Lightning's Brian Boyle calls Red Wings' Justin Abdelkader a chicken

After a brief skirmish with Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader, Boyle started flapping his arms like a chicken when his Red Wing adversary seemed unwilling to engage in an old fashioned exchange of fisticuffs. In Abdelkader’s defense, the Red Wing was playing with an injured hand, which appear to be covered with tape. NHL rules prohibit players with tape-covered hands from engaging in fights. Had Abdelkader dropped the gloves with Boyle, he would’ve been subject to a one-game suspension.

Abdelkader is a hot head, a brawling loser, and a coward. He's fine throwing punches when his opponent is flat on the ice and can't defend himself, but when he's straight up against a 6'7" monster like Boyle, he loses all his mouth and becomes a sissy boy.

Refs missed a lot of cheap shots by the Red Wings tonight and called a whole lot of ticky tack nonsense to help make sure it didn't go 3-0. I don't think they needed it anyway as the team that won the first two games didn't bother showing up tonight.

He's 6'7" and 250 lbs. He's a monster and I've watched all season as he plants himself in front of the net and cannot be moved. He always attracts a lot of attention when he's in front of the crease which allows others to score. He does a good job on face offs and is an exceptional penalty killer, which they really needed tonight. My son and I were sat next to Phil Esposito for dinner at Amalie Arena before the last home game. He said he really liked Boyle and thought he brought a lot to the team. Maybe he just wasn't the right fit in NY.

Abdelkader, on the other hand, is a pussy who probably wrapped his hand in tape tonight so he'd have an excuse for running away. He's only interested in fighting if his opponent is flat out on the ice. If the league had any sense he'd have been suspended for a couple of games for the crap he pulled Friday night.

I never compared Boyle to Esposito. How in the world did you ever make that connection. I also never claimed Boyle to be a prolific scorer. I've watched or been to most of the Lightning's games this year and when Boyle places himself in the crease, he attracts a lot of attention. That allows others on the team to remain open to shoot and score. It happened a lot this year.

I asked Esposito who he thought could make a difference in the playoffs. He immediately mentioned Boyle and cited several reasons. I thought that was interesting since Phil knows a little bit about the game. There are all kinds of examples of professional athletes not performing well with one team but thriving with another. Just because Boyle didn't meet expectations in NY doesn't mean he won't succeed in Tampa. He is already, and we're glad you gave him up.

I grew up in NJ and was a Ranger fan for a lot of years. I even remember them giving up Rick Middleton, one of the worst trades in hockey history.

...and yet I lost count of the interference calls missed against Tampa. How many ticky-tack calls did Tampa get in game 2?

Their 6’5”+ goons are the cowards, easy to beat up on others smaller than them. Look at what they tried to do to Larkin, he’s just 19 - so yeah, real tough guys.

Go ahead and believe “the refs gave it to them” if you want (lol) but your goal scorers didn’t get a shot, they got shut down. Hockey series evolve, you might want to consider that the team you played against for the first two games has switched things up. They’re using their speed, which your “monsters” can’t keep up with.

You’d better hope the Wings don’t win game 4.

Interference calls? You mean like interfering with the goalie before scoring the second goal?

No, I was referring to the slash on the back of Garrett's leg just before the period ended where he couldn't make it off the ice on his own. If you ever played hockey you know that the is one of the cheapest shots you can make. But there it is and not one ref made a call. I was also referring to the slashing call against Johnson when he did no such thing. The Red Wing player simply broke his stick by jamming it into the boards. The list goes on...

Hey take heart, by spending all their time killing penalties, the bolts had no chance to create a flow and got beaten up in the neutral zone. Clearly, the league has decided they want Detroit to make a go of it. Your coach tried the thug approach in games 1 and 2, but that didn't work out so well, did it? If you know anything about the Lightning you know that this is not their kind of game. They simply responded to the thug culture they were subjected to in the first two games.

It was absolutely comical watching Abdelkader plead with the refs about his (allegedly) injured hand while Boyle had his hand on his neck. Abdelkader is a pussy who is going to get a much deserved beating for pulling the cowardly move he did in game 2. I just hope it comes from Hedman so there will be real damage. Again, if you know anything about hockey, what Abdelkader did is about as low as you can go. He should have been gone for two games, but again, the league is eager to see it go 7 games and will do what they can to keep Detroit in it.

Are you trying to tell me that home ice in hockey isn't all that important? Well, maybe if you're San Jose, but for everyone else nothing has changed. If Detroit wins game 4, we'll go back to Tampa for game 5 and maybe game 7. I'm ok with that since I have tickets for both.

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