I always liked Smith, but having Dumont back in the organization made at least one of them a luxury.
I hope Somppi gets a chance if anything ever comes up this season.

Dumi would have had a cup ring if they hadn't changed the faceoff rules. That guy was money.

Jon Cooper said the Lightning will have more than 4 D-men in the lineup tomorrow, though he doesn't know which ones will be back yet. Also said Palat is doubtful to return against the Ducks.

Wow-incredibly, this will be Corey Perry's first game back in Anaheim since leaving the Ducks. Wow. Tribute video 3 years after the fact upcoming.

FYI #4 Michigan v #11 Minnesota hockey is on ESPNU right now if anyone wants a second game to watch in stoppages. Michigan has Lightning prospect Dylan Duke and Minnesota has Sammy Walker.

Duke scored as I was typing this.

#TBLightning defender Cal Foote fined $2,125 (maximum allowable under the CBA) for cross checking #NHLDucks forward Buddy Robinson. #GoBolts #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/fbU5ETGCru

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) January 22, 2022

Foote has had a fiery attitude lately.

I mean, last night wasn't as awful as the score showed. Vasi wasn't his usual stellar self last night, but he sure as heck wasn't helped by the fact that the RD was Foote/Sustr/Claesson (no Cernak, Rutta, Bogosian, not to mention Palat). Oy. Also at the other end, John Gibson was terrific, standing on his head throughout the game. (even the PP, which went 0/7, was robbed at least 5 times off terrific saves by Gibson-3 of them on Stamkos on the one midway through the 3rd!). Forget about this one. One more on the West Coast, tonight at San Jose.

Hot start. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9cF52gPMl5

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 23, 2022

P.S. NOW STAMMER SCORES!!! 2-0!!!

12:32 into the 1st, and it's 4-0. Wow. Not a bad start.

That was fun! Terrific offense, terrific PP, terrific defense, terrific goaltending! 7-1! Hard to get a more resounding win than that. Back to Amalie!

Spencer Martin is a brick wall right now vs the Oilers. Maybe we should have kept him.

We have recalled forward Cole Koepke and defenseman Darren Raddysh from the @SyracuseCrunch. https://t.co/47MmlGyzOT

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 27, 2022

Koepke!

Good win, and the only reason it was that close was because Gillies stood on his head for the Devils. Lightning generated nonstop pressure, but Gillies stood tall (Get it? 'Cause he's 6"6? No? Whatever) for most of the game, just gave up too many juicy rebounds. Defense was quite good save for the awful, AWFUL Hughes goal-don't know what the heck was going on there, every defender went to the center of the ice and left Hughes wide open with an empty net to shoot out. Vasi was terrific as usual, he only really was responsible for the Severson goal (and even then he got screened), the aforementioned 2nd one wasn't his fault. Up next: Vegas.

Getting 9 SOG through 2 periods isn't a great recipe for winning

EDIT: But getting 17 (and holding the other team to just 1) in the 3rd is

Coast and Roast. Classic Bolts.

Vasy has the highest save % in shootouts (50 saves minimum), yet Vegas picked him apart tonight. Props to them.

Also, Pointer and Stamkos do the same shootout move nearly every time and still score, as a former goalie, I find this hilarious.

That was a terrific game. Vegas dominated through the 1st 2 periods, held the Lightning to 9 SOG-9!!-through 2 periods and got good production, but the Bolts came to life in the 3rd, outshooting Vegas 17-1 in the final 20 minutes and tying the game with TREMENDOUS pressure on Lehner. OT was unreal (only bested by the shootout)-no whistles, and incredible saves by first Lehner then Vasi to keep the game alive. And what a heck of a shootout-save on Hedman, Nic Roy scores, Pointer scores, Theodore scores, Stammer scores, save on Marchessault, save on Killorn, save on Dadonov, Perry rings the crossbar, Patrick misses, Colton scores, William Karlsson scores, save on Maroon (really? A bit puzzling-I would've taken practically every other forward before him), William Karlsson scores. Wow. Not often you see Vasi give up 4 goals in the shootout, Vegas had some nice dekes and shooting. Overall, lousy first 2 periods, excellent from the beginning of the 3rd. Hopefully they can head into the break on the right note by beating the Sharks one more time.

So long Alexi. We hardly knew ye.

Some times I just wonder if GMs make trades just for fun because they can.

Gotta make a trade every "x" days or you lose your GM license.

Now we've traded Huntington. Sad to see him go, but he's struggled to get anything going in the AHL lately. He was an easy guy to root for, hopefully he'll find his touch with Nashville.

23yo for a 25yo. I thought Huntington would've gotten a shot early this season before Fort Gabe, but he cooled bigtime.

Lightning players' respective ASG Skills Competitions: Vasi's doing the Save Streak (obviously), Stammer's doing the '21 in '22 (which is five players who will stand on Las Vegas Boulevard and shoot at 52 oversized cards, trying to get the highest hand in the fewest shots without going bust, the first player who wins two rounds wins the event-sounds AWESOME), and Hedman's doing hardest shot.

We've got a future #NHLAllStar on our hands, folks. pic.twitter.com/Wnk9Kg8oXD

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) February 4, 2022

Future HOFer Carter Stamkos.

UPDATES from Gary Bettman:• 2022 #NHLDraft may be moved from Montreal if restrictions aren’t lifted• 2023 #NHLAllStar: Sunrise, Florida• #Canes host 2023 #StadiumSeries• #NHLBruins get #WinterClassic at Fenway• 22/23 #GlobalSeries: Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) February 4, 2022

I imagine we'd be guaranteed guaranteed a spot for the Czechia game if we still have Palat and/or Rutta.