th row right in that section.

[chippa13 1844]

I'll say this, if Downie's method for drawing that 2 minute power play (remember, he got 2 for roughing) is something that makes him a badass then one of us really needs to look at how he is defining badass, and I'm pretty sure it isn't me.

[TBLfan 25]

I'll say this, if Downie's method for drawing that 2 minute power play (remember, he got 2 for roughing) is something that makes him a badass then one of us really needs to look at how he is defining badass, and I'm pretty sure it isn't me.

..Because he was the only one to go after Mr Forearm shiver to the head... In which he got a PP for the Lightning and the Bruins best defenseman off the ice for 4 mins, sparking a comeback... Which he was a major part of offensively.

[chippa13 1844]

..Because he was the only one to go after Mr Forearm shiver to the head... In which he got a PP for the Lightning and the Bruins best defenseman off the ice for 4 mins, sparking a comeback... Which he was a major part of offensively.

Sure, the comeback was nice, aided by two of the weakest holding calls to have been whistled all season. When you "go after" someone, that usually entails going toe to toe, not rabbit punching until the guy decides it is time to teach you a lesson and then begging for mercy at his feet.

[TBLfan 25]

He tried to take him down, he wasn't begging for mercy. He didn't turtle, he tried to take him down, a guy that is a foot taller and weighs 50lb+ more than him.

Yeah, weak holding calls... instead they should have called roughing for the butt end of the stick to his face... or the forearm shiver Chara threw on Stamkos... Or the hook by Rask on Downie. They didn't call a lot of things, heaven forbid they make a call for an actual penalty.

[furlanitalia 1]

It's hard not to like downie when he's scoring and drawing penalties, but it's even harder to like him when he's going for guys' knees and attempting to injure them. I understand that you need to take star players off their games, but that was just dirty.

It sucks too because I really thought he had turned a page

in his game.

[jeffw 1]

How the hell is Crosby not in the hospital having knee surgery right now? He's not human.

[Chadd 916]

And there will be no suspension because there was no penalty on the play.

[TBLfan 25]

There was a penalty on the play.

I don't get it, he's been the perfect cool-headed agitator. He hasn't been giving cheap shots but he's been pushing the right buttons then he very seemingly goes back to his old ways. I just hope that what went through his mind was he wanted to tackle Crosby not snap his knee because he's finally shown some talent and it would be a shame to get back there and waste all that talent away... Either way, I'm glad Crosby was able to finish the game and I hope he's actually ok.

[Chadd 916]

There was a penalty on the play.

The youtube clip made it sound like matching minors, my bad

[TBLfan 25]

The youtube clip made it sound like matching minors, my bad

Downie got 2:00min for Roughing, which I thought was fair(either that or interference) until I saw the angle from behind multiple times. At first it looked like he tried to lock Crosby with his elbow, tripped up and fell on Crosby's leg, it was the replays I've watched since that has me highly questioning that initial thought. :(

[Chadd 916]

Downie got 2:00min for Roughing, which I thought was fair(either that or interference) until I saw the angle from behind multiple times. At first it looked like he tried to lock Crosby with his elbow, tripped up and fell on Crosby's leg, it was the replays I've watched since that has me highly questioning that initial thought. :(

It looked like he was going for a slew foot then decided to just try and break the leg.

[Law Goalie 147]

That may be one of the dirtiest moves I've ever seen; a slew-foot would have been good sportsmanship by comparison.

[jeffw 1]

Crosby is apparently ok - His & Downie's take on the play...

"For a minute or two, I was pretty scared," Crosby said. "But with time, it was able to go away a little bit."

Enough that what looked like a season-ending injury -- and just might have been for anybody whose flexibility doesn't rival that of Gumby -- turned out to be more of a minor inconvenience.

Not enough, certainly, to prevent Crosby from extending his scoring streak to nine games, which he did by setting up Sergei Gonchar's winning goal.

Orpik said Downie "definitely tried to slew-foot" Crosby, but Crosby was a bit more restrained in critiquing the sequence on which he was hurt.

"I saw the replay between periods," he said. "He kind of got his leg underneath me and was trying to catch up with me there. He got me in a pretty bad position.

"I don't think there's a need for his leg to be behind my knee like that, but after we both fall, I guess anything can happen. But when you put your leg behind a guy like that, it's a little questionable. But those things happen. It's part of the game sometimes."

Downie described the play this way: "We were battling for ice. I got my hands on him to push him away. We fell weird."

There was no way of knowing whether Crosby's knee would swell overnight, but he downplayed concerns about that.

"I've been through the high-ankle sprains and stuff like that, and have a pretty good idea of when you're in big trouble and what areas they are," he said. "And I didn't hurt anything significant around there."

[furlanitalia 1]

I think hearing them talk about the play just shows the maturity of some players. Watching that hit is disgusting, and while I really hope Downie wasn't trying to do it that bad it definitely looked like he was trying to take Crosby out of the play, for good.

That said what was Hedman doing all game? Elbows Malkin when he was already tied up then gives him a good wack before throwing his hands up and backing off. Then is third man in again on Fedotenko and sticks him all the way to the net, high sticks him, and ends up in a fight (kind of). Perhaps it wasn't so much Downie reverting to his old ways but Tocchet asking the wrong players to get under the skin of the pens?

Regardless, is there any way the league would look at the Downie incident? It seems Ovechkin's hit has overshadowed everything else.