After completely shutting out media reports, I'm finally looking over some thoughts from Lightning fans, reading their injury reports, etc. and we definitely broke that team on a number of levels. 2/3rds of the Triplets line was banged up, Bishop had a torn groin...Stamkos sounded downright defeated in his press comments this week. Fans were really turning on the guy. I have a ton of respect for Bishop's performance, which was grade A despite his injury. I think this could have been an even better series than Anaheim, but they just ran out of luck at the wrong time. The vast majority of their scoring came from the top line and it wasn't healthy. Nonetheless, that's going to be a great team for years to come as they get older and deeper.
In the end, our defense locked down their offense, which I don't think anyone could have predicted after Rozsival's injury. I certainly expected a number of breakout 5-3, 6-4 type games, especially after Bishop's injury. It seemed inevitable, but hey, that's why Duncan Keith won the Conn Smythe. He put this team on his back. The guy logged something like 75+ minutes more than anyone else in the playoffs. Barring injury, I picture him remaining relevant for us at Hossa's age.
Also, a fascinating phenomenon: fans always think commentators (and, of course, refs) hate their team. It's great. Blackhawks and Lightning fans had completely opposite opinions on NBC's "allegiance." This isn't new information, but it was fun to see that reaffirmed.
I'm pessimistic as it gets but still wouldn't jump to a conclusion like that after a win.
