Friday, April 16, 2004
Louie Louie!
That's the song played at the Ice Palace St. Pete Times Forum whenever Marty St. Louis scores, and we'll be singing it all night as the presumptive MVP blasted a rolling puck over the right shoulder of Rick DiPietro 4:07 into OT to give the Lightning a 3-2 win over the Islanders and a 4-1 series win. Freddy Modin set up all three Lightning goals, and leads all playoff scorers with eight points.
Aside from a lousy first period, the Lightning took the play to the Isles tonight, eventually grabbing a 2-1 lead after 2 on goals by Tim Taylor and Ruslan Fedotenko. But the Isles tied it in the third on a nifty redirect by Mark Parrish, who was otherwise frustrated by Khabibulin all series. That set up OT and St. Louis' game and series winner.
Interestingly, the only other playoff series won by the Lightning came on a St. Louis OT goal as well, in Game 6 last season at Washington. So who do they get next? If all the teams with three wins in the East playoffs right now hold on, they'll play Toronto. Otherwise, it could be Montreal, Jersey or Ottawa. They will NOT play Philly or Boston if either of those teams advance.
Corey Stillman and Jassen Cullimore stayed out with their "upper body" injuries. In the playoffs, specific injury information is withheld by the teams so as not to give opponents any edge, so we get generic "upper body" and "lower body" injuries. By taking the series in five, the Lightning will get some extra time off for these guys to mend. Stillman, in particular, was missed tonight, especially when the Lightning went 0-for-5 on the power play in the first 22 minutes of the game.
As an Isles fan as well, I'm sorry to seem them out, but not at the expense of the Lightning. This makes three consecutive first-round exits for the Islanders. Granted, making three playoffs in a row is a bit of an accomplishment after an eight-year absence, but by now they have to be grumbling on the Island and it'll be interesting to see what they do in the offseason. At least they've been better than the Rangers lately.
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Aside from a lousy first period, the Lightning took the play to the Isles tonight, eventually grabbing a 2-1 lead after 2 on goals by Tim Taylor and Ruslan Fedotenko. But the Isles tied it in the third on a nifty redirect by Mark Parrish, who was otherwise frustrated by Khabibulin all series. That set up OT and St. Louis' game and series winner.
Interestingly, the only other playoff series won by the Lightning came on a St. Louis OT goal as well, in Game 6 last season at Washington. So who do they get next? If all the teams with three wins in the East playoffs right now hold on, they'll play Toronto. Otherwise, it could be Montreal, Jersey or Ottawa. They will NOT play Philly or Boston if either of those teams advance.
Corey Stillman and Jassen Cullimore stayed out with their "upper body" injuries. In the playoffs, specific injury information is withheld by the teams so as not to give opponents any edge, so we get generic "upper body" and "lower body" injuries. By taking the series in five, the Lightning will get some extra time off for these guys to mend. Stillman, in particular, was missed tonight, especially when the Lightning went 0-for-5 on the power play in the first 22 minutes of the game.
As an Isles fan as well, I'm sorry to seem them out, but not at the expense of the Lightning. This makes three consecutive first-round exits for the Islanders. Granted, making three playoffs in a row is a bit of an accomplishment after an eight-year absence, but by now they have to be grumbling on the Island and it'll be interesting to see what they do in the offseason. At least they've been better than the Rangers lately.
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