EP. 6 "We Want Tampa"

Stevie Z is back to recap the Bolts clinching their 9th straight playoff appearance. He also takes a look into the playoff picture and looks into big and small samples sizes of how Tampa has played compared to Buffalo and Montreal this season. Most importantly, Stevie Z answers a question about whether or not these final games of the regular season matter for the Bolts? 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's going on, everyone? You are tuning into the 401 Channel Side Podcast, a Tampa Bay Lightning fan podcast hosted by yours truly, Stevie Z. Well, the time you have all been waiting for has finally come. The Bulls have clinched their spot in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, their ninth straight appearance. Let's get into a recap of what happened the last week, starting with Pittsburgh on April 2nd. Bulls win the game 6-3. There's no Hegel, no Sabron. York Strand moves up to the second line, Chafey on the fourth line. Almost midway through the first period. Sorelli puts a rebound in from the slot with 1454 left. It's Tony's 21st of the season, his 50th point of the season. The fifth Boltz player to record 50 points this season. Less than two minutes later, 12.59 left in the first. Raquel ties it for Pittsburgh. He whacks the loose puck past Vasi short side, 1-1. At the end of the first period, I thought it was turnovers galore for the Bolts after their first goal. They were just really careless. And for me, I thought the Bolts played well for about five minutes, and they didn't take care of the puck after their first goal. Early into the second period, 11 seconds, Sorelli gets a short-handed breakaway, goes forehand, backhand, and beats Skinner to tie it 2-2. That's his second of the night. 551 left in the second. Braden point on a net front play. Jay Gensel passes the puck from behind the net after getting his own rebound from a shot that went wide. 3-2 at that point for the Bolts. Last minute in the second period, Gergensen gets an incredible backhand feed from Gore from behind the net. Jurgensen goes backhand and scores his 100th career goal. 4-2 for the Bolts at the end of the second. Bolts really busted the thing open in the second period. And Yanni Gore's line finally gets one in the net. I think that's really what their first goal since maybe the Western road trip. Late in the third period, 6'10 left in the third. Kutrov gets a spin around shot from the corner, and he whips it to the near corner of the net over Skinner's right shoulder. Unreal shot, accidentally on purpose, 5-2, his 41st of the season. And then Sorelli caps off the hat trick with an empty net goal with 427 left. His second career hat trick to make it 6-2. And then Pittsburgh gets a late garbage time goal with less than a second left. Chinikov, a power play goal off a seeing ice shot to make it 6-3. Overall, Yanni Gord's line did an incredible job of shutting down Sidney Crosby. Both Malcolm and Crosby had zero points in that game. Kutrov with a three-point night. And at that point, through six games on the homestand, the Bolts were 4 for 20 on the power play, but 0 for 15 in the last four games. Okay. And look, at the end of this game, the Bolts got their 100th point of the season. It was well earned, well deserved. They went through ups and downs like any other team, but for the most part, they've been consistently good this season. And nobody really foresaw the Atlantic division being so tight that I really do think that the winner deserves it. Getting into the Boston game on Saturday, April 4th, it was the same exact lineup as Thursday versus the Pens. Boston came into this game off a 2-1 loss to Florida Thursday night, and they had a really a shaky road record. I wouldn't say shaky, but not as good as their home record. 15-15 and seven overtime losses on the road this season. They came into the game with 94 points, which would actually be good for second in the metro at the time, but they're in the first wild card spot. Nothing doing in the first period. Pretty competitive. Close to midway through the second period. Arvidson fights Middle Stat all alone in the slot. He snaps it past Vassy with 13-12 to make it 1-0. This goal was really because the Lightning just didn't cross their T's, dot their I's. They tried to fly the zone without the puck, and Boston ends up keeping it in. The second period would end up being 1-0 Boston, and I felt that it was going to take a lot more offensively than what the Bolts were doing to be able to get a goal and end up winning this game. Well, thankfully, early in the third period with 1749 left, Charles Edward Dasteux ties it. He gets two cracks at the net and pots a second chance for a sixth goal of the season. Then late in the third with 531 left, uh Radish goes down the right wing and fires it far side on Swayman and it leaks through for his 21st goal of the season, which is now a new Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman single season record for goals. Kutroff ends up finishing this thing off with an empty net goal with 133 left to Ice it 3-1. And look, it was a good third period by the Bolts. They found a way to win. That's all you can ask for. 102 points in the season at that time. The Bolts finished the homestand 5-1-1. All positive for the most part. If there was any gripe on my end, it's the power play. Power play looking kind of sleepy during the homestand. You really hope that they can pick that up as the season concludes here. Headed to Monday night versus Buffalo. Okay, we all knew what it was going to be. This was a game that I don't know if Tampa necessarily had circled on their calendar, but Buffalo definitely did. Okay, no Hegel, no Sorelli. Buffalo puts in Shen and Stanley for this game. This was Shen's what third game since the trade deadline? So he's not even really being utilized that much. At this point, both teams have clinched, but the Bolts were leading the division 102 to 100. And look, I'll say this. Buffalo looks incredibly fast. They look incredibly fast. Alex Tuck is dangerous, really, from all over the ice, and especially on the PK. His first goal of the night with 14-18 left in the first. It's a poor change by the Bolts, and Alex Tucks, who exits the box off a penalty kill, just grabs the puck, drives into the zone. Boltz defenders are backing off of him. He cuts into the slot and snipes it. Terrible defense by the Bolts there. Radish de Gensel, who finds Cooch from his spot. Cooch contorts his body for a blistering shot past Lukanen. Cooch's 400th career goal. Less than three minutes later, with 556 left in the first. 2-1 Buffalo off a poor turnover, an easy entry off a drop pass. Josh Norris ends up firing it past Vasi. It looked like a moving screen. 350 left in the first. Point leaves the game momentarily. After he collides with Lukanen. Look, I'll say this much. It was a really dangerous play by Mutias Samuelson. Buffalo fans seem to think that point was out of control here. No, he's fully in control of his body as he's skating through the zone and he gets around Samuelson. Samuelson just happens to give him a push in the back. And Point then ends up losing control and he collides with Lukanen and his body ends up taking out the net. It looks like he gets bent in half by the goalpost almost. He ends up leaving the game. Thankfully, he ends up returning for the second period because that looked like it could have been really bad. Into the second period, Bolts tie at 2-2 with 16.04 left in the second. Radish has an excellent keep along the wall. Point gets the puck, who skates around and he finds Jake Gensel, who snaps it home for his 37th of the season in his 86th point of the season. And a career high in points for Jake Gensel. 1222 left in the second period. 3-2 Buffalo. Jason Zucker tips a point shot after a horrendous icing by the Bolts. I mean, it was so needless. It didn't need to happen. Sure enough, a team like Buffalo, who's, I believe, their last in the league in face-off percentage. Well, they win the face-off, and it ends up getting into the back of Tampa's net. And up to this point, like Tampa hasn't led in this game at all. They have been chasing the entire game. Through two periods, I didn't think the Bulls had done enough offensively. They only had 16 credited shots. That's not getting it done versus a team like Buffalo, who I personally don't think their goaltending is all that great. But Tampa hadn't done enough. It was kind of like the Montreal game. They hadn't done enough offensively, like a lot of one and done. Sure, they would have some shifts where they would get into the offensive zone and have some possession. But for the most part, it didn't seem like there was a lot of dangerous chances through two periods. And then getting into the third period, the Bolts had one shot through almost nine minutes of play. And it's just not it's not good enough. The game had the feel of a preseason game in the third period, and the Bolts were only down by one at that point. We get into the third period, and this is really, I think, the the big headline of the game. Obviously, the score in Tampa losing was its own headline, but with 7-16 left in the third, Pontus Homburg gets injured off of Peyton Krebs check. And the the check wasn't anything, right? Like Homburg gets checked and pushed and he slides. He ends up sliding into the board. And you're thinking, okay, well, that's that doesn't look like anything. But then he doesn't get up. And then you see the replay. Well, as he's skating, or as he's sliding on the ice and going into the board, the penalty box attendant, I guess, has the latch open to allow Zach Benson to get out of Buffalo's penalty box, or just prepare him to get out of the penalty box, and the door is loose, and as Holberg slides into it, his shoulder collarbone gets wedged between the board and the opening in the door. Look, it didn't look good. Right? He threw his gloves in frustration as he was getting off the ice in the tunnel. And for me, it's a big blow if he's out long term. And maybe they can mitigate it. Maybe the Bolts can mitigate that loss. But he's he's a he's one-third of that Yanni Gord-Gergensen's line that they're gonna have to try to find someone to replace. And right now, I'm I'm not really sure who that is. We'll just wait to hear what the deal is with Homburg and and hopefully it's it's not as bad as it looked. And I'll get into what John Cooper said in a little bit. Late in the in the third period, Buffalo gets the empty net goal. Uh they they end up winning the game 4-2. Look. My my thoughts on it are I I didn't I didn't really like Tampa's game offensively, especially in that third period. Just no energy, no shots, a lot of one and done. Very similar to the Montreal game. It was low event besides losing Homeberg. Right? And I thought Alex Tuck, he had two goals. He was Buffalo's best player by far. I mean, dangerous from everywhere, like I said. Five on five, penalty kill, and he's just one of many Buffalo Sabres players that are playing at an incredibly high level right now. On to the post-game comments, you know, by John Cooper, he was visibly frustrated in his post-game interview, not so much about the result of the game. He just felt that the penalty box attendant was negligent towards paying attention and making sure that the door was closed. You know, and and here's the thing like John Cooper questions if the if the penalty box attendant should keep his job. Personally, I I think that's going a little too far, but I understand his sentiment. He's very frustrated. He just lost a vital contributor to the team in terms of a defensive forward, potentially for long term, over an injury that's not really even hockey related. I'll say this. Is it possible that the penalty box attendant was negligent in towards paying attention of the situation? Yeah, that that could be true. Is it is it fair to say that that is a an absolute freak accident? That's also true. Is it fair for John Cooper to be upset and frustrated that he just lost a vital defensive forward a couple games before the playoffs off a off a play that's not really a hockey play? Yeah, I mean, all those things can be true. Right? All those things can be true. Is it negligent? Yeah, potentially. You know, he's doing his job. Um I listened to the lightning launch with Dave Mishkin and Greg Linelli, and Dave Mishkin talked about how he asked Pat Maroon if he had ever experienced an incident like this or had seen anything like this, where the penalty box attendant like starts unlatching the door early. Pat Maroon, and I'm paraphrasing here, Pat Maroon said that he hadn't he had never that never really happens, right? The penalty box attendant usually keeps the door latched until zero hits on the clock for them to leave, and that if there's a player coming towards them, like that there's a reason why it's it's not it's not open for instances like that. And like I said, you you're I'm paraphrasing there. So for me, it's okay, what I understand. Look, at the end of it all, it's a freak accident with a very unfortunate result. I don't think the guy should lose his job. You know, I think that John Cooper is obviously very frustrated, rightfully so. He's gonna have to try to find somebody to fill a gap in his lineup, which it could be Dominic James, but he's currently out as well. And not to mention that you also have Hegel and Sorelli out. So how are you gonna fill those gaps? Well, Tuesday night on a back-to-back versus Ottawa, no Hegel, no Sorelli, no Homebird, no James still, no Sabron. They call up three AHL guys. So Connor Geeky, Jacob Peltier, and Dylan Duke all get the call-up from Syracuse. Now, believe it or not, all three of those guys are on a line for the Syracuse Crunch. They come up and they're gonna be the fourth line for Tampa. I I you can't really have much expectation for them coming in. I mean, they had to get a they had to catch a ride from an intern in her car to get to Ottawa for the game. So the Bolts end up losing the game 6-2. And really, it was more of like the Montreal and Buffalo games from Tampa's standpoint offensively, just not much really happening. We don't get the first goal till late in the second period, where Brady Kachuk and Spence get a 2v1 on Radish after a really poor pinch by JJ Mosier, and Spence snipes it past Johansson, his second goal versus the Bolts in as many games. Really late in the second period, Nick Paul gets a double doink goal off a flub shot by Corey Perry, and ends up hitting off an Ottawa defender skate. Nick Paul finds it, goes backhand and ties the game 1-1. And look, like through those two periods, I still got the vibe of a preseason game. And at to this point, like I was expecting more from Ottawa offensively at that point. Really in the third period, 2-1, uh, the AHL line gets stuck out there. Fabian Zetterlin shoots a puck and it goes off Chernak and in the net. Just another stupid puck luck goal that goes against the Lightning. Less than two minutes later, you know, 3-1. Sanderson drives wide on Mosier and slides it underneath. I thought that was terrible defending by Mosier. And a tied game gets blown open in under two minutes. Just because the bolts aren't really buttoned up defensively. Less than 10 minutes left in the third. Bolts make it 3-2 off of McDonough. I don't know if it's a slap pass or like a fake shot and a pass from the point, and Corey Perry redirects it, parked next to Allmark. And Ottawa just continue to score from there, from that point. 709 left in the third. Stiltill scores to make it 4-2 on a scramble play on the on uh the power play for Ottawa. It looked like he could have been a potential goalie interference because it looks like Dylan Cousins knocks the puck away from Johansson as he kind of barrels into him. Nick Paul's the one who forces Cousin into Johansson. Johansen can't get the cover. Stutzel puts it in the net. 5-2 Jake Sanderson 13 seconds later, off a breakaway on the on on the power play. Turnak falling asleep. Pinto 6-2, short-handed empty net goal. Game finishes 6-2. Boltwell, five goals in the third period. Oh man. Um my thoughts on this game were very interesting to say the least. I didn't really know how to feel. It sucked for me because they're tied 1-1. Obviously, it's low event from both teams. Nobody's really generating anything. And I thought the Bolts just decided to fall asleep. You know, like just too many plays in that third period against Ottawa, where it's all like you're just kind of going through the motions. And I get it. They want it, well, they want to get to the playoffs healthy. But I was annoyed. I won't lie to you. I was annoyed because the game was 1-1. They had an opportunity. If they just if things would hold serve through that third period, the Bolts could potentially get points out of that game. Even if they didn't play their best. So to start this road trip where the Bolts have to play four division opponents, all on the road trip, all against teams who are vying for playoff positioning. On the road trip, the Bolts start 0 2. Right? And so let's look at where the Atlantic division standings are right now, and we'll look at the East in general. We'll touch into a little bit of the West because we finally have our first um Matchup set. So in the Atlantic, Buffalo overtakes for first with a win versus the Rangers tonight, Thursday night, April 8th. So after 79 games, they have 48 wins with 104 points, 40 regulation wins, uh, 43 regulation overtime wins. 5-3-2 over their last 10 on a win streak of two. Right, Tampa, 78 games played. They're in second, 48, 24, and 6, 102 points. Montreal, 78 games played, 46 wins, 22 losses, 10 overtime losses, 102 points. And the Metro, Carolina in first with 106 points. Pittsburgh second with 96 points. Philly in third with 92 points. You look at the wild card standings. I think Boston is firmly entrenched in that first wild card with 96 points. Look, over their last couple games, something could happen. I just don't know if Ottawa's gonna have enough juice to catch Boston. They're only four points back, right, with 92 points in the second wild card. But we'll see what happens because they've got four games left. Boston has three games left. And then you kind of get down to those other four teams. Columbus, just two points out of that wildcard spot with 90 points. Detroit, 89 points. The Islanders 89 points. And the Capitals, 89 points, but they have 79 games played. I really just I'm not sure if the cap like the Caps might run out of games to continue to get points. I think they can really only get six more points of 95 points. So really they're they're vying for that second wild card. And I just I think they're gonna run out of games to get there. You look over in the West, we finally have our first uh playoff matchup set between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild. I said it a couple episodes ago. It is crazy to me that two teams with over 100 points are gonna face off, and it's gonna be the same thing in the in the Atlantic, that one of those teams will be going home after the first. That's crazy to me. Not necessarily a fan of it, right? Meanwhile, in the Pacific, there are three teams that don't even have 90 points yet. Edmonton with 88 at the time of recording, Vegas 88 at the time of recording, and Anaheim with 87 points in third. I mean, all those teams, the most they're going to be able to get is 96 points. And two of those teams have the potential to end up moving on. Right, and then you get into the wild card. I mean, Utah 88 points, and then the first wild card, Nashville, and the second wild card with 84 points. The Kings are just outside with 83 points. The Kings have 19 overtime losses this year. And if I read correctly, they have 19 regulation wins as well. And somehow they're battling for a playoff spot. I mean that the Pacific is absolutely terrible from my point of view. Absolutely terrible. The ducks are a minus 19 goal differential and they're sitting in third in the Pacific. Uh yeah, I I I personally don't believe there's going to be I don't believe that the the Western representative will be coming from the Pacific. Obviously, anything can happen, but based on obviously not only their point totals, but just the other potential Western representatives from the Central Division, I'm just not sure a team from the Pacific division is really capable of playing a consistent level of hockey, consistent enough and good enough to beat a Colorado, Dallas, or Minnesota in a seven-game series. Now, Edmonton has the firepower offensively, defense, and goaltending is really a whole other deal for them. And I just don't know if if they have it to match up with either of those three teams in the central, right, coming out of the west, going back to the east and looking at that wildcard race again. Look, I mean, for that second wild card spot between Ottawa, Columbus, Detroit, and I'm gonna cut it off at the Islanders. I really think the best team out of those four is Ottawa. Just you're looking at a complete package, right? Ottawa just seems like they're the most put together team. And I know that they have a concern at goaltender with Old Mark and some mental health things that he's going through, right? And their backup goaltender, and James Reimer is not who you want to have to rely on. But if Olmark is starting, and Ottawa is, is that's who they're gonna rely on. I mean, I I I really think I like their chances. Not only that, but they got Jake Sanderson back, and he scored two goals versus Tampa on Tuesday night. And I said in the last episode, they needed to get him back. Sure enough, he comes back and he plays great. I mean, the goal that he drove wide on Mosier and then the breakaway goal and the power play, Rottawa. I mean, he's a difference maker. And for them, coupled with just who else they have. Brady Kachuk had four assists, like a true power forward. Like I'm I'm looking at some of these other teams. You you look at like Detroit has 228 goals this year through 78 games. They are not a high-scoring team. The Islanders are even less than that, 226. And we'll get on to the Islanders a little bit later, but Ottawa can score 264 goals this season so far, right? I mean, looking at it, that is tied for fourth in the Atlantic right now. They'd be tied with Boston. They've given up less goals than Boston. 240. They've got a plus 24 goal differential. They're 6'3-1 in their last 10 games on a on a two-game wing streak right now. There is something about that team, and I don't know what it is, that I just think they are much more put together than the other three teams that they are competing with for that second wildcard. Now, obviously, they could even jump into that first wild card. But I think Boston's also pretty good themselves to have 96 points and be in a wild card spot. The Atlantic division is in is absolutely insane this year.

unknown 30:14

Right?

SPEAKER_00 30:14

I think they're gonna get five teams into the playoff. We'll see what happens over these next four games. It doesn't surprise me at all. If you ask me, Ottawa's the favorite. If you're looking at it, Detroit would be a massive disappointment and a massive failure from the standpoint of were they not leading the Atlantic Division at one point this season? And to see how far they have fallen off since the Olympic break and after the trade deadline. I mean, I've ranted about them enough, but they look really poor when they play. I mean, they do not look good at all. So we'll see what happens, but it's gonna get interesting here, not only in the wildcard race, but in the Atlantic for that top spot. And I'm just really like something that I've been posing, right? I thought to myself last night after the game. And the thing that I I'm curious about is do these games right now really matter for Tampa? And what is important for Tampa? So last night, if you would have asked me, I was texting a buddy, right? A friend, we'll call a friend, but buddy seems so informal. It was a friend, he's also a season ticket holder. We'll call him Chuck for to keep his name safe. So I'm texting Chuck, and he's a Lightning fan, he's also from Ottawa, so naturally he's a Sens fan. And I was so pissed about Tampa losing this game, and it it didn't really have anything to do with the fact that Tampa lost the game, it's just how they lost, right? And so I'm I'm I'm having an unhinged moment. And he goes, dude, you gotta relax, right? Sorelli, Hegel are out, Hooch and Point look uninterested in anything right now, they've clinched. And it kind of settled me down a little bit, right? And it got me to do some research. And look, if you're asking me if these games do matter, the unhinged version of Stevie Z says yes, absolutely. Every game matters, 82 games. You know, you want to try to get first in the Atlantic, you want to try to get the first seed and play a wild card. The unhinged version of myself says that because that version of me is a little bit scarred from the last three playoff runs or last three playoff appearances where we've lost in the first round. And the last two, especially, haven't been all that convincing, as obviously Tampa has been knocked out by Florida in five. Right, so now let's get to the more diplomatic version of Stevie Z. Right? Do these games really matter? And I say, yes and no. I think they matter because of the next game on your schedule. You have to play them. Right. What's important right now though is obviously the lightning are are getting healthy, right? You want to see that. Obviously, Holmberg gets hurt. You don't have uh Hegel and Sorelli in the lineup right now. You're worried that Point was going to be injured against Buffalo the other night. So what you're trying to avoid is more injury. If I can somehow combine both versions of me, the unhinged version and the more diplomatic version. Look, I do think they matter from a standpoint of you want to feel good about how you're playing. From a fan standpoint, you want to see the Tampa, you want to see the Tampe Lightning just playing smart hockey. They don't necessarily have to be the most physical team, they don't necessarily have to be the most energetic team, but the idea of going through the motions, it bothers me. It just does. I mean I think number one, when you go through the motions, that that's that's definitely a clear route to get injured more, right? Like and I just don't know that there's a I have a competitive nature, and obviously the players do too. I mean they shit they get paid for this, right? And they're more competitive than any of us can imagine. But I'm looking at it and I'm all like, you know, does is home ice an advantage for the lightning? Do they really want it? Because last night I was feeling this, okay, after the game. The immediate reaction was, I just I I have a in the pit of my stomach, I have a bad feeling about Tampa thinking that they can turn it on on the weekend of April 18th, 19th, that they can just turn it on and go. Right? I there's something about it, and once again, that goes back to the last three playoff appearances. Right? We I got a question on X from Boltz for Life TBL, Twitter, X, whatever. And they ask, with the playoffs secured, is it time to rest and rotate? I'm torn between wanting the momentum of a win streak and wanting a 100% healthy roster for game one. Do you think seeding and matchups matter enough to keep playing the starters? Or is it time for load management? And that's where I'm torn to. I do think that matchups matter more than the than John Cooper and the players will let on. It's gonna be tough regardless. But look, if if you would have told me that if Tampa could have found a way to have avoided Florida the last two years, would they have done it? I think so.

unknown 37:19

Right?

SPEAKER_00 37:19

Julian Breesball said it last year. He doubled down, or coming into this season, he doubled down and said, I didn't make many changes. I like our team. We just had a really bad week in April. Well, you know, here's the thing about the lightning, right? I don't really think it's time to rest and rotate because this team is such a rhythm team. And just perfect example after the Olympic break, they were in such a flow, right? Chemistry and timing all there. That if you just start resting and rotating guys in and out of the lineup, and then all of a sudden we're gonna flip the switch. I just I just don't know if this team can do that anymore. I don't. I don't, I'm not doubting them. I'm just saying, right, I see a lot of fans and they keep saying, oh, it's gonna be so different, come the playoff. It's gonna be so different, come the playoff. Look, the last two years alone, I was waiting for the lightning to flip the switch and it'd be different. I was waiting for us to get playoff Vassie. I was waiting for it, never came. I was waiting for playoff cooch. He hasn't scored a what is he scored a five-on-five goal or a playoff goal period, the last two playoff appearances? Like, that's what I was waiting for. So the notion that I keep seeing and hearing about this team will just flip the switch, they'll be ready to go. I just don't know if that still rings true. Do I think they're gonna be competitive? Hell yeah. Do I think they're gonna be an easy out? Hell no. Not at all. I think they're gonna compete their ass off. But the last couple performances in Tampa's most recent playoff appearances have caused me to pause and just think a little bit. So I went back and looked at some numbers over the last couple seasons, and we'll start back in in 2021 in that season where the bolts make the final versus Colorado. So in April, they go 9, 5, and 2. Okay, the April of 2022-2023, bolts go two and four in April. 23-24 bolts go 4-4-1 in April. 24-25, bolts go 4-2-3 in April. And right now they're they're two and two with four games left. So is there a correlation? Eh. Not really. We've been waiting for it. And eventually we're gonna run out of opportunities with this group to say, well, that experience will just kick in. I'm hoping it does. I really do. I really do. But just knowing just watching this team throughout the year, and really the last couple years, and and when John Cooper says things like, I really like the way we're playing right now. Obviously, for him, it's a it's a battle because he he came out and said that they're not playing like a playoff hockey team right now. But he also understands that he has to balance the health of the team because they're playing four games left in the regular season. They don't know who they're playing yet, right? And we'll look at the other two teams that they could potentially play, other three teams that could potentially play in a future podcast. But you just think about it, he's having to balance those things. They gave up 10 goals in the last two games. Now, tomorrow night against Montreal, or yeah, tomorrow night, they're going into another pressure cooker situation where Montreal is gonna come out guns ablazing. And as fans, we're just not sure if Tampa's gonna match it, and you don't want anybody to get hurt, but you also don't want to lose. So it's like you're kind of caught. For me, I'd love to see Tampa win the last four. Is it gonna make much of a difference April 18th or 19th? No, not really. It would just make me feel good, right? More importantly, I don't want to see anybody else get hurt. So from the instance of do the games matter for playoff seating? Yes, if the lightning would like to get home ice. The other part of it is I just don't know, like if let's say it's it's Buffalo or Montreal on the road to start, those buildings are gonna be cauldrons of energy. I mean, the atmosphere be unbelievable in both. Right? And I went back and looked at some numbers, okay, about how just in comparison to how all three teams are playing right now, Buffalo, Tampa, and Montreal. So over the last 50 games, going back to December 18th, Buffalo is 37, 9, and 4. Okay, that's that's 78 points, right? They're 16-4-2 since the Olympic break. Okay, the Bolts are 32-14 and 4 over their last 50. They're 11, 10, and 2 since coming back from the Olympic break. There's a caveat to that too, as well. Montreal is 31 12 and 7 in their last 50, 69 points. They're 14 5 and 2 since the Olympic break. Here's the caveat with Tampa, though. You knew that going into the break, the Olympic break, there was no No way that Tampa was going to be able to sustain it. Like it happens all the time where Tampa's playing really well, and then all of a sudden there's just an extended pause in the season for some reason. It could be the all-star break, it could be Tampa's bye-week that they used to get or whatever. And then they come out of it and they go flat. And the other thing is like Tampa is coming out of the break. They were going to play 27 games in 50 days. I wouldn't be surprised if they're a little bit tired now that they've clinched, they're kind of putting their foot off the gas. But it's like they're putting the foot off the gas. Are they going to be able to just pedal to the metal when the time is necessary? Like I said, flip the switch, you know, all gas and just go, go, go when the time comes. You really hope so because the way that Buffalo and Montreal are playing, the both of those teams are coming out every single night and they are just going for it. Now, in saying that, that could also be a hindrance for both of those teams because of the fact that you know what, they could absolutely burn themselves out. It's going to be really hard for both of those teams, I think personally, to continue the way that they're playing in the playoffs when you have to go and beat a team in a best of seven. And the the spaces are going to get tighter, right? They're going to figure you out, and teams are going to figure each other out. And and the game is going to shift back and forth. And it's going to be who can latch on the players say that momentum doesn't transfer over from game to game. I don't know how true that is. That Toronto and Florida both times have just been able to latch on to it and run with it. You know. So yeah, I mean the games are important. I think they're important for more so for the Lightning to just stay healthy. Just stay healthy. I think that the Lightning can still refine their game in some aspects. Like, here's the other thing that about this experience, the experience notion and that flipping the switch, do people really just think that the Lightning are just gonna all of a sudden stop giving up odd man rushes? Like it's just gonna happen. Because teams are taking advantage of rush chances against the lightning, and it's been something that's happened all year long. So to think that it's it they weren't doing it in October, November, December, January, February, March, and all of a sudden we're gonna get to the weekend of April 18th or 19th, and that it's gonna be something that Tampa is just gonna be able to stop. I just don't know. I just I don't know what that's based on personally. Or getting stuck in their own zone, they can't get the puck out, or Tampa overpassing, or like I don't like those are habits that are been built over the course of a season, and some habits have been over the duration of multiple years. So I just don't know where people get the idea that we're gonna, it's it's gonna flip and everything is just gonna be good on April 18th and 19th. I'm not to be a Debbie Downer, I just I want to be realistic, right? Sometimes a team is who they are. If Tampa was like Florida of the last two years and they could just rely upon being heavy, right, and going out there and not necessarily having to rely about rely on skill, but they could go out and deliver punishing hits like Florida would. I would say, you know what? Yeah, no problem. They could flip the switch. That's an easy switch to flip, right? You know that you're gonna go and punish somebody in the corner, but for the lightning, like they don't have any of those punishing guys. Like their game is, yeah, they play a hard game, but they don't have big guys that punish anybody, really. At least not forward-wise, that are gonna go into the corners. They're gonna hit and they're gonna scrap and they're gonna do all that stuff, but are they really wearing down opponents with their checking? You know, making sure that they feel it. Like Florida was the last two years. Like, are they really doing that? I don't know. Like, people will point out that Florida was able to flip the switch last year if they were kind of average throughout the season, and then through the playoffs, they just mowed everybody down. They play a certain way that allows them to do that. They check hard. They hit hard. Every time they hit somebody, it's to inflict pain. It's to hurt somebody. The lightning don't play the game that way. Their game is more finesse, more skill, it's more steady, more calculated. They take their chances, sometimes recklessly. Sometimes it works, sometimes it goes against them. Right? Florida's game or Tampa's game is not always going north and south. A lot of it is east and west, a lot of it is pretty passing and highlighting skill. You want to ask a team to flip a switch and just do that, will they be able to do it? Maybe. The likelihood of that is very little, very low. But I don't know. We'll see what happens. I mean, it's just some thoughts that that I had watching these last two games, them just being so low energy, so low event, right? Uh, it's not that I want Tampa to go out there and get 30 hits, you know, but you you just you just don't feel good, at least for me watching it, when I'm watching Moser get driven by he's getting blown by another defenseman, right? I don't feel good when we give up a breakaway on a penal on a power play, you know, but you just don't feel good about that. And it's another it's the same defenseman who drove by Moser and Sanderson, who's getting a breakaway off a face-off. You don't feel good about giving up multiple short-handed chances on the power play against Buffalo. You know, like it's just those little things. And if you're asking me, I I just don't, I also don't think that anywhere in John Cooper's process it says coast. Obviously, I'm not a coach, so for me, it'd be like just play the game the way it's supposed to be played. You don't have to go out and hit everybody and be overly physical, but just be smart in how you play. The thing is for Tampa, that takes a big mental effort, and I'm just not sure they're willing to give it right now. And you know what? At the end of all this, if they turn it on, I hope I'm wrong. I just I'm a little concerned with it right now. I am. I won't lie. So we'll see where it goes. I mean, moving forward from that, two things that I want to touch on before I preview Montreal and Boston to finish out the road trip. Three things really, the interactions with other fan bases, uh obviously Buffalo fans. Like, though for those of you that are listening that are Lightning fans, why do you continue to interact with Buffalo fans? Why are you doing it to yourself? Like, why do you wander down that lane? Like, let them have their moment. They're so excited, like they don't know what they don't know. It's been 15 years for them. Just let them bask in it and let them be annoying. And then more likely than not, they'll probably get an awakening in the playoffs when they see that it's just not as easy to score anymore. And and, you know, it's just it's gonna be very different. Like nobody goes on a like the pace that they're playing on right now is gonna be very hard to maintain, you know, in the playoffs. Right? So don't interact with them. Like the stupid stuff that they were doing before the game, punching the Hegel doll or whatever it is. That's crazy, but let them have fun, like it's fine. It means so much more to them right now than it does to us Tampa fans. I I don't understand why Tampa fans are getting so worked up on the socials. I don't, I think it's silly and a waste of energy. Um, how about this? The We Want Tampa chance two nights in a row. This is what that tells me. That despite Tampa not doing much in the playoffs for the last three years, teams still very much want to beat Tampa. Tampa is still a standard bearer in the league, okay, for their continuity amongst the coaching staff and the players and their consistency for how successful they've been. They are still a standard to behold in this league. And I still think that it means a lot to other teams when they beat Tampa. Tampa is still a measuring stick for a lot of teams. It wasn't feeling that way for a couple years. Now it's back. And that we want Tampa chant, I think just reaffirms that for me. We sure hope that we give that the Bolts give them all of Tampa, right, when they play. If you want Tampa, okay, well, hopefully you're gonna get him in the playoffs. Last thing here before the preview, a question that I was just pondering on. I I saw some stuff, and you'll never believe what fan base said it. I I won't, you can just guess for yourself. Is John Cooper a whiner? I've seen a lot of this the this dialogue about John Cooper being the whiniest head coach in the league. I really don't know what that stems from. He gets asked questions, he answers them honestly, sometimes he answers them like a lawyer, right? Like tongue in cheek, you know, like saying a whole bunch of nothing. But I really don't understand like where certain fan bases say he's the whiniest coach in the league. And this is obviously like the first piece of evidence is the Holmberg thing where he went off and talked about the penalty box attendant maybe no longer having his job, maybe a little bit over the top in the heat of the moment. I understand the frustration, fine. But sometimes how he talks in the playoffs or whatever, like people get really bothered by it. He's a media darling. I'm not sure if it's a hint of jealousy or like rage or whatever it is, because he's so likable. How can you dislike him? People like oh, John Cooper is so smug. Yeah, maybe. Is he a is he a cocky SOB? Well, he can be. Yeah, I mean, look at his body of work though. Like rightfully so. You know, I don't think he's a whiner at all. I think people just get so up, people get so upset by what he says. He could say absolutely nothing and people would still get upset. Like he was just answering, he's just he just answers questions. People run with it and say, Oh, he's a whiny bitch. Like last year, the the when he clapped back at Paul Maurice and and was saying, like, well, we only hit guys with pucks, you know, and people ran with that thing and say, Oh my gosh, he's such a sore loser. He's so he's so whiny. Like, but he they ask a question, right? Like, what's he what's he supposed to do? He's just answering the question. All right, we'll get into the preview and we'll close this out. Uh Tampa plays Montreal on Thursday night, like Montreal's coming to the game 46-22 and 10 with 102 points, 9-1 in their last 10. Uh, Dobesh has taken over that net. Is he going to be able to maintain this torred pace he's on a net? I don't know. Is this team going to maintain the torrid pace for the remainder of the season? That'll be interesting. Or I'm sorry, into the playoffs because there's only four games left. Uh, we'll see. I fully expect Montreal to bring it. Fully expect it. Because they want that home ice advantage. I think. I think honestly, Buffalo and Montreal might be two of the best home ice advantages in the league when they're full, and now they're gonna both have playoff games, and if they can both somehow get home ice, and if Tampa has to go to either one for the first two games, just not letting the atmosphere consume you. I mean, it might be a challenge in itself. Who knows? You know, but like I said, a train that just doesn't stop going and they're gonna feed off that energy, start for Montreal to start, it'll start tomorrow night versus Tampa, like for Buffalo against Tampa on Monday. I think Montreal is gonna bring it. I really do, and I just don't know if Tampa's going to be willing to match. I don't. You hope so, right? You kind of put a stop to the skid a little bit. It will be an interesting game. You know, Dylan Duke got sent back down. So we'll see if Sabron, Hegel, or Sorelli come back or if they go 11 and 7. That'll be interesting to see. But I I think there's no way that Tampa's just gonna be able to sleepwalk themselves through this game. Because if they do, they'll get themselves embarrassed. Because Montreal, Cole Caulfield, wants his 50th goal, and I'm sure he would want nothing more than to get it versus Tampa and to move Montreal into a position to be able to clinch home ice with a couple games left. Moving on towards Saturday, Tampa gets a nooner at Boston. Boston coming into the game 43-uh, 26-10 with 96 points, 5-3-2 in their last 10, and they don't play another game until Tampa. Boston is Boston has the best home record in the league. Tampa is not particularly known for performing well on matinees. Obviously, I'm I'm assuming that, and I'm guessing that based on just personal viewing, I guess. It will be interesting to see how Tampa goes into that game because Boston hasn't clinched a playoff spot either. So, in the span of seven days, they're playing four opponents who are all vying for playoff spots and who are all willing to bring it. Obviously, Tampa hasn't matched the first two. I know against Buffalo they were, you know, they were only down 3-2, and then against Ottawa, they were down 1-1. But both time, both times, really within the third period, like Buffalo shut Tampa down, and Tampa couldn't really get anything going before the game busted open against Ottawa. These next two opponents, I expect the same desperate hockey that the first two opponents on the road trip were playing. I really do hope that we just see an ounce of fight. Not ball to the ball. Just something where it's like, okay, you know what, a little bit of semblance of Tampa Bay Lightning hockey. So that way they can also feel good about themselves. As fans, we want to feel good, but I'm sure as a player, like, you don't want to get throttled every game. Like, I'm sure that gets annoying. But we'll see what happens. A little housekeeping, right? Darren Radish is the Matthewton trophy nominee for the 10th Bay Lightning. Um how about this? John Tortorella is back. Right, and I'm sure it's it's obviously old news, but for this podcast it isn't, right? So Torts is back with Vegas. Vegas fires Bruce Cassidy, they bring in torts for a hopeful new coach bounce. I mean, they've gotten it. They were what four four and oh with him behind the bench. And then how about this? Matthew Darsh, who worked for the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant GM. Was it assistant GM? I believe it was assistant GM. And he's now the GM of the New York Islanders, takes a big swing, fires Patrick Waugh, and brings in Pete Debore. Something about that new new coach bounce that the teams are hoping for. I really think, and and this is what I also heard from some hockey media, that they feel that Darsh wanted De Boer. He saw an opportunity that if he were to wait in the summer, De Boer might be gone already. So he saw that. Let me go get the guy that I want and implement him now. And then maybe that new voice in the locker room will jump start these guys and hopefully carry us home to get into the playoffs. And if not, well then they've got them implemented in the room already, and they can start working towards next season. So Darch takes a big swing. It was interesting because, like, he I'm not sure if we really learned that from Julian Breesball, because Breesball, I don't think, would ever do that. He's been incredibly patient. He's incredibly patient. Steve Irishman incredibly patient. Right. So it caught me a little off guard when that happened. Because it's just not something the lightning really do. And obviously he's branched off and he's going to make a name for himself, but I really don't think he learned that under any tutelage of any of any lightning hockey executive. How about this? The last thing is Ovi retiring. Right, so with the Caps having what three games left, Alexander Ovechkin is gonna take the summer to decide if he's going to return. It'd be the end of an era for the great eight, the greatest goalscorer of all time. I mean, he's gonna be he's in his forties, right? So if it is, what a career. What a career. But if he still has the legs and the drive to keep going, you you hope that he does. I was kind of wondering the same thing if you know if they didn't make the playoffs, if he would return, his contract is up, would he still? Still have the energy and desire to keep going, to keep fighting. I don't know, we'll see. We know that Corey Perry does. So anyway, guys. I just can't wait for the regular season to get over. Like, I just don't want to see any more injuries. I want the Bolts to get through this. I also want to feel good about some games, regardless of the result. Just see them, if they're losing, at least lose close. And you know what? I'm excited to see who the matchup is going to be. Next week, I'll get into some. Hopefully, we'll by the end of this weekend, we'll know who we'll be playing more or less. Right now, it's looking like either Buffalo, Montreal, or Boston. But really, next week we'll do some playoff matchup previews and who is a good fit for the Lightning to go against, or who's a good matchup, rather. We'll start to hammer that away a little bit. And uh we'll see where it goes. I mean, the Bolts are gonna come back after that, after this road trip, they'll have two games left against Detroit and New York, and then it'll be time to go. So I'll definitely be recording. I'll probably record and put out two, but there'll be shorter ones over the next week. Something about the playoffs and the lightnings potential matchups, and then just recapping this last road trip heading into the playoffs and where the lightnings stand. So, anyway, guys, always fun doing it. We'll talk soon. See ya.