Michael_Stuart

"Covering Bolts Hockey "

" • Canada • 26 Years Old • Male

The 1-3-1 Returns: Flyers Take on Bolts at Wells Fargo

The game we’ve all been waiting for. It’s game day for the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Normally, this would just be another game, but tonight, things are different. Tonight marks the first match-up for these two teams since the whole 1-3-1 incident.

It will be interesting to see what Peter Laviolette does tonight in his own barn. My guess? Absolutely nothing. His antics came off as childish and whiny when the Flyers refused to move the puck. The 1-3-1 trap is not against the rules. If I were Guy Boucher tonight, I would trap trap trap until I couldn’t trap any more. Let’s see how steaming mad we can make Lavy tonight. It’s no secret that if you anger your opposition you have a better chance of winning.

Some pre-game notes:

- Stamkos is hot with 9 points in his last 7 games. Let’s hope that continues tonight against the flyers. He has a good chance as Chris Pronger will be out once again tonight with some new injury (concussion, knee, who knows?)

- Speaking of injuries, Marty St. Louis remains out tonight with his facial injuries. Once again, wish him a full and speedy recovery as a player’s health is the single most important thing in the game.

- Heading into tonight’s game, the Lightning sit 26th in the league. Well, I suppose that if they win the lottery that Yakupov would look good with a Bolts jersey on. I kid, I kid. This team needs to be better and it all starts tonight. We don’t want another lottery pick here in Florida, unless it’s for the Panthers.

- Look out for Claude Giroux tonight. The guy is ridiculously good and there really isn't anyone who seems to be able to stop him right now. The Lightning are going to need Brewer and Hedman to be at their best if they want any chance at stopping one of my favorite players in the game.

Tonight’s game is not without its storylines. It will be interesting to see who comes out with what strategy and whether or not the Flyers are able to get over all the hoopla that is surrounding the 1-3-1 scandal. Falling just short of People Magazine, it has got to be one of the funnier moments of the year so far.

In all honesty, I’m hoping for a game without any antics. The Flyers and Lightning are both very talented teams and this should make for a great game. Also, this should be a good test for the Lightning as the Flyers sit 3rd in the league.

Let’s hope that the Lightning can win tonight and start to string together a nice little run after last game’s win against the Rangers. I’ll be back with my post-game analysis later.

Enjoy your afternoon and more importantly, enjoy the game!

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