Wow.
Just… Wow. What a game. Outcome, shmoutcome, that was what I expected the league to be like post-lockout and they played it very well. The Lightning put forth an effort that I believe is their best of the season tonight but it was still short of the dominance put forth by the Ottawa Senators.
John Grahame remains in my dog house - he gave this game away trying for the umpteenth time during the game to feed the puck up ice while surrounded by Senators… His flops early in certain save situations put him at risk for top shelf goals…
But honestly - the game was just better than my pouting about John Grahame. Steady back and forth play and the Sens are incredible to watch…
Alas, there is no Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier’s PPG’s are for naught. The Lightning are downed once again by the Senators.. 4-2 the final.
1 Comment until now
I can’t see how you can really be mad at John Grahame’s play overall in that game. Yes, he gave the puck away on the fourth goal, but by then had made, at least, half a dozen gave saving stops that kept them in the game. In both Tampa games I’ve seen against Ottawa, as well as their shootout loss to Buffalo, goaltending was not why they lost.
More than anything else, I thought Tampa’s defence looked to be their weakness. Beyond Boyle and Sydor, they’re slow and immobile. And because you can’t slow them up with the stick anymore, they were not able to withstand Ottawa’s speed and puck moving.
And as someone with Pavel Kubina on his fantasy team, that pains me to say.