In episode 14 of the Saucer Pass Hockey Podcast we chat with Tampa Bay Lightning beat writer Joe Smith, who writes for the Tampa Bay Times and oversees the Lightning Strikes Blog and Podcast.
We discuss the rise of the Lightning, the fantastic play of Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, the surprisingly slick play of teenage Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, plus the fantastic start of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
See below for a breakdown of the discussion.
INTERVIEW BEGINS: 2:30
The Dynamic Duo of Stamkos and Kucherov: 3:30
How much has Kucherov improved? 4:30
What might Kucherov's next contract look like? 5:50
How good has the Bolts shutdown line of Brayden Point, Yanni Gourde and Ondrej Palat been this season? 7:00
An assessment of Andrei Vasilevskiy's first 13 starts and whether or not he could end up being overworked. 9:00
Joe Smith World Tour: 11:35 (also not the show's intro is dedicated to him)
The revelation that is Mikhail Sergachev: 12:23
How important has the calming influence of Anton Stralman been for Sergachev, and how crucial has Vladislav Namestnikov been for the Bolts' top line? 14:30
How has he performance of analytics punching bag Dan Girardi been thus far? 16:00
Is THERE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS TEAM? 17:20
How will the team handle the roles of Slater Koekkoek and Andrej Sustr? 18:20
Thanks to Joe Smith and thanks for listening!