Kukla's Korner Hockey
Sometimes an ‘ugly win’ is a beautiful thing
by George Malik on 05/07/15 at 07:39 AM ET
Comments (4)
According to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens (during the start of a slate of back-to-back games) was...lacking in aesthetic value:
The Tampa Bay Lightning played a mediocre hockey game Wednesday night capped by a brilliant play at the buzzer, leaving the Montreal Canadiens stunned and in disbelief.
Tyler Johnson’s goal with 1.1 seconds to go in the third period was the dagger moment of a series that will end, if not Thursday evening in Game 4, then certainly sometime in the near future.
"Obviously we’re excited about the win, but we’re not very proud of the way we played," Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. "They were a desperate hockey team, had more chances than we did today, they knew their backs were against the wall, they played like it, and we didn’t respond that great."
But the Lightning found a way to win in the end, which is what good teams do in championship seasons, because they can’t all be things of beauty.
Continued, and as a Red Wings fan, I certainly empathize with Habs fans who have found out the hard way that the Lighting seem to have copyrighted the "ugly rope-a-dope win."
Filed in: | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: montreal+canadiens,
steven+stamkos,
tampa+bay+lightning,
tyler+johnson
Comments
I don’t WSH or MTL or NYR can beat TBL. Not happening. That said, they will win the east. The only team I think even capable of taking TBL in 7 games is ANA or CHI, but even still I don’t think any other team can stop the offensive threat. Let’ face it, Razor was BETTER than Bishop BAR none, he was better and we still lost because they can score.
Posted by Pasha1277 on 05/07/15 at 11:08 AM ET
we still lost because they can score.
Yep. In the end, they had 2 more goals than us in the series and those were in Game 7.
Posted by awould on 05/07/15 at 11:16 AM ET
The Wings/Lightning series was a make or break series for Bishop. Had the Wings lost, Bishop would not be considered a playoff capable goalie - heck, even the first half of Game 7 Bishop looked shakey.
Getting through round 1, Bishop gained confidence and should be capable of taking Tampa far. I don’t think Tampa should be concerned about him in upcoming years, either.
Posted by TreKronor on 05/07/15 at 11:27 AM ET
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Okay, I’ve got to wonder now - just how good is TB? I had picked MTL to win the Cup because I thought they had a great team and wouldn’t lose many at home, but Tampa sure changed that.
That said, just how good were the Wings, taking TB to 7 games?
I just wonder if after Tampa beat the Wings they gained the confidence they needed to go deep in the playoffs.
Posted by TreKronor on 05/07/15 at 10:52 AM ET