Michael Stuart: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Supporting Cast Spurs Victory

Wish the retro jerseys were the regular jerseys. Our jerseys here in Tampa look to much like a copy of the Leafs jerseys.

The retro jersey with the new logo on crest should be new permanent home jersey but they won't do it.

Cooper is playing Serg more and more on off side so I think Coop knows his teams weakness.

Verhaeghe killing it on top line with Barkov which is helping his stats. Barkov is a great player. I wonder if it's sustainable for him. I know the Bolts wanted to re-sign him but could not work deal to fit under cap.

Overall Lightning played just enough to win last night. Will need better efforts going forward.

Detroit hung in there and stayed in it until the bitter end. The Bolts didn't roll over them. It was an entertaining game to watch.

Some random observations :

1) Cernak makes a big difference on that right side. Having Cernak there provides a small measure of balance on that side against a bounty of riches on the left side. Seeing Schenn, Rutta, and a rookie on the right side is the thing nightmares are made of.

2) Tampa has arguably the best three left-side defensemen in the league. I don't think any team stacks up to Hedman, McDonagh, and Sergachev down the left. Sometimes those three guys look like forwards sailing around out there. If these three can stay healthy, they can drag around inferior partners all day long and keep their pairing above water.

3) Foote has acquitted himself well in a sheltered role. He doesn't look out of place. He makes smart passes (mostly), he's mobile, and he's got a good shot. You can tell he is still lacking confidence and is kept on a tight leash by coaching, but I don't see any red flags with him. You can tell he has some of his daddy's fire in him. You gotta like what you see so far. Give him a couple of seasons and I think he's going to battle for a #4 spot and maybe push Cernak a little.

4) Vasi is dialed in so far. He's stopping everything he can see. You need deflections, screens, and scramble rebounds to beat him. He's let in very few weak goals so far this season. No signs of plateau'ing in his development. He seems to keep improving his game. His conditioning appears to have improved. His flexibility and acrobatics are insane. His puck tracking and anticipation seems spot on. He still needs to keep working on his puck handling though. He's good, but could still improve there.

5) Point drives the bus. With Kucherov gone, it's become very obvious who the on-ice boss is.

Detroit hung in there and stayed in it until the bitter end. The Bolts didn't roll over them. It was an entertaining game to watch.

Some random observations :

1) Cernak makes a big difference on that right side. Having Cernak there provides a small measure of balance on that side against a bounty of riches on the left side. Seeing Schenn, Rutta, and a rookie on the right side is the thing nightmares are made of.

2) Tampa has arguably the best three left-side defensemen in the league. I don't think any team stacks up to Hedman, McDonagh, and Sergachev down the left. Sometimes those three guys look like forwards sailing around out there. If these three can stay healthy, they can drag around inferior partners all day long and keep their pairing above water.

3) Foote has acquitted himself well in a sheltered role. He doesn't look out of place. He makes smart passes (mostly), he's mobile, and he's got a good shot. You can tell he is still lacking confidence and is kept on a tight leash by coaching, but I don't see any red flags with him. You can tell he has some of his daddy's fire in him. You gotta like what you see so far. Give him a couple of seasons and I think he's going to battle for a #4 spot and maybe push Cernak a little.

4) Vasi is dialed in so far. He's stopping everything he can see. You need deflections, screens, and scramble rebounds to beat him. He's let in very few weak goals so far this season. No signs of plateau'ing in his development. He seems to keep improving his game. His conditioning appears to have improved. His flexibility and acrobatics are insane. His puck tracking and anticipation seems spot on. He still needs to keep working on his puck handling though. He's good, but could still improve there.

5) Point drives the bus. With Kucherov gone, it's become very obvious who the on-ice boss is.
- GalacticStone

Foote plays 8-10 minutes wtf he has aquitted himself for what? Lmfao!

Detroit hung in there and stayed in it until the bitter end. The Bolts didn't roll over them. It was an entertaining game to watch.

Some random observations :

1) Cernak makes a big difference on that right side. Having Cernak there provides a small measure of balance on that side against a bounty of riches on the left side. Seeing Schenn, Rutta, and a rookie on the right side is the thing nightmares are made of.

2) Tampa has arguably the best three left-side defensemen in the league. I don't think any team stacks up to Hedman, McDonagh, and Sergachev down the left. Sometimes those three guys look like forwards sailing around out there. If these three can stay healthy, they can drag around inferior partners all day long and keep their pairing above water.

3) Foote has acquitted himself well in a sheltered role. He doesn't look out of place. He makes smart passes (mostly), he's mobile, and he's got a good shot. You can tell he is still lacking confidence and is kept on a tight leash by coaching, but I don't see any red flags with him. You can tell he has some of his daddy's fire in him. You gotta like what you see so far. Give him a couple of seasons and I think he's going to battle for a #4 spot and maybe push Cernak a little.

4) Vasi is dialed in so far. He's stopping everything he can see. You need deflections, screens, and scramble rebounds to beat him. He's let in very few weak goals so far this season. No signs of plateau'ing in his development. He seems to keep improving his game. His conditioning appears to have improved. His flexibility and acrobatics are insane. His puck tracking and anticipation seems spot on. He still needs to keep working on his puck handling though. He's good, but could still improve there.

5) Point drives the bus. With Kucherov gone, it's become very obvious who the on-ice boss is.
- GalacticStone

Without Vasi it’s scary.

Foote plays 8-10 minutes wtf he has aquitted himself for what? Lmfao!
- Justbecause

If a young rookie d-man doesn't make any glaring mistakes, holds his own against grown men in a scrum, and manages to crack the scoresheet, then I'd say he did pretty good so far.

Without Vasi it’s scary.
- Justbecause

Without Vasi and Kuch, the Bolts are a lottery team.

If a young rookie d-man doesn't make any glaring mistakes, holds his own against grown men in a scrum, and manages to crack the scoresheet, then I'd say he did pretty good so far.
- GalacticStone

Absolutely disagree. Most games he sits an entire period. Gonna get roids.

Definitely need a dman b4 the playoffs. That kid won’t see the light of day in the playoffs. Schenn and Rutta horrible

Without Vasi and Kuch, the Bolts are a lottery team.
- GalacticStone

Step away from the whiskey!

Absolutely disagree. Most games he sits an entire period. Gonna get roids.

Definitely need a dman b4 the playoffs. That kid won’t see the light of day in the playoffs. Schenn and Rutta horrible
- Justbecause

Kid is sheltered. No doubt about that, and he should be. He'd get eaten alive if given top-4 minutes and almost any rookie would. If not for the departure of Shattenkirk, he'd still be in the minors or the taxi squad. Coaching is getting his feet wet and I still think he's done quite well in the limited time he's seen action. With a little more seasoning, he should easily pass Schenn and Rutta on the depth chart.

Step away from the whiskey!
- Justbecause

NEVER!