Bolts quietly positioned among NHL's elite

By foxsports
Published

By PAUL
KENNEDY

Tampa Bay Lightning Rinkside
Reporter
Jan. 31, 2011



Holy Bolt of Lightning!
 
I'm not certain Tampa Bay is going to win the Stanley Cup. I'm just saying there is no one else out there in the Eastern Conference right now who I would take in a seven-game series against the Lightning. And that statement alone places them in the finals, four wins shy of a June parade along Bayshore Boulevard.

To prove my point, please center your attention Tuesday night on the sheet of ice located adjacent to Channelside's cruise ships as the Philadelphia Flyers (see: "Broad Street Bullies," "Pronger's Posse", et al) arrive to open the month of February.

For all the Tim-Thomas-clawing by the Bruins, wait-til-Sidney-Crosby-returns waddling by the Penguins and Alexander-Ovechkin-is-a-bad-dude smack by the Capitals, check out the standings. Philly and Tampa Bay own the top two slots this side of the Ol' Mississip, and this season is rollin' along. Ovie and the Caps come a'calling Friday, too.

The Lightning's new general manager, Steve Yzerman, is as certain as tomorrow's sunrise to be the league's Executive of the Year. Their new coach, Guy Boucher, is the midseason lock for the Jack Adams Award. And their leading scorer is a week away from his 21st birthday bash.

The fact that Steven Stamkos leads the entire NHL in goal production is a testament to either otherworldly skill or gross negligence on the part of 29 other teams. You see, he put y'all on notice last year when he shared that Maurice Richard Trophy with Sid that if he had the puck on his stick it soon was going to be on the wrong side of your goalie.

So, halfway to the playoffs, here we are. Just like they say up in Green Bay about Lombardi's power-toss sweep, you know it