Lightning's Boyle: 'I'd love to play against us right now'
Brian Boyle wasn't mincing words following the Tampa Bay Lightning's third loss in a row.
"I'd love to play against us right now in our own end - it's easy," the veteran center said Tuesday, per Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "We've relied on our goalies, they've been phenomenal. They're great teammates because they haven't ripped into us yet for how we're treating them, for how we're defending."
The Lightning have dropped four of five games to end their November schedule, with the past three coming in rather lopsided decisions:
- Nov. 25 vs. Columbus: 5-3
- Nov. 27 @ Boston: 4-1
- Nov. 29 @ Columbus: 5-1
On top of that, Tampa Bay was outshot by a 106-86 margin in those three games, making things more difficult for goalies Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
In light of the recent skid, the Lightning sit third in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of the Bruins and three points ahead of Toronto, Florida, and Detroit.
Things won't get any easier, with St. Louis and Washington up next. As Boyle sees it, the loss of Steven Stamkos to injury is no excuse.
"We need to get the job done," he said, "or things are going to change."