Steve Downie? Yes, that was Bolts’ coach Guy Boucher’s inspired choice as the Tampa Bay Lightning’s “spoiler” in an unlikely shootout against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night from the St. Pete Times Forum. Can’t fault the bench boss for playing a hunch. Or maybe you can. Doesn’t matter in our case.
Regardless, it was a split dose of heroism as netminder Scott Clemmensen (34 saves, 3 additional in the shootout) shared a pedestal with forward Mike Santorelli (3rd period GT goal) as the Cats continued a Streak of Dread over Tampa Bay, stretching the all-time record to 52-34-10 against their Western Florida rivals.
Notes…
Scorers: (TB) Marc-Andre Bergeron, Sean Bergenheim. (FLA) David Booth, Santorelli. Assists: (TB) Randy Jones, Martin St. Louis, Dominic Moore, Adam Hall. (FLA) Dennis Wideman, Stephen Weiss, Cory Stillman, Bryan McCabe. SOG leader: Stillman (5). TOI leader: Wideman (29:57…remember that number when asking what he’s worth to this team). Hits: Bryan Allen, Jack Skille (5); FLA won the night 28-24. PIM: 6 tied with (2). FLA PP: 1 for 2 (50%). FLA PK: 5 for 5 (100%…sweet). FLA Faceoffs: won 43% (20-27). SOG: 36-26 TB; goalie Dan Ellis stopped 24 shots. Vincent Lecavalier: 11 faceoff wins, no points. Steven Stamkos: no points, +1, 6 SOG. More from Raw Charge here.
Next up: at The Island on Monday, 1pm; Live Game Thread at noon.