Game 31: Colorado at Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost in a shoot out on a controversial call to the Colorado Avalanche 2-1.

First, the controversy. Smith was called for throwing his stick in the shoot out on a shot by Hejduk. If you see the replay, it's clear that Smith didn't have a great grip on his stick and accidentally dropped it as he was moving. Because he was already moving when he dropped the stick, and it is ice, the stick didn't exactly drop straight down but flew out of his hand a little and slid with Smith's momentum.

The problem wasn't the call, however, it was the fact that the officials couldn't review the play. Seen from the ice in real time, I'm sure it did look like he threw the stick. If the officials could've seen even just the exact same view a second time, they probably wouldn't have made that call. However, it's like the umpire during a baseball game - they're apparently not supposed to have the benefit of instant replay for the shoot out and get stuck with making a judgment call on something they've seen just once.

That makes absolutely no sense to me, but I guess with four pairs of eyes on the ice it's assumed that replay isn't need. Well, you know the saying about what happens when you assume. So the Avalanche won the game on the controversial decision.

Anyways, on to the game. Halpern got his first game in this season, and he looked like he's been there all along. He even got the lone Lightning goal, obviously his first of the season, so good for him. Malone made his return from injury, too, and looked good as well.

It wasn't the best game for the Lightning. The play looked a bit cleaner and better organized, tho, and there was some good energy. But I kept thinking that they really didn't look all that confident. And that's to be expected, I suppose, with how things have gone so far for them. Especially in the third period - they really looked like they were afraid to make a mistake after all of the penalties they'd taken in the second, and power plays they gave to Colorado.

They're collapsing too far into their defensive zone again. No one's standing up the incoming forwards off the other team at the blue line, which makes it difficult for them to break out of their own zone. Faceoffs weren't the best, but shots were pretty good.

Smith was, again, fantastic. Recchi was great, as was St. Louis and Halpern. Prospal and Lecavalier were good, although Lecavalier sort of faded into the woodwork during the second. Stamkos was completely invisible all game. And the defense, in general, were pretty solid.

What I want to know, tho, is this: Can the Lightning always play 4-on-4? At least until they build up their confidence? That's when they played their best - both during the game when guys were in the penalty box, and during overtime. If they'd played all game like they did in overtime, then they would've won in regulation - probably by a lot.

Sphere: Related Content