Lightning continue to Roll

[DELdaBull]

Waste of a great regular season 

[Guest Jonesy Bull]

8 hours ago, Triple B said:

I'll be pulling for Torts. It'll make this a little easier to deal with if they go really deep into the playoffs ...

I certainly appreciate Torts and what he did for us taking us to the promised land several years back.

But i just cant pull for the team that just swept us out of the 1st round.....yes call me "Bitter".

[John Lewis]

While the sweep was an absolute surprise, losing the series to Columbus shouldn't have been. The warning signs for the Lightning can be traced back to last seasons playoffs and the last regular season home game they had against Washington. The Capitals treated that game as a playoff game and blew the Lightning off of the ice in convincing fashion. The post game comments by Stamkos, whether they were lip service or not, stating the game was meaningless for the Lightning were proof that this team wasn't ready for the playoff grind.

I haven't seen much blame directed at BriseBois, but the majority of it should go to him. He did nothing in the off season, or at the trade deadline, to address the Lightning's lack of grit come playoff time. They lost to a team that played the same way that Washington did in 2018. Having the best record in the league during the regular doesn't mean that there aren't deficiencies. Pittsburgh was a top team in the 2016 and 2017 regular season, but they still made trades at the deadline to shore things up and that resulted in back to back Stanley Cups. Chicago did the same things and won 3 Cups.

The Lightning are going to have some interesting salary cap decisions to make in the next 2 off seasons because they have a few good young players that they'll want to keep.

[Triple B]

2 hours ago, John Lewis said:

While the sweep was an absolute surprise, losing the series to Columbus shouldn't have been. The warning signs for the Lightning can be traced back to last seasons playoffs and the last regular season home game they had against Washington. The Capitals treated that game as a playoff game and blew the Lightning off of the ice in convincing fashion. The post game comments by Stamkos, whether they were lip service or not, stating the game was meaningless for the Lightning were proof that this team wasn't ready for the playoff grind.

I haven't seen much blame directed at BriseBois, but the majority of it should go to him. He did nothing in the off season, or at the trade deadline, to address the Lightning's lack of grit come playoff time. They lost to a team that played the same way that Washington did in 2018. Having the best record in the league during the regular doesn't mean that there aren't deficiencies. Pittsburgh was a top team in the 2016 and 2017 regular season, but they still made trades at the deadline to shore things up and that resulted in back to back Stanley Cups. Chicago did the same things and won 3 Cups.

The Lightning are going to have some interesting salary cap decisions to make in the next 2 off seasons because they have a few good young players that they'll want to keep.

Agree the sweep was an absolute surprise but losing the series wasn't ..... a big part because of what CBJ did/didn't do at the trade deadline and the possibility of what a hot goalie can do in a series. Very little blame needs to got to BriseBrois, up to this point. There was no reason to make any big changes after last season and why mess with the team the way it was playing at the deadline this year, winning games in all fashions. The whole "grit" thing always comes up with the 20/20 hindsight after a series loss. They outhit Columbus for the series, including more than 2-1 in Game #2, where they lost 5-1. They've got plenty of players unafraid to go into corners after pucks, so this whole "grit" thing puzzles me at times ....... unless "grit" translates to scoring at playoff time.

What 20/20 hindsight tells me is that playing basically meaningless hockey for months leading up to the playoffs is a kiss of death in these days and times.

 

[Guest Jonesy Bull]

2 hours ago, John Lewis said:

I haven't seen much blame directed at BriseBois, but the majority of it should go to him. He did nothing in the off season, or at the trade deadline, to address the Lightning's lack of grit come playoff time.

I don't necessarily agree........when you are having the best season by any team in recent history, why would you mess with a good thing, the chemistry, etc. 

I think the bigger issue is we stayed healthy all year, until the playoffs started and all of a sudden we had major key injuries to our defensive studs - mainly Hedman.  You can't predict these things.......the other part of the equation is we were never tested in the regular season, and didn't have to deal with real pressure until now.  Is that the coaches fault, maybe, maybe not, but the players just didn't react the best to what they were going to face.

Additionally, give Columbus credit.  They had the perfect game plan and executed to perfection, couple that with a lot of bad luck on goals that just didn't bounce the right way for us, and running into a Goaltender that played out of his mind.

No, I don't put all the blame on Brisebois or Cooper, sometimes it just aint meant to be.

[John Lewis]

18 hours ago, Triple B said:

Agree the sweep was an absolute surprise but losing the series wasn't ..... a big part because of what CBJ did/didn't do at the trade deadline and the possibility of what a hot goalie can do in a series. Very little blame needs to got to BriseBrois, up to this point. There was no reason to make any big changes after last season and why mess with the team the way it was playing at the deadline this year, winning games in all fashions. The whole "grit" thing always comes up with the 20/20 hindsight after a series loss. They outhit Columbus for the series, including more than 2-1 in Game #2, where they lost 5-1. They've got plenty of players unafraid to go into corners after pucks, so this whole "grit" thing puzzles me at times ....... unless "grit" translates to scoring at playoff time.

What 20/20 hindsight tells me is that playing basically meaningless hockey for months leading up to the playoffs is a kiss of death in these days and times.

 

What Columbus did at the trade deadline certainly had an impact on the series. Duchene was arguably the best player in the series and Dzingel also had a pretty significant impact. We will have to disagree on standing pat at the trade deadline. As I mentioned in my earlier post, there are examples of top regular season teams upgrading their teams, even when they likely didn't have to, at the trade deadline in order to prepare for the playoffs. Winning games "in all fashion" during the regular season is all well and good, but the playoffs are a much different animal with how differently the game is played.

Grit absolutely translates to scoring during the playoffs. Jordan Eberle of the Islanders had a pedestrian regular season at best, but is one of the leading scorers right now because of how his game is better suited for this time of the year. The Lightning may have outhit Columbus for the series, but Columbus did a much better job of wearing down the Lightning's defensemen with their hitting.

You do bring up a good point about "meaningless hockey". This brings up the issue of complacency and I'll go back to what I said about Stamkos' comments after Washington blasted them at the end of the regular season. There should have been no way that you should lose that game in that fashion and call it a meaningless game. That was the team that ousted the Lightning the year before and that was the perfect time to send the message that things were different now.

Again, there is plenty of blame to go around, but I believe the majority should go to BriseBois. This summer should be real fun for him seeing what the Lightning's cap situation is. Point is up for a new contract and he certainly should be paid more than a majority of their higher priced forwards.

The Lightning's cap situation can be found here: https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/lightning 

[John Lewis]

18 hours ago, Jonesy Bull said:

I don't necessarily agree........when you are having the best season by any team in recent history, why would you mess with a good thing, the chemistry, etc. 

I think the bigger issue is we stayed healthy all year, until the playoffs started and all of a sudden we had major key injuries to our defensive studs - mainly Hedman.  You can't predict these things.......the other part of the equation is we were never tested in the regular season, and didn't have to deal with real pressure until now.  Is that the coaches fault, maybe, maybe not, but the players just didn't react the best to what they were going to face.

Additionally, give Columbus credit.  They had the perfect game plan and executed to perfection, couple that with a lot of bad luck on goals that just didn't bounce the right way for us, and running into a Goaltender that played out of his mind.

No, I don't put all the blame on Brisebois or Cooper, sometimes it just aint meant to be.

Because recent history suggests that teams who are ahead of everyone else in points still upgrade their team for the playoffs.

I will go back and try to find an article written in The Hockey News about why the Lightning should be buyers at the trade deadline. They mentioned depth, mainly at D, in case someone was injured and that Dan Girardi was a weak link (which he is (and that pains me to say because he was one of my favorite players while on the Rangers)) to that D group. Losing Hedman was a big blow and you could tell he wasn't anywhere near 100% in Game 1 after Columbus burned him on their 2nd and 3rd goals.

There were tests during the season and the Lightning passed just about every single one. That test on 3/30 was a big F and should have opened everyone's eyes as to how vulnerable they actually were. Was it too easy for them because of the division that they play in? The Atlantic Division had 3 of the worst teams in the league and the Lightning feasted on them during the regular season.

I give Columbus all the credit. Great game plan, tremendous effort and heart, and they did a good job of staying out of the penalty box. They also found a weak spot on Vasy and they exploited that pretty well.

I'm not putting all the blame on BriseBois. I stated that he should take the majority of it. Cooper made some questionable decisions. There were some players who certainly didn't show up that also have to shoulder some blame.

[BDYZR]

48 minutes ago, John Lewis said:

They also found a weak spot on Vasy and they exploited that pretty well.

They put a guy one foot in front of him and the Lightning let him simply stand there. Very few times did ANY Lightning player touch him. If his weak spot is not being able to see thru another player then I agree.

After the first period of game 1 the puck control and passing was atrocious.

If Columbus is a better team than Tampa Bay, then they were beaten by a better team. If not, the Lightning were beaten by desire.

On the bright side... ONLY 134 days til kickoff!

[John Lewis]

7 minutes ago, BDYZR said:

They put a guy one foot in front of him and the Lightning let him simply stand there. Very few times did ANY Lightning player touch him. If his weak spot is not being able to see thru another player then I agree.

After the first period of game 1 the puck control and passing was atrocious.

If Columbus is a better team than Tampa Bay, then they were beaten by a better team. If not, the Lightning were beaten by desire.

On the bright side... ONLY 134 days til kickoff!

There were some goals, especially in Game 1, where he was not screened and they beat him stick side. Agree about the lack of aggressive play by the Lightning D.

Columbus was the better team in the series without question, mainly because of their heart and sound play.

[Guest Jonesy Bull]

1 hour ago, John Lewis said:

Because recent history suggests that teams who are ahead of everyone else in points still upgrade their team for the playoffs.

I will go back and try to find an article written in The Hockey News about why the Lightning should be buyers at the trade deadline. They mentioned depth, mainly at D, in case someone was injured and that Dan Girardi was a weak link (which he is (and that pains me to say because he was one of my favorite players while on the Rangers)) to that D group. Losing Hedman was a big blow and you could tell he wasn't anywhere near 100% in Game 1 after Columbus burned him on their 2nd and 3rd goals.

There were tests during the season and the Lightning passed just about every single one. That test on 3/30 was a big F and should have opened everyone's eyes as to how vulnerable they actually were. Was it too easy for them because of the division that they play in? The Atlantic Division had 3 of the worst teams in the league and the Lightning feasted on them during the regular season.

I give Columbus all the credit. Great game plan, tremendous effort and heart, and they did a good job of staying out of the penalty box. They also found a weak spot on Vasy and they exploited that pretty well.

I'm not putting all the blame on BriseBois. I stated that he should take the majority of it. Cooper made some questionable decisions. There were some players who certainly didn't show up that also have to shoulder some blame.

You make good points, and I agree with some of them......this is a world class organization with a lot of smart people.  Despite what happened in the playoffs this year, this team is still ultra talented and most of the core will be back next year, and we are set up for another run at this thing.  I think they will make some adjustments to fix some of the Defensive deficiencies that were exposed this year......Its ultra disappointing, but for now I've turned the page on Hockey.  Its on to Baseball and looking forward to football season next year!