Game 33: Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh

Tampa Bay beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0.

Now that was a nice little Christmas present for all of us Lightning fans, wasn’t it? That was thoughtful of them. But one win is just never enough – we’re all going to want more. Sorry.

This was a well-played game for the Lightning. It didn’t start off so well – the first couple of shifts were a little shaky. But it ended well, and that’s what really counts. I was really hoping that Smith could swing a goal out of it, and he did give it a try, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.

There was a head scratching moment at the end of the first, tho. Lecavalier tried jumping Cooke, apparently for no good reason. Well, I think I know the reason since I was there to watch it. It was Cooke that dislocated Lecavalier’s shoulder at the end of last season. I saw the hit live at the arena, saw the replays later, and I said at the time (and I still stick by this) that it wasn’t intentional on Cooke’s part. Apparently, Lecavalier thought otherwise – or something was said about it on the ice.

Frankly, Lecavalier strikes me as the kind of person who probably holds grudges, so I’m sure it was supposed to be some kind of payback. Regardless of the motivation behind it, it wasn’t the best move at the time. Luckily, the Lightning killed off the penalty so nothing came of it.

Statistically, Tampa Bay was better than Pittsburgh. The beat them out in most every category. And, they just played better over all than the Penguins – who did play last night in Buffalo.

Congratulations to Recchi for getting his 1400th & 1401st career assists, by the way. (I think I remembered that right….)

Everyone have a safe and happy holiday! (Christmas & Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa starts tomorrow, too.) Catch you all again on Friday.

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