Scouting the Enemy: Tampa Bay Lightning
by FrankD on Apr 7, 2009 9:00 AM EDT
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PrintRecord: 24-37-18
Leading scorers: Martin St. Louis (29G, 49A), Vinny Lecavalier (29G, 38A)
Blogs: Raw Charge
Sometimes going up against a basement dweller can produce some rather boring hockey. However there is an underlying theme to many of the games tonight. If the Pittsburgh Penguins win, Florida loses to Philly and the Canadiens beat the Rangers then the Pens are guaranteed a playoff berth. The good part about this is it's not a dire must-win situation. However it would be nice to take care of business.
Let's just see the Pens pick up a win, huh?
You can't help but think the odds are heavily in Pitt's favor. Tampa Bay are losers in six straight. Their overall record is second to last in the East and in the bottom three for the league and to make matters even worse the team is skating without all-star center Vinny Lecavalier after he opted to undergo season-ending orthoscopic surgery on his right wrist Friday afternoon.
Goaltender Mike Smith hasn't started a game since January 30 and remains on the shelf with post-concussion symptoms. Back-up netminder Karri Ramo is 4-8-7 on the year and will likely get the start between the pipes tonight.
The Penguins have been shutout three times this season, one of which came against the Lightning back in December. Pitt has the edge in the season series at 2-1-0 and will look to take the series tonight. If anything let's hope this game allows Evgeni Malkin to pick up a few points in the scoring race. Alex Ovechkin is edging uncomfortably close to Malkin's 106-point total, now only two behind for the race. Looks like it will come down to this final week after all.
Random stats: Despite their position in the standings, Tampa Bay are much more efficient on the PP than Pitt. They are currently ranked 18th in the league, five spots higher than Pitt's 23rd. However their penalty kill is 25th in the league compared to Pitt's spot at 13th.
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Tonight's game.
Here’s hoping the Pens come out and play with some fire under their belts tonight. I don’t think they will take the Lightning lightly and after Sunday’s loss, they should be good and ready to clinch their playoff spot tonight. Sid needs to get to the 100 point mark tonight and Malkin needs to put some distance between him and Ovechkin. It’s going to be a good night to be a Pens fan!
I hope you’re right Smitty! I read that a win tonight by Pittsburgh would not only clinch a playoff berth but guarantee no worse than the #7 seed. It’s getting very interesting!
I’d honestly love to see it pan out like i mentioned above – Pitt wins, Florida and New York lose. That way the Pens are in and the Rangers’ chances are much, much slimmer.
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com
Comment from "The Enemy"
My concern for the Pens is the chance they will pull what they did before the Christmas break against the Lightning at Melon Arena and not show up for this. “It’s a nothing game versus a nothing opponent and… ooh! Look! Pretty red lights going off at our own end!” You know, that air-headed effort that they put out against an inferior opponent (yes, I said it).
Ramo is better than his stats show, and the defense in front of him is AHL caliber at best… It’s about opportunities and the Bolts will give you them in their own end — just be patient for the slip up.
The Lightning have also lost so many games of late but they’ve pulled out points in these games by forcing OT. That’s another aspect to remember – you could get the win but the Bolts could draw out the conclusion to overtime or the shootout. Patience, like I said before, and waiting for the opportunities that will undoubtedly present themselves.
one last thing, at times the Lightning play very unhinged and raw on offense. A lot of go-go-go that reminds me of watching past Lightning-Pens matchups with the Bolts a more sound team at that time. It can create great hockey and can create some turnovers as well.
The Raw Charge -- the Tampa Bay Lightning weblog at SB Nation.
I guess any team with playoff implications at this point in the season is concerned about dropping a game to an inferior opponent. The Pens shouldn’t take this game lightly. If they do, and they go out and get spoiled, then frankly they deserve the loss.
But I think this is a rebound game for Pitt as well. They could’ve locked things up this weekend but lost to the Canes on Saturday (OT, so they got a point) and in regulation on Sunday to the Panthers. The Pens likely want to close out this season with three straight (Tampa, Islanders, Habs). If anything this is the first step in that process.
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com
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