Monday Morning Faceoff debates defensive meltdown, Budaj as backup and is Vegas for real?

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
December 18, 2017

Welcome back to the Monday Morning Faceoff a weekly debate here on LightningInsider.com.

This weekly feature brings together Erik Erlendsson, creator of LightningInsider.com, and Greg Linnelli, who hosts Lightning Power Play Live weekdays from 6-7 p.m. or one hour prior to puck drop on game days on TBLPowerplay.com as well as intermission host during radio broadcasts. We will also like to bring in special guests on a regular basis to debate topical items surrounding the Tampa Bay Lightning and around the NHL as we exchange our thoughts in a back-and-forth exchange that will appear every Monday morning.

This week WDAE 620-AM producer, reporter and weekend host Jay Recher joins Erik and Greg to discuss if we can compare this year’s team compares to the 2004 team, if Tampa Bay is built to win on the road and who won the blockbuster deal involving Matt Duchene and Kyle Turris in a three-way deal between Ottawa, Nashville and Colorado.

And make sure you catch Jay Sunday mornings on 620-AM as well as producing the J.P.
Peterson and Ron Diaz show from 12-3 p.m. weekdays.

Erik: The Lightning went old school on Saturday in a 1980’s style game with 11 goals scored over the final 30 minutes of the game. After building a 5-1 lead in the third, Tampa Bay sort of went to sleep and probably already had their minds in Las Vegas where who know what sort of team bonding activities were on tap for the first ever trip to Sin City. So with that in mind, should there be any sense of concern that the third period is a sign of the things starting to unravel defensively or just a blip on the radar?

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Erik: The Lightning went old school on Saturday in a 1980’s style game with 11 goals scored over the final 30 minutes of the game. After building a 5-1 lead in the third, Tampa Bay sort of went to sleep and probably already had their minds in Las Vegas where who know what sort of team bonding activities were on tap for the first ever trip to Sin City. So with that in mind, should there be any sense of concern that the third period is a sign of the things starting to unravel defensively or just a blip on the radar?

Greg: Just a blip in the radar. You’ll have games like the one Saturday. Also, keep in mind Vasilevskiy wasn’t in net either. I don’t care how they won that game. They struggled beating Arizona and Colorado last year and it cost them. I’m not going to complain when they beat them this year even if it was an ugly win.

Jay: I agree with Greg that it’s more of a blip on the radar more than anything else, but, I do think you file this game away and remember that something like this COULD happen. To me, the way the team responds to that third period in this next game against Vegas is more important than how that period went down against Colorado. If the team comes back and plays a complete game for sixty minutes (or more), I think we can definitively say “blip”. But if the laziness continues against the Golden Knights, it could be a long night for the Bolts in their final game of the road trip, and there may be a real cause for concern.

Erik: On the subject of the goaltending, a Twitter debate opened up in the third period right around the time of Nathan MacKinnon’s first goal surrounding Peter Budaj. Greg we’ve spoken many times on the subject of playing time regarding Budaj and if he was being underplayed, but the social media debate suggested that Budaj was not the answer for the backup goaltender. I don’t agree with that assessment for one very big reason – Budaj made the save when the team needed him to make them. He was solid in the first period and then, when it was a one-goal game in the third, he came up with some huge saves. He was beaten on a breakaway, two deflections and a world-class shot from MacKinnon after he danced through the swiss cheese defense in front of him. Budaj stood up when he had to and I’m not ready to declare this Evgeni Nabokov 2.0.

Greg: I think Budaj will be fine. Vasilevskiy is going to play maybe close to 62-65 games this season so it almost becomes irrelevant regarding Budaj’s playing time. Unless Vasilevskiy gets hurt, it’s not an issue.

I actually think an interesting question is will Louis Domingue eventually be the backup as early as next year? Budaj is signed through next season and isn’t making a lot. Domingue has been really good down in Syracuse and has more upside than Budaj. That might make sense next year.

Jay: I think fans were a little spoiled with Vasilevskiy as Bishop’s backup. There wasn’t much of a drop-off when Vasy would fill in for Bish, but that isn’t always the case for most teams when the starter isn’t in the lineup. Budaj is a veteran backup goaltender for a reason. He’s a calming presence for a team, who can fill in for stretches if need be, but he’s not threatening your top guy for time. I love that he was cool, calm, and collected when everything seemed to be going wrong around him late in that 3rd period against Colorado. His patience between the pipes is exactly what this team needs when Vasilevskiy needs a day off.

Erik: I think winning the game in Colorado was a key test for Tampa Bay as they avoided a trap game against the Avalanche for the second time this season. One thing Chief mentioned to me on The Opening Faceoff last week was about how the Lightning were well aware of the fact that last year they were swept by both Vancouver and Arizona and split with Colorado – three of the bottom teams in the league last season – and fell one point short of making the postseason. The fact that Tampa Bay this season is not playing down to their competition this season shows the maturity of this team compared to last season. And in the midst of a stretch of 17 games out of 24 on the road that carries them through January, they are going to rely on the maturity they have shown, especially with one of their key leaders in Ryan Callahan out at least the next after suffering an apparent right arm injury on Thursday in Arizona.

Greg: And while I think the loss of Callahan will be felt, they should be fine. Callahan needs to be ready for the playoffs. His play is more conducive to that style of play. In the regular season, his spot can be filled by J.T. Brown or someone down at Syracuse.

Also, it’s been very interesting to see teams like Toronto struggle to keep pace with the Lightning. They are putting so much pressure on other teams to keep pace that when they don’t, all of a sudden the Lightning has a nine point lead on the second place team.

Jay: The Lightning’s two major keys the rest of the season are to try and stay healthy and to keep doing the little things that have made them successful so far. The playoffs are still a ways away, but it would take a minor miracle for this team not to make it. Their elite goal-scoring and goaltending, combined with their overall depth, puts them in position to be one of the last teams standing when all is said and done.

I think they’ll be able to handle the Callahan absence much easier this year than last because of guys like Chris Kunitz, who can be that veteran presence that was sorely missed when Cally missed time last year. Like Greg said, Callahan’s true value is in the playoffs when things slow down and the most-trusted players see ice time in the biggest moments.

Erik: Can’t let either of you go yet without a quick thought on the Golden Knights, the quickest expansion team to ever reach 20 victories, as Tampa Bay faces them for them for the first time this season. Are they a threat at this point not only to make the playoffs this year, but win a round?

Greg: Sure they are and as long as they keep getting solid goaltending anything is possible. Plus, they have some assets to deal if they want to improve their team.

Jay: I’ve always been a big fan of Gerard Gallant. I think he got a raw deal with the Panthers and I thought he was the perfect guy to lead this Golden Knights team. For that reason, I think this team will keep it together and eventually secure a playoff spot, but I don’t see them winning a playoff series. While they do have a couple of guys like James Neal and Marc-Andre Fleury with playoff experience, I think their lack of top-end talent will eventually hurt them as the season unfolds. As the year goes on, I think the rest of the elite in the Western Conference will catch them and they’ll get in as the 3 seed in the Pacific or a wildcard team.

Erik: If Vegas ends up as either the second or third place team in the Pacific, I think they will absolutely win a round. Any matchup against a Central Division team means a quick exit for the upstart Knights. But they have the goaltending and mobile defense and enough offense to knock any of the Pacific teams they would face by finishing second or third in the division.

Thanks Jay for joining us and Greg let’s continue some of this discussion again, in person, this week on Lightning Power Play Live for some Great Hockey Talk™as the Lightning prepare for another three-game week, starting Tuesday with the first ever visit to Las Vegas to face the expansion Golden Knights before returning home for a pair of games before the Christmas break, Thursday against Ottawa and Saturday against Minnesota.

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