The NHL was founded in 1917. One of the original teams when the league first started was the Montreal Canadiens. In the over 100 years that the Habs have played in the NHL, they have won 24 Stanley Cup championships. The last time that happened was in 1993.
That just happened to be the inaugural year of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL. In the 28 years that the Bolts have been in the league, the team has won two Stanley Cup titles, with the last one being in 2020.
The Bolts are trying to do what has been rare in the NHL in recent history. That is win back-to-back Stanley Cups under head coach Jon Cooper. To do that, they are going to have to try and defeat the most surprising team in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs…the Canadiens, who are coached by Dominique Ducharme.
It’s going to take a collective effort for the Bolts to be able to hoist Lord Stanley for the second year in a row, but I’m going to list four keys for the Lightning to do just that as they face the Habs.
The Goalie Battle Between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Carey Price
The Tampa Bay Lightning have averaged 3.22 goals per game in the 2021 postseason. The Montreal Canadiens on the other hand, have averaged just 1.87 goals per game, which is the second lowest of any team that made it out of the first round. The advantage in this series should probably go to goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Bolts who has a great 2021 postseason, but goalie Carey Price of the Habs has also been really good this postseason.
Vasilevskiy has allowed just 1.99 goals per game and has a save percentage of 93.6. In addition to that, Vasy has four shutouts this postseason. The top three scoring threats of the Habs are left winger Tyler Toffoli, center Nick Suzuki and rookie right winger Cole Caufield. Plus Vasilevskiy can’t forget about veterans like left winger Corey Perry and center Eric Staal.
Price has also been very good, as he has allowed just 2.02 goals per game and saving 93.4 percent of attempted shots. That being said, the Bolts will bring a lot of firepower vs. Price, with the likes of right winger Nikita Kucherov, center Brayden Point, left winger Alex Killorn, center Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman.
Produce on the Power Play
The Bolts have the best power play in the NHL. In the 2021 postseason, the Lightning have converted 37.7 percent of their power play chances. The first power play unit of the Lightning includes Hedman, Killorn, Point, Stamkos and Kucherov. The point total of that group in the postseason has been outstanding. In fact, that group is in the top five in postseason points in the NHL. Kucherov has 27 points. Point has 20 points (which included a nine-game goal scoring streak), Killorn has 17 points, as does Stamkos. And Hedman has 16 points.
The Canadiens have been unreal in the playoffs this year with their penalty kill unit. The Habs have stopped power plays at a 93.5 percent clip. Believe it or not, the Canadiens haven’t allowed a power play goal in 13 straight postseason games, an NHL record. The Habs usually utilize defenseman Shea Weber, center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, right winger Brendan Gallagher, right winger Josh Anderson and defenseman Jeff Petry on their No. 1 penalty kill unit.
Something has to give here.
Score on the Top Defensive Line of the Habs
One of the more amazing stats of the 2021 postseason is the job the line of Artturi Lehkonen, Phillip Danault and Gallagher of the Habs have done against the top-scoring lines of their opponents. Against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the group allowed just one goal overall against the top-scoring line of the Leafs. They did the same thing versus the top-scoring line of the Winnipeg Jets. And then they did the same thing against the Vegas Golden Knights and their top-scoring line. That means that the line of Lehkonen, Danault and Gallagher have given up just three goals overall in three rounds against the top-scoring lines of their opponents. That is truly remarkable.
If they can do the same against Kucherov, Point and Ondrej Palat, the odds are very strong that they will win the Stanley Cup. But that will be very difficult to accomplish based on what the terrific trio have done for the Bolts this postseason, as the three have a combined 23 goals in the 2021 playoffs thus far.
The Battle of the Badgers
One of the reasons that the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 to advance to the Stanley Cup final was due to the play of defenseman Ryan McDonagh. The former Wisconsin Badger was blocking shots left and right. Plus, when the Bolts scored their only goal of the game short-handed, it was McDonagh who got the puck up the ice to Killorn who then passed it to Anthony Cirelli, who as he skated towards the corner, passed it to a wide open Yanni Gourde, who had just come off the bench during a change by the Islanders to score what turned out to be a the game-winning goal. Bottom line, McDonagh has just been outstanding for the Bolts this postseason, as he is at a +11 currently and has averaged 22:49 minutes per game.
Another former Badger has also been outstanding this postseason. I’m talking about Caufield of the Habs, who leads all NHL rookies with nine points this postseason. As a matter of fact, Caufield (the 2021 Hoby Baker Award winner) had a goal in both Game 5 and Game 6, as the Habs eliminated the Vegas Golden Knights in six games to get to the Stanley Cup Final.
I expect both McDonagh and Caufield to play well, but I give the nod to the former Badger captain McDonagh due to his experience.
The Green Bay Packers will start training camp on July 27 and although most of the media attention will be on whether quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be in attendance, I know I’ll be watching the development of the first three picks of the Packers in the 2021 NFL draft, cornerback Eric Stokes (Round 1), center Josh Myers (Round 2) and wide receiver Amari Rodgers (Round 3).
In terms of No. 12, yes, I do believe he will be under center for the Pack in 2021.
Rodgers was not at the recent minicamp of the Packers which allowed second-year quarterback Jordan Love to get some much needed reps, as he continues to learn the offense put together by head coach Matt LaFleur.
The minicamp was also very important for all the young players on the Packers, including their rookie class led by Stokes, Myers and (Amari) Rodgers. All of them are looking for guidance from the veterans on the team.
Stokes is trying to learn the nuances of playing cornerback in the NFL from Jaire Alexander, who was named to the 2018 NFL All-Rookie Team and was also named to the Pro Bowl team last season. Stokes is expected to step right in and get significant playing time in the defensive secondary, especially in the nickel look (five defensive backs).
“My first impression was like, hey, he’s a freak,” Stokes told the media about Alexander. “Especially that first day when he had that (pass break up) on the sideline, the wide receiver clearly caught it and he came up and punched it out. I’m standing on the opposite sideline and my eyes were like, wow.”
Learning from Alexander can only help the development of the 6’1″, 195-pound Stokes, who ran a 4.25 40 at the Georgia pro day in March. In addition to that, Stokes had his best season in 2020 with the Bulldogs, as he had four interceptions (two for touchdowns) and allowed only 38.5% completions when teams targeted him.
“Just trying to pick his brain apart and learn everything he (has done) and how to get the ball out,” Stokes said of Alexander. “All the little things you don’t see, the camera don’t see outside of practice. How he’s constantly doing all this stuff so I’m watching him and learning from the best.”
Likewise with Myers, who is expected to take over the starting job at center, with Corey Linsley leaving via free agency. In an ironic twist, both Linsley and Myers played center at Ohio State.
Trying to replace Linsley won’t be easy, as Linsley performed very well in the seven years he played with the Pack. Like Alexander was in 2018, Linsley was on the NFL All-Rookie Team in 2014. Plus, in 2020, Linsley was named first-team All-Pro.
Still, the 6.5″, 310-pound Myers was excited to get a lot of reps at the minicamp and learn from the veterans.
“It means a lot to me to get those reps,” Myers told the media. “To get to play with those older guys and kind of see how the process goes, just kind of learn my way throughout this thing.”
Myers was a two-year starter at center for the Buckeyes. In 2019, Myers was named second-team All-Big Ten and in 2020 was named first-team All-Big Ten. Myers knows it’s a process trying to understand the blocking schemes that the Packers utilize, which is why it’s important to get a lot of snaps in practice.
“It’s a lot,” Myers said. “It’s getting slower every day though, to be honest with you guys. I’ve taken very big steps forward since we started this thing with our offense and every day feeling more comfortable. It’s starting to slow down already.”
Myers also realizes that he can’t get ahead of himself as he learns the offense and gets to know his new teammates.
“I’m trying not to look too far ahead right now,” Myers said. “There’s so much going on between my ears learning this offense that I’m just taking it day by day.”
The addition of (Amari) Rodgers via the draft, which is something I predicted in my final mock draft, should make the other (Aaron) Rodgers very happy.
Rodgers looks to be the perfect slot receiver that the Packers have been looking for ever since the departure of Randall Cobb.
Like Stokes and Myers, Rodgers is trying to soak in as much as he can from from a veteran. Not just any veteran either, as Davante Adams might be the best receiver in the NFL right now. In 2020, Adams was named first-team All-Pro, as No. 17 had 115 receptions for 1,374 and 18 touchdowns. The former Fresno State star was also named to the Pro Bowl squad for the fourth straight year.
Not a bad guy to learn from, huh? Certainly, Amari feels that way about Davante.
“It was amazing,” Rodgers said of being learning from Adams. “That was my first time being in person, being able to pick his brain a little bit and add something to my tool box from him. He’s one of those player-coaches, so you know, if you don’t know something you can go to him, he know it like that.”
The 5’9″, 212-pound Rodgers had a fine collegiate career at Clemson, as he was a three-year starter, plus had 181 receptions for 2,144 yards and 15 touchdowns in his career as a Tiger. Rodgers had a very good senior year in 2020, as he had 77 catches for 1,020 yards and seven touchdowns. That led to Rodgers being named first-team All-ACC.
Rodgers was also a member of the 2018 FBS national championship team at Clemson, as he caught 55 passes for 575 yards and four touchdowns. He also returned a punt that season for a score.
Bottom line, I expect Stokes, Myers and Rodgers all to perform well as rookies. I wouldn’t be surprised if all of them were on the 2021 All-Rookie Team either.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have won the Stanley Cup twice. In both cases, the Bolts had to get by the New York Islanders first to achieve that goal of hoisting Lord Stanley. The same situation is now in play, as the Lightning and Islanders will be playing in a series that will determine who goes to the Stanley Cup Final beginning on Sunday afternoon at the Amalie Arena in Tampa.
When the Bolts won their first Stanley Cup in 2004, they had to get by the Islanders in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The two big stars for the Lightning in that series were forward Marty St. Louis and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin.
St. Louis, who had won the Art Ross trophy, the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award for his performance in the 2003-04 season, had four goals in the series, including the series-winner in Game 5 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now Amalie Arena), which was a game I attended.
When Marty hit the game-winner, the crowd went absolutely nuts. It was great to be there in attendance, as the teams traded handshakes at the end of the game, which is a custom in the NHL after a playoff series ends.
Khabibulin was just phenomenal in this series, as No. 35 had three shutouts in the series. The Russian goalie lived up to his nickname, “The Bulin Wall”, in this matchup.
Only five goals were scored by the Islanders in this series, as forward Jason Blake had two goals, while defenseman Janne Niinimaa, forward Oleg Kvasha and forward Mark Parrish had one apiece. Goalie Rick DiPietro of the Isles had a shutout and had a 2.18 goal against average versus the Bolts.
Both St. Louis and Khabibulin were definitely strong candidates to win the Conn Smythe Trophy after the Bolts won the Stanley Cup, but the award went to center Brad Richards, who also scored a goal in this series in Game 3. In the run to hoist Lord Stanley in 2004, No. 19 had 12 goals and 14 assists.
St. Louis was also superb in the playoff run, as No. 26 had nine goals and 15 assists, which included two overtime game-winning goals, like the one which cliched the series against the Islanders.
Khabibulin was 16-7 in the playoff run of the Bolts in 2004, and had a 1.71 goals against average, plus had five shutouts.
After the Bolts took care of the Islanders after the OT goal by St. Louis, the Lightning then went on to sweep the Montreal Canadiens in fours games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. I was on hand to see the Bolts beat the Habs 4-0 in Game 1, as center Vincent Lecavalier had two goals and Khabibulin pitched another shutout. For that game, I received complimentary tickets from 620 WDAE, The Sports Animal.
My most vivid memory before the game was a couple of mouthy Montreal fans who kept telling anyone that would listen that Bolts fans did not know hockey and that they were the resident experts. After the game, a buddy of mine and I saw the same two obnoxious fans of the Habs in the plaza, but they were hightailing out of there in a hurry. We also ran into another annoying Canadiens fan a little later, but after I told him to “Shut your yap” John Tortorella style, while using a Joe Pesci vocabulary, the guy meekly went away.
After dispatching the Habs, the Lightning’s next opponent was the tough Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final. I was able to go to Game 1 in the series with some friends and although we encountered a number of unruly Flyer fans, we had the last laugh, as the Bolts won 3-1.
The rest of the series was a knock-down, drag-out type of war. The Flyers were led by Keith Primeau. Richards paced the Bolts with two game-winning goals in the series. The Lightning ended up winning in seven games, after an excruciating loss in Game 6 at Philly, losing 5-4 in OT, in a game the Bolts should have won.
The Lightning came back to win game seven at the Forum by a score of 2-1 as Khabibulin was brilliant again. The Lightning now would be playing for the Stanley Cup championship.
The Lightning faced the Calgary Flames for the right to hoist Lord Stanley. The Flames were led by Jarome Iginla and goalie Miikka Kiprusoff. Nothing was easy in this series, as the Bolts lost game one at home 4-1, but bounced back to win by the same score as Khabby was excellent, and Richards played lights out again.
Kiprusoff shut out the Bolts 3-0 in Game 3 and the Lightning had their backs to the wall going into Game 4. But once again, Khabibulin was phenomenal, as the Bolts won 1-0 as Richards scored the game winning goal. Also, this game also had the moment when Lecavalier had his head rammed into the side glass by Calgary’s Ville Nieminen.
That win set up Game 5 at the Forum. However, the Bolts lost 3-2 in OT, sending the Lightning to Calgary in a do-or-die situation behind three games to two. Game 6 was one of the greatest hockey games I ever saw. The Lightning ended up winning 3-2 in the second overtime, as Richards had two goals in the game, but it was St. Louis that hit the game winner in the second overtime to set up Game 7 at the Forum in Tampa.
A friend of mine was able to get his hands on some very pricey tickets for Game 7, as he and I, along with another buddy, went to the game. As I sometimes did back then, I called the late, great Steve Duemig on his show on 620 WDAE on the way to the game. Steve and I discussed the keys to the game, and that’s when I had my Nostradamus moment. For some reason, I said Ruslan Fedotenko would have a big night.
Fedotenko did have a big night, as he scored the Bolts only two goals in a 2-1 victory over the Flames. Khabibulin was brilliant yet again, and Richards ended up winning the Conn Smythe trophy as MVP of the playoffs. But the biggest prize was actually being there to see the Bolts win the Stanley Cup and then watching them lift the trophy high in the air and pass it from teammate to teammate, especially seeing that the first to hoist Lord Stanley was veteran forward and captain Dave Andreychuk, who had just won his first Stanley Cup after 22 years in the NHL.
16 years later, the Lightning had to get by the Islanders again, this time in the Eastern Conference Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But before the Bolts played the Islanders for the right to play for the Stanley Cup, Tampa Bay had to get by two other opponents, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Boston Bruins.
In the series against the Blue Jackets and former Lightning head coach John Tortorella, the Bolts had revenge on their mind, as Columbus had shockingly swept the Bolts the year before in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Not this time though, as the Lightning won the series 4-1, but it sure wasn’t easy.
In Game 1, the Bolts finally won as center Brayden Point scored the game-winning goal in the fifth overtime, as the Bolts won 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Yes, you read that right. The game was won in overtime No. 5. The Blue Jackets bounced back and won Game 2 by a 3-1 score.
In Game 3, the Lightning won 3-2 again, as Point added another goal, plus defenseman Victor Hedman and forward Alex Killorn also scored. In Game 4, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was brilliant in front of the net with 28 saves, plus Barclay Goodrow and Yanni Gourde each scored, as the Bolts won 2-1.
In Game 5, it took overtime once again, as the Bolts beat the Blue Jackets 5-4, as Point once again had the series-winning goal with an assist from forward Nikita Kucherov. With less than two minutes to go and the Lightning down 4-3, head coach Jon Cooper pulled Vasilevskiy and then center Anthony Cirelli tied the score with a goal with 1:38 left in the game.
The next test for the Bolts would be the Bruins. In Game 1, the Bruins held off the Lightning and won the game 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena. Hedman had two goals for Tampa Bay. In Game 2, the Bolts won 4-3 in OT, as Ondrej Palat scored the winning goal after forward Pat Maroon tried a wraparound shot that went through the crease that Palat banged home.
In Game 3, Kucherov had four points in the game (one goal and three assists), as the Lightning whipped the Bruins 7-1. Palat, Gourde, Point and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev each had a goal in that game as well, while Killorn had two goals. In Game 4, the Lightning won again 3-1, as Palat scored twice and Hedman also added a goal. Vasilevskiy made 29 saves in the game.
In Game 5, it took two overtimes, but the Lightning won the game and the series by beating the Bruins 3-2. Hedman scored the game-winning goal, as the Lightning advance to the Eastern Conference Final to play the Islanders, who beat the Flyers in seven games to advance.
In Game 1 against the Isles at Roger Place, the Bolts had their way, as they won 8-2. Point and Gourde each scored two goals, while Hedman, Kucherov, Palat and defenseman Ryan McDonagh each scored one goal. Vasilevskiy had 23 saves. In Game 2, the Bolts won 2-1, as Kucherov scored the game-winning goal with nine seconds left in the game.
In Game 3, the Islanders bounced back and beat the Bolts 5-3, as Anthony Beauvillier, Cal Clutterbuck, Brock Nelson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Adam Pelech all scored for the Isles. Center Tyler Johnson, Palat and Sergachev scored a goal each for the Bolts.
In Game 4, Point, who didn’t play in Game 3 due to injury, had a goal and an assist, as the Lightning beat the Islanders 4-1. Center Blake Coleman, Maroon and Palat also added goals for the Bolts. In Game 5, the Isles bounced back and beat the Lightning 2-1 in the second overtime on a goal by forward Jordan Eberle. Hedman had the lone goal for the Bolts.
In Game 6, the Bolts won the game 2-1 in overtime, as Cirelli scored the game-winning goal. Hedman added the other goal for the Bolts. Vasilevskiy had 26 saves for the Bolts, who were going on to the Stanley Cup Final to face the Dallas Stars.
In the series against the Stars, the Bolts won in six games, 4-2 and won their second ever Stanley Cup. Probably the thing I remember most about this Stanley Cup Final was the goal scored by center Steven Stamkos on his first shot in Game 3, when the Bolts won 5-2. Stamkos had not played for the Lightning since February 25 due to injury. Stamkos would not play in the final 46-plus minutes of Game 3 after his goal and wouldn’t play in the rest of the series, but his goal was definitely an uplifting moment for both Stamkos and the Bolts.
”Just to be able to get out into a game and have an impact on a game, which a month ago may have never been possible” a smiling Stamkos said after the game. ”It’s been such a long time. At this time of the year, you want to do anything you can to help your team win. I’ve watched these guys be so committed to what our end goal is, and to be part of it tonight, it was a dream come true.”
Hedman went on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, as No. 77 scored 22 points in the playoffs, with 10 goals and 12 assists.
A number of players on the Lightning were candidates to win the Conn Smythe. For instance, Point had 33 points in the playoffs, with 14 goals and 19 assists. Kucherov also had 34 points, with seven goals and a whopping 27 assists. Vasilevskiy had a 1.90 goals against average in the playoffs.
Starting tomorrow, the Lightning have a chance to get to their second straight Stanley Cup Final. But the task won’t be easy, as the Islanders are playing excellent hockey and unlike last year, the Bolts will have to head to the very tough Nassau Coliseum when they play on the road.
But if history repeats itself in terms of getting by the Isles, the Bolts will move on to the Stanley Cup Final against either the Montreal Canadiens or Las Vegas Golden Knights. There they will have a chance to hoist Lord Stanley for the second consecutive year.
Since 1992, there have been two primary starting quarterbacks for the Green Bay Packers. That’s going on 30 years now. Those two quarterbacks are Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. In this story, I’m not going to go into the past drama that the Packers had with Favre in 2008, nor am I going to comment about the ongoing situation with Rodgers, except to say I believe he will be the starting QB again for the Pack in 2021.
I will say that both Aaron and Brett participated in You Can If You Will: The Jerry Kramer Story, a documentary that was recently released and is being sold in the Packers Pro Shop. I was honored to be a supervising producer for this great film, directed by award-winning filmmaker Glenn Aveni.
This piece is going to be strictly about the numbers that Rodgers and Favre have put up in their time in Green Bay. In terms of length of service for the Packers, Aaron and Brett join quarterback Bart Starr in having played 16 years in Green Bay. Favre started in all of the 16 years he played with the Pack, while Rodgers has started only 13 of those 16 years, as he backed up Favre the first three years of his NFL career.
Together, Favre and Rodgers have made the Packers one of the elite franchises in the NFL over the past three decades. Between the two, the Packers have made the postseason 21 times, won won 14 NFC Central/North titles, played in eight NFC title games, winning three times, plus played in three Super Bowls, winning twice.
Favre was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, while Rodgers will be a first-ballot lock to get a bust in Canton on his first try.
Okay, let’s look at the number both Rodgers and Favre have put up as a member of the Packers.
greenbaybobfox.wordpress.com 