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Flyers - Lightning 11/27


hf101

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About 5 hours till game time...

 

I will admit to probably being a bit torn at the start of the game....it took me quite awhile to get over the fact that not only was Lecavalier not going to be a Bolt any longer, but that he had signed with Philadelphia.

I have a handful of current and former Lighting players that I list as my all time favorites, and Vinnie is among them.

In no particular order, #10 John Cullen, # 39 Enrico Ciccone, #77 Chris Gratton, #19 Brian Bradley, #93 Darren PUUUUUUUPAAAAAA, #17 Ruslan Fedotenko, #19 Brad Richards, #26 Marty St. Louis, and yup, TB #4, Vincent Lecavalier.

 

And other players who if remain Bolts for much longer who could join that group, I count Steve Stamkos (just about there on my all time faves list!), Victor Hedman, Radko Gudas, Alex Killorn, and Ben Bishop, who has the potential to be THE best goaltender the Lightning would have had...yes, even eclipsing The 'Bulin Wall...though obviously, he is not quite there yet.

 

That said, given the way Flyers-Lightning games go (i.e., chippy, somewhat nasty, definitely intense), it probably won't be long before I find myself not seeing Vinnie Lecavalier on the ice during the game, but rather, some guy wearing a white n orange jersey with the #40 on it.

 

In the match up of Vinnie vs. the Bolts, it will be interesting to see which comes out on top..... Lecavalier's knowledge of several Bolts players tendancies and the use of the lively TB Times Forum boards, or the collective knowledge (led by Mr. St. Louis) of Vinnie's own tendancies and habits, used to the Bolts' favor.

 

In other areas, I expect the Flyers to try to establish a very strong physical presence early, and while the Bolts overall as a team are not built around pushing other teams around per se, I believe the boys in orange will find this particular group of Lightning players to be much bigger, tougher, more mobile on defense, yet still with the speed necessary to burn defenses, than any previous groups they have seen out of Tampa Bay before.

 

As mentioned, Ben Bishop would be the preferred goaltender in the game, but Anders Lindback really is no slouch, and he has had the misfortune of poor goal support in some of his outings already this season.

 

Best way the Bolts can help Lindback? Keep the puck in the Flyers end of the ice and give Lindback the easiest looks possible at the puck when Philadelphia does move it down the ice.

 

Young, inexperienced, but sturdy players such as Alex Killorn, Richard Panik, Andrej Sustr, and especially Radko Gudas will be tested by the heavy forechecking from the Flyers, and they must be wary of players like Hartnell and Rinaldo looking to stir the pot up and get them off the ice either via fights at times that favor Philly, or via drawn penalties.

 

Gudas, Ryan Malone and Eric Brewer are among three of the Bolts top hitters this year, and here is to hoping they keep things tough, but smart against the Flyer players.

 

Very much looking forward to this game.....the only things that would have made this perfect would have been having Ben Bishop and Steven Stamkos on the ice as well, but even as they are, I see no reason the Lightning can't pull out a win here....

But win or lose, there should be NO EXCUSES by either side.

 

And this may be in a Flyer thread, but GO BOLTS!   :D

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I am also very interested in seeing what kind of reception Lecavalier gets from the TB fans.

 

On the one hand, I can see him getting a nice ovation as he takes the ice for the warm up skate, but in the spirit of competition, give him a couple "BOOOOOOS" when he touches the puck during the game...and turning that up a few decibals should he score.

 

There should be ovations also when Bolts players land hits on him as well.

 

That all said, as long as the Bolts fans keep it classy, it's all good....Lecavalier has done MUCH for the TB community in various areas, so he deserves a classy reception...yet I am sure even he would expect a bit of professional rivalry jeers from the fans as well.

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@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

Boo him when he touches the puck, and cheer for him if he scores.

 

Interesting take, @flyercanuck , but I can do you one better...have the Bolts firmly in control with a 4 or 5 goal effort (and the win), while Lecavalier gets a three or four point night in a Philly loss...  :P .

Hey, I could get behind that...lol.

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 - I hope raffl does more than miss the net with every shot he takes.

 

- tampa better not punch our players when they are down, like last time

 

 

Well said... Raffl can skate but that is about it... too easy to get off the puck IMO but rather see him in the lineup rather than Rosehill. 

 

How can TB fans boo VLC?  It was not his decision to leave...   It was the franchise that gave him his walking papers was it not?

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Looking at the skill side of things in this game, quite a nice collection of forwards on both sides in this game.....if either goalie is off tonight, or the defense doesn't lock it down....one side could gain quite an upper hand very quickly....

 

Even without Stamkos, Bolts still have MSL, Teddy Purcell (who I bad mouthed the other night, and he makes me look like a hot air balloon with a great performance against the Rangers..lol), up n comers, Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson, and Andrej Palaj, and of course, the playmaking Valterri Filppula.

 

Meanwhile, your Flyers come at Tampa with Claude Giroux, Matt Reade, Wayne Simmonds, Sean Couterier, Steve Downie, and of course, Vinnie.

 

Much will be made about the big bodies, the tough play, and the goaltending, but this could very well turn into a fireworks show as well.

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Well said... Raffl can skate but that is about it... too easy to get off the puck IMO but rather see him in the lineup rather than Rosehill. 

 

How can TB fans boo VLC?  It was not his decision to leave...   It was the franchise that gave him his walking papers was it not?

 

I agree. Mcginn would be a better choice than raffl. I don't think they will boo vinny. Didnt tampa have some scheme to buy him out and then get him back from the leafs somehow?

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Looking at the skill side of things in this game, quite a nice collection of forwards on both sides in this game.....if either goalie is off tonight, or the defense doesn't lock it down....one side could gain quite an upper hand very quickly....

 

Even without Stamkos, Bolts still have MSL, Teddy Purcell (who I bad mouthed the other night, and he makes me look like a hot air balloon with a great performance against the Rangers..lol), up n comers, Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson, and Andrej Palaj, and of course, the playmaking Valterri Filppula.

 

Meanwhile, your Flyers come at Tampa with Claude Giroux, Matt Reade, Wayne Simmonds, Sean Couterier, Steve Downie, and of course, Vinnie.

 

Much will be made about the big bodies, the tough play, and the goaltending, but this could very well turn into a fireworks show as well.

 

 

Haha!  I agree...   My biggest fear is that TB continues to frustrate the Flyers like in games past.   They seem to have our #

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Well said... Raffl can skate but that is about it... too easy to get off the puck IMO but rather see him in the lineup rather than Rosehill. 

 

How can TB fans boo VLC?  It was not his decision to leave...   It was the franchise that gave him his walking papers was it not?

 

You are correct, @murraycraven , the Bolts as an organization bought him out, Vinnie would have been glad to see his contract through.

 

And the fans in Tampa SHOULD give him an ovation and still hold him in high regard.

 

The booing part I mentioned was simply, like I said, in the spirit of competition during the game.  Not spewing hatred mind you, but a reminder that Vinnie now is playing for 'the enemy', and the fans will try to will their team to beat him and his Flyers.

I suspect Vinnie expects as much, and probably even 'gets it'.

 

Not to be mean spirited by any stretch....hey, I know some Tampa Bay fans, some within my family, who wanted Vinnie out for awhile due to his contract, and I still find myself defending him and coming up with reasons why he should have still been a Bolt.

Edited by TropicalFruitGirl26
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Honestly, the LIGHTNING will WIN this one regardless if Bishop isnt in the net tonight... ( look at the stats between the 2 teams and you'll see why. )

 

Having said that...

 

 

 

 LET'S GO BOLTS!!!

Edited by HockeyLady
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You are correct, @murraycraven , the Bolts as an organization bought him out, Vinnie would have been glad to see his contract through.

 

And the fans in Tampa SHOULD give him an ovation and still hold him in high regard.

 

The booing part I mentioned was simply, like I said, in the spirit of competition during the game.  Not spewing hatred mind you, but a reminder that Vinnie now is playing for 'the enemy', and the fans will try to will their team to beat him and his Flyers.

I suspect Vinnie expects as much, and probably even 'gets it'.

 

Not to be mean spirited by any stretch....hey, I know some Tampa Bay fans, some within my family, who wanted Vinnie out for awhile due to his contract, and I still find myself defending him and coming up with reasons why he should have still been a Bolt.

 

 

Totally understand... same thing here w/ Briere... both class acts and both were victims of bloated contracts in the slary cap world.  Should be a good game. 

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Totally understand... same thing here w/ Briere... both class acts and both were victims of bloated contracts in the slary cap world.  Should be a good game. 

 

You know, its funny, but this is kinda like deja vu all over again (hehe...Yogi), for me...

 

I remember watching games between the Lightning and Stars, and the Lightning and Rangers with Vinnie on the Bolts, and LOVING watching Lecavalier put a hit on Brad Richards, who, perhaps I like even MORE than Vinnie himself.

Just to give you an idea, if I were a stalker type woman, and/or the type to sink her claws into a guy and chase away any who dare get within autograph range, Brad Richards would be the guy I would be that way with......

Mrs. Sandra Richards? Yep...that'd be me.....and my hubby gives me crap about that all the time to this day still....  ;)

 

But I digress,   :D  , point being, I loved watching Lecavalier, Brewer, Kubina, etc...put the hits on Rad Brad, even though I love him to death.....the same will hold true when current TB players do the same to Lecavalier. 

Problem there is, Vinnie is still a big strong guy, its gonna take a good hit to really rock him, and not many on the Bolts right now can quite match up with Vinnie's combination of size, skill, and strength.

 

Will be interesting to watch how things unfold.....and for the record, the stalking thing was hypothetical.... hahaha.

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Well said... Raffl can skate but that is about it... too easy to get off the puck IMO but rather see him in the lineup rather than Rosehill. 

 

How can TB fans boo VLC?  It was not his decision to leave...   It was the franchise that gave him his walking papers was it not?

 

I guess you could look at it that way. I mean we gave Bryz and Briere their walking papers....cause they weren't earning their paychecks.

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