The Fifth Liners

It was announced on Twitter that 2013’s third overall draft pick Jonathan Drouin wants out of Tampa Bay, the situation being described as ‘untenable’ by his agent. It’s probably no coincidence that the statement was released as the 20 year old forward was assigned to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, although the trade request was made back in November. It’s nice to hear Lightning news that doesn’t involve wild speculation about Steven Stamkos’ future in Toronto , but this isn’t really news. Drouin is in contract until 2017, even then he’ll become a restricted free agent so the Lightning hold the upper hand whatever happens. We can only speculate as to why this trade has been requested, although Drouin’s limited ice-time is probably a factor, and reportedly there’s no love lost between Drouin and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper either. Lack of ice-time is the reason that GM Steve Yzerman sent Drouin down to the AHL, he’s not playing at his best, so the Crunch will give him more g...

After becoming a free agent, today Martin St Louis has announced his retirement after 16 glorious years. There has been much speculation about the 40 year old's future, but after only 1 goal in 19 playoffs games last season, team were not stepping up to sign him. St Louis scored an impressive 391 goals and 1,033 points from 1,134 regular-season games in a career that took in Calgary Flames , Tampa Bay Lightning and lately the New York Rangers . In 2004, St Louis had his most successful year as he helped the Lightning to a Stanley Cup win and was also awarded the Art Ross, Ted Lindsay and the Hard Trophy for his career best showing. He was also selected for over six different All-Star games. Noted for being one of the smaller players in the NHL, St Louis was noted for being a passionate player. Also he felt that being forced into a more checking role whilst at Calgary 'helped to round out my game'. Even when he was traded to the Rangers in 2014, St Louis was still a fe...

Goalie: Ben Bishop He may have missed out on a Stanley Cup ring, but Bishop was the glue that held Tampa Bay Lightning together during their play-off run. Notching up 13 wins including 3 shutouts, a save percentage of .921 and a GAA of 2.18, Bishop was remarkable in net.  Defense: Duncan Keith The rightful Conn Smyth Trophy winner, Keith was remarkable on the blue line. Scoring the first goal in game 6 was a tribute to his dominance. Scoring 21 points which included a staggering 18 assists, Keith had the highest plus minus rating of +16. The Chicago Blackhawks have been well served by this man and his importance was truly demonstrated in this final. Defense: Victor Hedman   Behind Keith, Hedman was the second highest plus/minus rating of +11. His great defensive quality helped back up Bishop in net. During this series, Hedman broke the record for the most points scored by a Lightning player in a single playoff year with 13. Heavily favored to win the Jam...

Playoffs are here!!!! What a crazy six months it's been in the NHL, Boston and LA failed to make the playoffs and we gathered in Columbus to watch two teams of all-stars go to battle in the most offensive neon jerseys seen in recent years. On a positive note, Washington delivered a superb Winter Classic, Jamie Benn finished top of the points table and the Vancouver Canucks BEAT teams from warm places, IN warm places to make the playoffs; but that's for another post. Let's look at the East! 1. Montreal Canadiens Vs 4. Ottawa Senators The Habs have been dominant all season, finishing the regular season with a 50-22-10 record, thanks in no small part to a squad depth that any team would be enviable of. Having megastar netminder Carey Price guarding the net is the reason I think Montreal will take this series in four games. This takes nothing away from the good work the Sens have done this season, 99 points is very respectable, but the squad can't match the fire...

In the Boston Bruins 4-3 win over Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden last night, Lightning player Cedric Paquette discovered exactly the reason why you don't pick a fight with 6 foot 9 Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara ! Early in the 3rd period and the Bruins on a power-play, Paquette found that his fighting talk was about to land him in hot water! See below for the unfortunate aftermath!

The time has come at last Tampa Bay Lightning fans! 2013 3rd overall draft pick Jonathan Drouin will at last make his anticipated NHL debut this week. This event has been a year in the making, but will this man live up to the hype? Last season Drouin was surprisingly sent back to his old team the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL after training camp. Clearly Tampa Bay wanted to ensure this was one gem that was thoroughly polished. This meant that this young man was the only top 6 pick that didn't go on to make an appearance in the NHL. Despite the disappointment, Drouin went on to have another productive season with Halifax and finished with 29 goals and 108 points! Another blow would come when the 19 year old broke his thumb before training camp even began and it looked as if he would be confined to another year of obscurity when Lightning again sent him down. Drouin was sent to AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch for a conditioning assignment. Fans in Florida were again left in lim...

What time is it? Midnight. Whatever, no sleep until June! It's the playoffs. The Montreal Canadiens made the trip to sunny Tampa Bay to take on the Lighting in the opening game of the 13/14 playoffs. This is what happened: First Period Some playoff games are careful, guarded affairs. Some are out-and-out battles, this was definitely the latter. The Lightning took home-ice advantage by finishing the regular season one point better than the Habs. Former Red Wing Valtteri Filppula won the opening faceoff for the Bolts against Tomas Plekanec and the first period was played with the energy Lord Stanley's Cup commands. The opening 10 minutes gave plenty of shots and plenty of hits from both teams, pure end to end stuff. Both teams threatened to find net but Tampa were the first team to score. With just less than 10 minutes left on the clock in the first, Nikita Kucherov scored the first goal of the playoffs. J.T. Brown provided the assist. Montreal were not to be ...

Eastern Conference  Detroit Red Wings  v Boston Bruins   This is one of the more difficult series to predict because both teams are of equal quality. The Red Wings hold a 3-1 regular season record against the Bruins, but it has been Boston who tops the Eastern conference and they have been showing this season just why they are contenders. I predict this one to be a tight one, but based on form alone, I have to give this one to the Bruins, sorry Mike! Prediction: Boston Bruins Tampa Bay Lightning v Montreal Canadiens Tampa Bay have been the one of this years real surprise packages, finishing 4th in the Eastern conference despite star Steven Stamkos being injured for a long period and currently holds a 3-1 record against Montreal. But the Canadiens are not a team that should be ruled out (unless Subban goes to the box) and I still think they could spring a surprise here. But overall, I think Tampa has just enough quality to see this one through. Prediction: Tam...

"The trade deadline saw a lot of big deals going through such as Ryan Miller, Luongo and Callahan for St Louis, of all the big trades, which do you think will be the most beneficial in the long run and why?" Good question Alex, the 2014 season has seen some unexpected trades; Tim Thomas to Dallas, Roberto Luongo to anywhere. But which team made the best trade? Of course this is subjective, and really only time will tell, but I think you'll be hard pressed to find a better move than that of Martin St. Louis to the New York Rangers. The QC native amassed 61 points in Tampa Bay, 29 goals, 32 assists. That's a fair amount more than any of the current Rangers roster. It shouldn't take too long for St. Louis to find his feet in the Rangers' lines, he's been reunited with long time Lightning buddy Brad Richards. To bring St. Louis to the Garden, the Rangers traded away team captain Ryan Callahan and some draft picks. Reportedly, Callahan and the Rangers were ...

This season's playoffs will be the first to be played under the new divisional structure. It's never too early to make playoff predictions. Of course I've no doubt that the teams below will change, especially with the wildcards. It'll be interesting to take a look at this post-season and see how it compares.  If you think I'm wrong, please comment below! Conference Quarter Finals Boston Bruins Vs Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction - Boston . The Bruins have won more games than the Leafs and will definitely be seeing the postseason. The Leafs have three teams three points behind so that wildcard spot is by no means safe.  Tampa Bay Lightning Vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction - Tampa Bay . The Bolts and the Habs are much more closely matched in season performance so far. While Carey Price is one of the best goalies in the league, offensive issues are letting the Habs down. Pittsburgh Penguins Vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction - Pittsburgh...

When Steven Stamkos suffered a broken leg back in November (coincidentally the same day I arrived in Toronto!) many people believed the Tampa Bay Lightning's season was done like the turkey. Well it appears that there is hope for the Sunshine State after all, because this season Tampa Bay look like a revitalised team and right they stand 4th in the Eastern Conference with 25 wins to their name! Last season, the 2004 Stanley Cup champions were derided by hockey fans as a spent force, and in fairness a lot of this criticism was justified as the Bolts limped home 14th overall in the East, only place up from their sister team, the Florida Panthers and the jokes about Florida hockey team increased dramatically! Guy Boucher for his efforts (or lack of efforts in this case) was given the chop by Steve Yzerman and replaced by Jon Cooper. Under the new leadership, Tampa Bay have looked a genuine threat offensively and although losing star man Stamkos has been a blow, the team had ralli...

Tampa Bay Lightning's #3 draft pick Jonathan Drouin was injured last night while playing for the Halifax Mooseheads. Quebec Remparts' Adam Erne hit Drouin sending him face first into the glass. Erne picked up a major penalty and a game misconduct for his hit on his potential future teammate. Both players were picked by the Lightning. Drouin returned to the bench after leaving the ice but played no more part in the game after showing concussion-ish symptoms. Hopefully it's nothing but Drouin will be reassessed by team doctors this weekend.

Colorado Avalanche Without question the big surprise of the year and after an awful 2012/13 season where they finished bottom of the Western Conference and sacked Coach Joe Sacco, the Avs turned to former player Patrick Roy to breath new life into this franchise. Roy has done just that and currently Colorado top the Western Conference with a 13-2-0 recor byd! 1st overall pick Nathan MacKinnon has been a rookie sensation but Matt Duchene has been the more consistent scorer and currently has 19 points. This combined with the solid player of young captain Gabriel Landeskog has presented to us a franchise that can start to reclaim its glory years! But the scandal involving starting goalie Semyon Varlamov could prove crucial. St Louis Blues Previously on this blog we sneered at the St Louis Blues for their lack of squad depth - well it appears a heartfelt apology is in order as this season they look a changed team and currently stand fourth in the Western Conference. Their high scorin...

Things are tight at the top of the Atlantic Division, as it stands there's only two points between the top three teams. The two Florida teams, while geographically close, are miles apart in the points race. The Tampa Bay Lightning are holding onto a slim lead at the top of the division, while the Florida Panthers are only avoiding only just avoiding the wooden spoon. From the Panthers' BB&T Centre to the Lightning's Tampa Bay Times Arena is only 245 miles by road, but based on this season's, performances so far, that distance might as well be 100,000 miles because it's difficult to see how the two teams are in the same league. What makes the difference in fortunes so unusual is that the two Florida teams' recent histories are freakishly similar. Both teams replaced their General Managers in 2010. Steve Yzerman coming into Tampa Bay and Dale Tallon taking the reigns at the Panthers. Further more, in 2013, both teams fired their Head Coaches. Guy ...

A Sidney Crosby Hat tricked helped the Pittsburgh Penguins come back from an embrassing defeat last night to the Panthers with an entertaining 5-4 win against Tampa Bay Lightning ! One of the most interesting offensive teams this- their trip to the Sunshine State has been a mixed one so far! Valtteri Filppula gave the Penguins a shock when he scored off a deflection from Killorn after 13 mins of the third period and again it looked like Pittsburgh were in for a tough night. But when Crosby tied the scores at 1-1 on a powerplay after only two minutes of the second period, the mood was temporarily lifted. But then Steven Stamkos pushed the home side in front again three minutes later. Brooks Orpik levelled the game at 2-2 with a tip in for Pittsburgh after 7 minutes to complete a stunning opening goal flurry! But again it was the Lightning who went ahead at the break when Teddy Purcell tipped Sami Salo 's shot into Fleury's net to make it 3-2 after 15.42. In the third...

Any fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning hoping to see their new 3rd overall pick Jonathan Drouin in action at the start of this new season will sadly have to wait as it has been announced by the franchise that their new hot prospect has been sent back to his former team the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior League! Last season along with Nathan Mackinnon he formed one of the deadliest partnerships in junior league as they won the Memorial Cup in style! But now with Mackinnon likely to be starting at the Colorado Avalanche, Drouin will need to find another partner to help push him back to the big leagues, as Don Cherry once said "Keep your head up kid!"

Here we looked at the teams in the Western Conference, now let's look at the Eastern. Detroit and Columbus move from west to east and Winnipeg makes the trip the other way. So what does this look like in reality? Metropolitan Division Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Atlantic Division Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings Florida Panthers Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Tampa Bay Lightning Toronto Maple Leafs

Whilst in the midst of a busy workday this saturday just gone, Mike pointed out a fact which is not only fascinating but deeply puzzling, he said "You know a Canadian team hasn't lifted the cup for 20 years?" This is a damn good point and one that ultimately leaves us baffled- but what is the reason for this current drought? Let's have a look in more detail, Cast your mind back to the night of June 9th 1993 where the Montreal Canadiens swept aside a Wayne Gretzky inspired Los Angeles Kings by four games to ones to claim their 24th Stanley Cup win and as Habs Captain Guy Carbonneau hoisted the cup at the Montreal Forum, little did we know that this would the be the last time to date that a Canadian team would be engraved on the trophy!  Since then the cup has been an all American affair and in between these twenty years we have seen four deserved wins by Detroit Red Wings , three Scott Stevens inspired cup wins by the New Jersey Devils and two cup wins each b...

Alex's question of the week was "out of the top four draft picks, which team will benefit the most?" Damn good question Alex, so let's have a look. First of all, no team did badly in the draft. At least on paper. So who went where? 1st: Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche 2nd: Aleksander Barkov - Florida Panthers 3rd: Jonathan Drouin - Tampa Bay 4th: Seth Jones - Nashville Predators Colorado Avalanche The Avs need several good forwards and several good defencemen to be successful. MacKinnon definitely adds strength to Colorado's forward line but one man does not make a team. I think MacKinnon will struggle to post the sort of numbers he's currently scoring in the lower levels.  Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov has already played against the big boys in the Finnish SM Liiga so he'll have an advantage when he lines up for the Panthers. Tampa Bay Lightning The Lightning will expect to do well with Drouin. With Stamkos and F...

After having the remaining 7 years of his Tampa Bay Lightning contract bought out last week, Vincent Lecavalier has now signed a multiyear agreement with the Philadelphia Flyers . According to TSN, the deal will span for 5 years at a cost of $22.5 millions The 33 year old former 1 draft pick from 1998 brings 14 years of NHL experience to a Flyers team in dire need to offensive quality and his stats of 387 goals , 874 points and 4 All Star appearences will sure aide this cause and with Philly looking to add experienced heads after the acquisition of Mark Streit previously, we might well see an improvement at the Wells Fargo Arena!