Riding a three-game winning streak, the Lightning take to the road today in Toronto with the first of three games in Canada. For Tampa Bay, the road trip resembles what will be many “in-conference” road trips in 2012-13 and beyond, with the Bolts playing games in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal over a five-day period. The team will of course play each of the Canadian opponents six times under the National Hockey League’s new alignment, meaning three road games to each of these hockey-crazed markets.
The Lightning had the day off yesterday after a great come-from-behind win on Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens. The team has shown a great propensity for coming from behind in games this season and that was no exception. More on that later, but now let’s focus on the big night on multiple levels. The Bolts will play their final game of 2011 tonight in front of what is expected to be a capacity crowd. It is also a big night for the St. Pete Times Forum, which will officially become the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Franchise founder Phil Esposito will be honored on the plaza at 4:30 p.m. with a statue that is probably long overdue. Make sure to catch both the arena name and statue unveiling on the west plaza or LIVE on Sun Sports.
The Lightning had a late morning practice at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum yesterday. They were originally scheduled to begin practice at 11:30 a.m., but a meeting that was supposed to be 10 minutes lasted an extra 15 and the team took the ice around 11:45 a.m. or so. Nate Thompson stayed with the team on the ice for the duration and Matt Gilroy practiced without a red jersey and is cleared to play.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday over the weekend, but now its back to hockey. The team had a 6 p.m. practice yesterday at the St. Pete Times Forum. Guy Boucher said there were “turkey feathers all over the ice” as the players tried to get back into the swing of things after the two-day break. The break also allowed for the Lightning to get some of their bodies healthy as their injury list was growing leading into the holidays.
After originally not being scheduled to practice yesterday, there was a change of plans after Wednesday night’s game against San Jose and the Bolts had a morning practice at the HP Pavilion before flying to a wintery Denver, Colorado, fresh off being hit by that blizzard that tore across the mid-west. Last night the team all gathered for a dinner, complete with a holiday gift exchange. It included all players, coaches and staff on the trip, including CEO Tod Leiweke, along with his son Tyler, and GM Steve Yzerman. The Bolts reconvened for an 11:30 a.m. optional morning skate today.
