Wednesday night changes everything.
Wednesday night, their legacies are on the line.
No matter what you think of them now, good or bad, it could change Wednesday night. No matter whether you wear their jerseys, call their name or heckle them in your odd moments, a deciding game can be the final judge. It is that way for the Tampa Bay Lighting. It is that way for the Detroit Red Wings.
It was deciding games that made Joe Montana who he was, and Michael Jordan.
And now this:
In a game that demands proof, here are four guys who have something to prove for the Bolts.
Start with Steven Stamkos. He’s a fine player, one of the NHL’s best sharpshooters. But let’s be honest. He has been an invisible man during these playoffs. The Wings have sent a defenseman out to dance with him in six games, and pretty much, it has been a success. Stamkos has three assists, but no goals.
It has gotten to the point where people are wondering if something is wrong. He has denied he’s hurt, but isn’t the question itself a judgment? Hey, a lot of teams go onto the ice with the intention of stopping Stamkos, and even in a down year, he has averaged just above a goal every two games.
The playoffs have not been kind to Stamkos. He has only two goals in his last 10 playoff games He has only eight in 28 career games, a fraction of what he has done in the regular season.
If Stamkos is wonderful Wednesday night, you would admire his timing. You would talk about how you can’t hold a great scorer down forever. You would think that the cream has risen
But what if Stammer doesn’t score? If the funk continues?
Might you then wonder if the superior defenses that a guy runs into in the post-season affected Stamkos poorly? Maybe you wonder, as good as Stamkos is, if he comes up small in the big games?
Such questions are asked of great players. There are those who wonder if Peyton Manning is less of a quarterback in the post-season. There were those who thought Bill Russell had something that Wilt Chamberlain lacked.
In the stands, people are discussing goaltender Ben Bishop, too.
He’s a pretty good goalie, actually. Most goalies who win 40 games have to be. But he isn’t the perfect goalie. He isn’t a lights-out goalie.
So how will you think of Bishop after he gets one more shot at the Red Wings? If he lets in a soft goal, if he fails to hold a narrow lead, how will that affect his legacy?
Coach Jon Cooper was asked about Bishop the other day, and he said simply that Bishop has given his team a chance to win every time out. That’s true. But has Bishop absolutely stolen one? Has he left the Wings scratching their heads?
In a way, Bishop has been the same in the playoffs as he has been in the regular season. Except for wins, his stats were pedestrian. But if you’re considering those wins, you have to consider Bishop as one of the finest netminders in team history.
Over the next couple of years, it is going to be interesting to see how the Lightning looks at its goaltender situation. Does it think of Bishop as too vital to turn loose of, or is the presence of young Andrei Vasileskiy going to force the team to trade Bishop?
Game Seven could speed that argument along. If Bishop is finally wonderful, if he saves the Bolts for another round, it could help his argument to stay. If he is vulnerable, it will probably come up as the team talks about what to do with him.
Speaking of Cooper, people are watching. OF course they are.
Let’s be honest. Game Six helped Cooper’s case. If the Lightning had gone out quickly in the firsts round, it might be easy for critics to blame it on Coop and forget that he’s the one who got them here by his deft hand with so many youngsters.
Still, losing does not go down easily, especially after getting swept last year. If the Bolts had lost this series and look ineffective doing it, there would be those who wondered if Cooper’s message was urgent enough. Did Mike Babcock really school him in this series?
That’s harder to say now that the game will go to a Game 7. But all blame lies with the coach. Sports has taught us that.
Who else? How about Nikita Kucherov?
Most nights, he is a blur. It is amazing the talent that is crammed into Kucherov. He had 29 goals this year, up from only nine the year before, and for much of the year, he has looked like a coming star.
But like Stamkos, Kucherov has sputtered, too. He has no goals (and only one in eight career playoff games). The Triplets line has been great, but Kucherov has been limited by the same Detroit defense that has limited Stamkos.
Wednesday night? We’ll see.
In sports, it is always this way. Football players are judged on Super Bowls. Baseball players are judged in the World Series. Track stars are judged in the Olympics. There is something about coming up big in a do-or-die game.
After tomorrow night, will you think more of your Lightning stars? Or will they have explaining to do>
Really, isn’t that why we watch?
