Three things Tampa Bay Lightning need to avoid elimination - 2011 NHL Playoffs
Winners of the 2004 Stanley Cup, Tampa Bay Lightning are in a critical position in the National Hockey League (NHL) Playoff Eastern Conference Finals as they face elimination in game six against the Boston Bruin who lead 3-2 in the series.
The current playoffs have been a tremendous success for the Lightning, who entered the postseason as the fifth seed of the Eastern Conference and went on to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round and devoured the top Eastern team, the Washington Capitals, with four straight wins and finally advanced into the finals. They’re up against the Boston Bruins, which so far has been their greatest challenge in the 2011 NHL Playoffs.
Tampa Bay started out the series on a high note beating the Bruins 5-2 in the opening game. They started to lose that momentum and are now in a position which will be determine if they are going to continue or say goodbye to any chance at the Stanley Cup. It has been eight hard years since they had a proper run at the cup, and their rookie coach Guy Boucher and General Manager Steve Yzerman have high hopes vested in the team this time around. The Bruins are not ready to play an uncertain game seven even if it means doing anything to eliminate the Lightning in game six.
"Our goal right now is to not play a Game 7," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "It's going to take our best game."
The Lightning have the capability and dedication to take the cup home this years, there is no doubt about that, but making a few adjustments to how they play and what strategies they should adopt can make the difference in the crucial upcoming game six. Three things the Tampa Bay Lightning needs to do in order to avoid elimination from the Boston Bruins are:
Play Dwayne Roloson
Playing their backup goalie Mike Smith in place of Dwayne Roloson was probably not the best idea as it showed in game five when they were overpowered 3-1 even though they had 10 more attempts at the net. Roloson might have seemed to slow down in previous games but he is their spark in winning the remaining matchups. He is a veteran player and can handle tense situations. Mike Smith is still a little green behind the ears and has not played previously in the playoffs.
Become Consistent
Other than Simon Gagne, no other Tampa Bay player has shown consistency during the series. Every player comes out onto the ice-rink and scores as many times as he can, which most of the times might work, but then remains out for a number of games until finally coming up again. What the Lightning need are players who can remain consistent players, having a team full of superstars will not benefit them until and unless they show consistency in their performance.
Play Defence
Tampa Bay is a great defensive team, but when Boston starts attacking on a few goals, it has been noticed that the Lightning collapse overall as a team. They do not remain intact with either their offence or their defence which ultimately destroys the game for them.
Once the Lightning spark, they do it with full force and score goal after goal, but otherwise they are just a bunch of players skating around. Simultaneously, they need to attack with offensive power and at the same time remain focused in their own defensive end without which their hopes of remaining in the series are nil.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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