TropicalFruitGirl26

Panthers' early strategy seems to be hit the Lightning early and often...wow. Both teams are also crashing the net more. Not bad by both sides, gotta say. I wonder if the Bolts can take advantage of the ultra aggressive Panther forecheck though. If TB can manage to sneak the puck out of their zone quickly while Florida is going for some smashes in corners or along the boards, they COULD find themselves with some odd man rushes against Bobrovsky. Easier said than done though....Panthers look tough and determined to finish this tonight!

Tampa Bay Lightning, once again, will attempt to do what has been historically impossible to do in the NHL playoffs: come back from being down 0-3. Can they notch another W tonight? By hook, or crook, and make this a 3-2 series? Or will Florida finally right their ship and continue on their way to a Cup win as they bid adieu to the once former champion Bolts? Lightning, Panthers....puck drop in just a few!

Heh...Pierre Luc Dubois. Amazing that a single player (and a talented one too!) can be such an albatross to a team! I mean, I could be wrong, but hasn't EVERY team that unloaded him (wait, excuse me, gonna pilfer JR's word), FOISTED, him on someone else improved once he was gone?? I do believe so! And I'd say the Kings would do well to try moving him, but, ummm, I think the 'secret' is out now Oilers just about on their way to Round 2 no matter how you slice it. Wouldn't an Edomonton-Vancouver second round be fun to watch, eh? I'd like that one! All we need now is for the Oilers to finish the job, and the Canucks to do the same in their series.

Canucks certainly made him pay for that big miss....instead of a tie series, we are going into OT where Nashville can still win obviously, but nothing is guaranteed now!

It's the Brock Boeser show in Music City! Canucks score two late, last one just now, with 6.2 seconds, to tie the game, likely sending this into OT

What the hell is up with refs letting cross checking downed players slide??? Cross checking is illegal, no? Holding is illegal, no? Impeding a player without the puck is illegal, no? Cross checking downed player ticks off ALL the above boxes....yet, I am seeing that being let go more n more during games. Last two: Nikita Kucherov got crosschecked several times near the head area in yesterday's game while he was on the ice.......and in this game, a Vancouver player cross checks a downed Nashville player a few times, pinning him to the ice, when the puck was long gone. Cross checking, holding, interference...guy should have gotten 6 minutes for all that! Yet not a single call....hmmm....

Well, they still need to get that magical 4th win, but yea, I'd say they are in the driver's seat and this series is theirs to lose at this point!

@OccamsRazor @Brewin Flames Boy...that is some SERIOUS cockle warming there. Someone should ask Rosehill how he REALLY feels. Personally, I've always felt Mitch Marner was more of a key ingredient in Toronto's success than Matthews is (i.e. if one had to go, trade Matthews keep Marner, as Marner is supposed to playmake to the point where he can elevate other centers).....however, I can't say that I've paid as close attention to Marner this series to see if Rosehill has a point or not. Rosehill himself was a genuine blue collar guy, so I can understand when he sees (or doesn't see) good work ethic....but by the same token, he was also a marginal NHL'er with probably a fraction of the overall skill set a guy like Marner has. At any rate, Toronto really doesn't look like they have the right recipe on that team, despite the talent. And if there is some squabbling behind the scenes between certain players, well then, I expect we may see some big movements in the offseason or the one after. Particularly if Boston goes on to squash the Maple Leaf like dried plant life on the drive way...

Because I am in that kind of mood today: -- Yea, yea...BUT, if we PRORATE Matthews' numbers over the course of 112 games, we will see he is on pace with some of the greatest in the game! --Marner DOES need to stop whining...'bro'..... He should be more passive aggressive...like, "If we were the Oilers, we wouldn't be in this mess...plus we'd have McDavid" --Kevin Bieksa needs to stop picking on Marner. Auston Matthews, and Johnny Pajamas for that matter, should be the poke fun rods on this team..... Now....let's see how Matthews' negativity prorates.... ---Well, then, the answer is simple: Reaves needs to play at LEAST 16-17 minutes a game to get the full benefit of his 'fists on skates' mentality! Elementary, my dear JR.... ---The one point you and I can see eye to eye on. Oh wait....management CAN change the mix: If they just use nutmeg instead. I mean....the end product would be JUST as soft n fluffy.....

Just who in the hell do the Dallas Stars think they are anyways....a team full of Berubes?

This just in.... Nylander wants OUT of Toronto

Someone please take away all Toronto players' license to carry firearms.... They keep shooting themselves in the foot....

Scotiabank Arena was an absolute morgue up until that goal by Marner. 3-1 Boston now. Plenty of time left for Toronto to make a comeback, however, do the Bruins have another gear themselves?

3-0 B's. Rat Man and Pasta Man combined for that third goal. Toronto fans, who had been sitting on their hands this whole period are now letting the Leafs have it with the boos raining down on the ice.

I really don't understand how the Leafs can be down 2-1 in this series and now down 2-0 in this game. I mean....they have Ryan Freakin Reaves! ALL season long, hell, PRE SEASON....kept hearing about the difference maker Reaves. He was constantly being quoted and given airtime... Always had all the 'right' things to say. Why isn't he putting the team on his back while he smacks Bruins players left n right all over the arena? Eh? EHHH??

Leafs back to being the same ol Toronto club we all know and have fun at their expense at? Boston executing very well, already up in the series and look like they are in firm control of this one. Rat Man with the latest goal.... 2-0 Bruins midway through the 2nd. Leafs do have the firepower to dump a bunch of goals on the Bruins, especially with Nylander back, but like the Lightning in the other series, playing from behind constantly is a HARD way to make a playoff living!

OEL with the fake tough guy act... Knock it off, Single Ply.... you go getting in Jeannot's face knowing full well you got teammates that will get between you and him, and an official right there. As for the Bolts, they live to see another game. More cliches are in order of course. Now ALL they have to do, is repeat today's results Monday in Sunrise. Piece o'cake, right? Yea..... At any rate, Bolts have given me at least one more game of hometown NHL hockey!

O, Captain! My Captain! Stamkos gives the Lightning some breathing room as Florida was playing with all sorts of momentum. Establishes the zone, finds other players, then gets lost in the shuffle, only to re-appear where the Panthers weren't expecting him to! 5-3 Lightning. Keep that foot on the gas, boys!

And yet, the lack of clean zone exits still haunts them.....they are making their living the hard way. All season long!

2nd period. Puck dropped. Game ON!

If the Lightning add any more goals before Florida can score, Stolarz probably will be in. Anthony did have a pretty good season for Florida. At times, HE even looked like the number one.

Stolarz time??

Bolts up 2-0 in the first of must-win games. Just scored a short hander. They are gonna need that, and a whole lot more. History for teams down 0-3 is not on their side. I believe the stat read off the other day was 98% that they LOSE the series!

Possibly the last Bolts game of the season for me? Man, I know the Panthers are good, as I've been saying they ARE Cup contenders this year and that last season's run to the Finals was NO FLUKE... But still, don't wanna see my boys go out in a sweep or even in five. Tampa Bay is better than that, although their manner of defending and their mindset under pressure betrays that somewhat. If Florida were to beat the Lightning in 6 or 7 games, I could accept that as, "Well, my boys competed, but they just weren't good enough". Losing in 5 or in a sweep...even against a good team, is a very tough pill to swallow. I don't know what kind of plan Julien Brisebois has for the off season (getting Stamkos signed better be priority number one however!), but swapping around some personnel on the blueline or alter the kind of defense they play (maybe that entails changing the assistant in charge of that), from zone (current form) to man to man (what they played when they were successful), is definitely in order! As for today's game, cliche time... One shift at a time, one period at a time, one game at a time... 4th game is the hardest to win.... Ain't over till it's over (thanks Yogi! ) Bolts haven't lost till the Panthers have won... Etc, etc, etc.... It's all they and us fans of the team have left!