Tampa BAE Lightning: RD 1 GM 3

I didn’t do a post mortem for Game 2 because, well, the Lightning played as well as could have been expected. They lost a D-Zone face-off, puck beats Vasy going across his crease. That’s the difference maker.

Soft goal? Maybe. The power play going 0-for-5 sure didn’t help, but the PK also held Florida 0-3 and one of those was a 5 minute major.

It may just be time to face the facts: this team ceiling has been the 1st round pretty much all year. They are who their record says they are. They struggled against the Atlantic. They’re a touch under .500 on the road. They played boom or bust hockey for large portions of the year.

The salary cap has had its way with this team. JBB has made his decisions—for better or worse—with this team. Cooper & his assistants have made their decisions. And it’s all led to this. Down 2-0, heading on the road, with a suspended Brandon Hagel while Florida gets Aaron Ekblad back from suspension at home.

Maybe they’ll steal this game. Or maybe Game 4. Who knows. Another 1st round loss is brutal. Getting swept would be even worse. I’ll be frank in saying that I don’t see a way they win this series. For now, it’s just a matter of time.

Thankfully Sadly, I have work tomorrow and won’t be able to watch much of the game, if any. If you watch, I hope they give you a product worth your time. I’ll have a lot more thoughts once this thing finally ends, but for now: Go Bolts.

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