Simple story...
- Got the job done on the PK
- Did not get the job done on the PP
- Got the job done in the puck possession and attack zone time departments
- Did not get the job done on the scoreboard
TBL notes:
- The Lightning are indeed looking a lot tougher than in recent years, but not necessarily in an "honorable" manner. Maybe I'm wearing blue & orange colored glasses, but these hits like the elbow on Cizikas from Coleman in Game 1, the Killorn check from behind on Nelson, and later the Goodrow punch to the back of the head on Nelson are looking fairly commonplace - and they're cheapass bullshit. That's how guys who can't do things fairly be tough. And they have to pay in the form of PP goals against, or it doesn't stop. Orrrrr, when you're on the PP, you dump and chase, and beat the shit out of them while they're down a man.
- They're winning without Stamkos. They're winning despite 50 minutes without Killorn and 35 minutes without Point. This winning without key personnel worries me the most.
- It feels like Vasilevsky is going to be the biggest difference maker in the series.
- It's official, Hedman is a hockey god. The guy is just, well, unbeatable. So big, so strong, so smart, so good with the puck, so effective, so omnipresent - and it feels like he's on the ice 45 minutes a night.