TAMPA, Fla – Through games 1 and 2, both Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh were able to display their respective strengths, now the action heads for the sunshine state and the Bolts will be hoping lightning can strike twice.
Since losing star forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to long-term injuries, Pens coach Dan Bylsma has somewhat reinvented his team as a defensive rock. This new ethos was on full display in game 1 as Marc Andre Fleury backstopped the Penguins to a 3-0 victory and Brooks Orpik rattled 45-goal scorer Steven Stamkos on the young forwards first ever post season shift with a bone crunching hit in to the boards.
But Tampa rediscovered their offensive might in game 2, veteran winger Martin St Louis leading the way with a goal and an assist as the Lightning tied the series with an emphatic 5-1 win.
The action now heads to Florida with opinions still split over which team holds the advantage.
It is hard not to believe the momentum is not with the Lightning. After all they won game 2 and started to show some of the offensive flair which saw them power their way to the top of the standings earlier in the regular season. St Louis seems to have lost none of his whiles and team Captain Vincent LeCavalier has shown a number of neat touches after being reinstated to the teams top line.
What must be of concern for the Bolts coaching staff is Steven Stamkos continued struggles. Aside from Orpik catching the young star early in game 1, the Ontario native struggled at the end of the season and surprisingly missed a second straight 50 goal campaign. Whilst his total of 45 is still damned impressive, Stamkos looked odds on to hit the magical 50 again during the season after he formed a formidable partnership with St Louis. Instead he now finds himself on the Lighting’s 3rd line with just 2 shots and a -1 rating.
In the Penguins corner, opening the series with a shutout victory was clearly the best possible result for Fleury and the former Cup champions. This is a team which has, for the most part, been there and done it all before.
Fleury, Orpik and Staal were all integral parts of the Penguins Cup success in 2009 whilst Kris Letang is now one of the NHL’s premier offensive defencemen. The Pens made two bold trades before the deadline to acquire James Neal and Alexei Kovalev in a bid to strengthen their forward lines.
And that’s where the Pens look a little odd. In all honesty any team which lost either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin would look somewhat depleted up front. But to lose both? It’s certainly left a big hole among the Penguins offence, and whilst Staal has stepped up his play Pittsburgh don’t seem to have quite the same killer edge in front of goal.
In all likelihood, it seems that the series will mirror the regular season for both teams. If Tampa can score early, and often, they’ll pick up wins by a comfortable margin. The Bolts success often came from strong first period scoring performances to blow opponents away, but they struggled in tight games.
The Pens on the other hand have learnt to excel in those tight situations and the longer the remaining games stay close the higher the likelihood of a Penguins victory.
With the series tied at 1-1 there is still a tremendous amount of hockey to be played and both sides have a legitimate shot at progressing if they get the best out of their key players.
Contact the author: rob.mcgregor@prohockeynews.com
