Game 29: Tampa Bay at Montréal

Tampa Bay beat the Montréal Canadiens 3-1.

The Lightning finally won one. Now, was that so hard? I mean, really.

This was a very good game. St. Louis was just outstanding. I was really hoping he'd get himself a hat trick. Kolzig was so solid - he really needed a good game to get him back on track. And Lecavalier was very feisty (and way to set the example with communicating on the ice more, too). It was seriously a whole team effort for all 60 minutes against a very good Canadiens' team at home in Montréal.

Can we see more of that, please? No, really - I insist. As I'm sure most Tampa Bay fans do, too.

Okay, while it was a great consistent effort - hooray for the great consistent effort! - there were a couple of weak spots. I feel like I'm nagging here, but shots and penalties weren't the best. I think I say that for just about every game, but it's true for just about every game.

There was also a lot of time being spent in their own defensive zone. At least it seemed that way. They were good with getting the puck out of their zone, but not so good in following that up with taking it into the offensive zone. Still, they were challenging Montréal's offense, and that was much better than the last game in Buffalo.

But, one game at a time. Let's enjoy this one and then let the next one come as it will. Hopefully building on the win, but I think a better way to think about it is to build on what they did right in order to get the win. Focus less on the results, and more on the process.

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