Sam Hitchcock: Lightning Survive High-Scoring Affair, Win Seventh Straight

Going up 4-0 then 5-1 barely two minutes into the third I think their minds were looking ahead to Vegas on Tuesday. Have to give Landeskog credit as he created all the offense and was determined to not let the Bolts blow out the Avs on home ice.

I can't fault Budaj too much as the team simply stopped playing in front of him. But the final 3 minutes he stood on his head and preserved the win. He still makes me wonder if he is good enough to be the backup. We will find out in January when they will have to play him more based on the how the schedule lines up.

Why did Sustr even play. After the goal he gave up I think he didn't see any more ice time. I say ride Slater as the 6-7 dman as he has much more upside and speed to play the brand of hockey they are playing.

Glad to see Vlad is okay that was a dangerous poopty hit.

Lastly Hedman and Stralman are so Swede I mean sweet on the ice. Both played great.

Two things :

Trade Budaj. Everyone keeps making excuses for him. Playing infrequently is what a backup is for. That is in their job description. Budaj might be a nice guy. Budaj might not be absolutely terrible. But, he is nowhere near good enough to backup a contending team. I would bet that no other team has a big of a drop off between their starter and their backup. And I know Vasi sets the bar pretty damn high, but even taking that into consideration, Budaj just doesn't cut it. It should be a cardiac rollercoaster every time you start your backup. Get rid of him.

The officiating in the NHL is a joke. Fans need to get together and demand consistency. In baseball, a strike is always a strike. In football, offsides is always offsides. In basketball, traveling is always traveling. In the NHL, a penalty may or may not be called, it just depends on.........? What? Who friggin knows. The refs in the NHL are an embarrassment to major league sports. NHL officials would be fired in 10 minutes in any other league.

Two things :

Trade Budaj. Everyone keeps making excuses for him. Playing infrequently is what a backup is for. That is in their job description. Budaj might be a nice guy. Budaj might not be absolutely terrible. But, he is nowhere near good enough to backup a contending team. I would bet that no other team has a big of a drop off between their starter and their backup. And I know Vasi sets the bar pretty damn high, but even taking that into consideration, Budaj just doesn't cut it. It should be a cardiac rollercoaster every time you start your backup. Get rid of him.

The officiating in the NHL is a joke. Fans need to get together and demand consistency. In baseball, a strike is always a strike. In football, offsides is always offsides. In basketball, traveling is always traveling. In the NHL, a penalty may or may not be called, it just depends on.........? What? Who friggin knows. The refs in the NHL are an embarrassment to major league sports. NHL officials would be fired in 10 minutes in any other league.
- GalacticStone

+1.

Trouble is I can't imagine there's much of a trade market. But they need to do something to get someone in there who can at least give them a reasonable shot at giving Vasy some rest. Impossible to trust Budaj.

+1.

Trouble is I can't imagine there's much of a trade market. But they need to do something to get someone in there who can at least give them a reasonable shot at giving Vasy some rest. Impossible to trust Budaj.
- Michael_Stuart

I guess you read through my typo - it should NOT be a cardiac roller coaster every time your backup starts a game.

Good to hear from you Mike.

Yeah, the market is pretty thin at the moment. But, I think the Lightning management are probably looking at this season as a "win now" moment. Unless there is a spectacular crash and burn of Montreal-2016 proportions, the Lightning are going to make a deep run this post season.

Yzerman has proven he will overpay to some extent to address a vital need, and this is it. If we sweeten the pot, we may find a taker for Budaj.

I'm not very familiar with our own prospect pipeline in the goalie department, but from what I do know, we don't really have anyone better than Budaj now, so we have to look outside.

I guess you read through my typo - it should NOT be a cardiac roller coaster every time your backup starts a game.

Good to hear from you Mike.

Yeah, the market is pretty thin at the moment. But, I think the Lightning management are probably looking at this season as a "win now" moment. Unless there is a spectacular crash and burn of Montreal-2016 proportions, the Lightning are going to make a deep run this post season.

Yzerman has proven he will overpay to some extent to address a vital need, and this is it. If we sweeten the pot, we may find a taker for Budaj.

I'm not very familiar with our own prospect pipeline in the goalie department, but from what I do know, we don't really have anyone better than Budaj now, so we have to look outside.
- GalacticStone

That's my understanding, too.

+1.

Trouble is I can't imagine there's much of a trade market. But they need to do something to get someone in there who can at least give them a reasonable shot at giving Vasy some rest. Impossible to trust Budaj.
- Michael_Stuart

Trade for Mrazek.

Mrazek 50% retained for a 2nd and Yan

Two things :

Trade Budaj. Everyone keeps making excuses for him. Playing infrequently is what a backup is for. That is in their job description. Budaj might be a nice guy. Budaj might not be absolutely terrible. But, he is nowhere near good enough to backup a contending team. I would bet that no other team has a big of a drop off between their starter and their backup. And I know Vasi sets the bar pretty damn high, but even taking that into consideration, Budaj just doesn't cut it. It should be a cardiac rollercoaster every time you start your backup. Get rid of him.

The officiating in the NHL is a joke. Fans need to get together and demand consistency. In baseball, a strike is always a strike. In football, offsides is always offsides. In basketball, traveling is always traveling. In the NHL, a penalty may or may not be called, it just depends on.........? What? Who friggin knows. The refs in the NHL are an embarrassment to major league sports. NHL officials would be fired in 10 minutes in any other league.
- GalacticStone

I think Budaj is fine for now. Really look at who they put him up against, Pitts, LA, Anaheim, etc. I think they need to pick the games he plays better, like I thought Arizona should have been Budaj and Vasey in Col. but then I think I saw Budaj lived in the Colorado area so that's why he got that play. I also think if they are playing him on the back to back night play him the first night so you get fresher bodies in front of him then lean on Vasey a little more the second night when the guys are not as fresh.

Overall I think too early to make a move with this roster. Cally had been playing well and gives a nice spark when he is out so losing him for a bit I think hurts slightly but overall I say keep it going, don't fix what isn't broken (yet).

Like my pops always said: "the best kind of lessons are the ones that don't cost you."

Can't turn on auto pilot against any team in this league (except maybe Arizona). 5-1 lead,I was about to go to bed until I saw the effort change. Sure enough....Budaj had to stand on his head the last 3 minutes to save the W. Hopefully they learned their lesson to play hard for the full 60 minutes!

Trade for Mrazek.

Mrazek 50% retained for a 2nd and Yan
- Feds91Stammer

I'm not up on my Red Wing's news but isn't Mrazek a locker room cancer? I'd rather give Domingue a chance. I mean...Budaj has played 6 games this year....giving away a 2nd round pick for a player who will barely play and has a reputation for having a bad attitude doesn't sound goodto me.

I'm not up on my Red Wing's news but isn't Mrazek a locker room cancer? I'd rather give Domingue a chance. I mean...Budaj has played 6 games this year....giving away a 2nd round pick for a player who will barely play and has a reputation for having a bad attitude doesn't sound goodto me.
- LightningMcKing

The Mrazek stuff all stems from a MSM smear campaign because Holland is still mad he took them to arbitration.

The Mrazek stuff all stems from a MSM smear campaign because Holland is still mad he took them to arbitration.
- Feds91Stammer

Gotta love #fakenews

+1.

Trouble is I can't imagine there's much of a trade market. But they need to do something to get someone in there who can at least give them a reasonable shot at giving Vasy some rest. Impossible to trust Budaj.
- Michael_Stuart

I honestly don't think there are much more reliable options out there anywhere. I can't think of anyone , or any team that would trade for budaj like you said. And if they do, is this goalie going to be much better? IDK!

Maybe give the guy we just got a shot. Domingue ?I might be butchering his name, I haven't looked it up :] This also throws syracuse under the bus, as they have not lost a game yet with him in the lineup. 10 or 11 in a row or something crazy. And those guys are just starting to turn their rookie pro seasons into productive ones, which is very good for tampa bay and very important for the development of the younger more talented prospects on the crunch.

Who would be a back up you guys would try to trade for? And what would you give up? I think Budaj is probably our best option just to keep him

I honestly don't think there are much more reliable options out there anywhere. I can't think of anyone , or any team that would trade for budaj like you said. And if they do, is this goalie going to be much better? IDK!

Maybe give the guy we just got a shot. Domingue ?I might be butchering his name, I haven't looked it up :] This also throws syracuse under the bus, as they have not lost a game yet with him in the lineup. 10 or 11 in a row or something crazy. And those guys are just starting to turn their rookie pro seasons into productive ones, which is very good for tampa bay and very important for the development of the younger more talented prospects on the crunch.

Who would be a back up you guys would try to trade for? And what would you give up? I think Budaj is probably our best option just to keep him
- RileyB77

I agree the market for a backup goalie is not good, they might have to ride Budaj no matter what. I don't think the Yotes goalie we got who is with the Crunch is any better. The problem with Budaj is he has barely played, yes he needs to get better but its such a small sample size. In January he will get to play more games because the Lightning's schedule will dictate it. If he doesn't show improvement by then they have some time to try and make a move.

But I also think Vasy being what 22 or 23 he can handle the work load he has had if need be and I am sure the team will rest him down the stretch if a playoff berth looks assured so he is ready for the playoffs.

Blind referees proving how badly they suck again. This game (Golden Knights) is almost unwatchable because of the terrible officiating.

Blind referees proving how badly they suck again. This game (Golden Knights) is almost unwatchable because of the terrible officiating.
- GalacticStone

I didn't get to watch but from the box score it looks like the refs wanted to be a factor in the game,the Bolts don't take a lot of penalties this year so that's surprising to see. What were the refs doing? Who had the better of the 5v5?

Also the PK is absolutely broken they have given up goals on what 6 of the last 8 or 9 penalty kills going back to the Avs game.