Brophy on Leafs: Overcoming the trap

TAMPA BAY — A few years back, when I was the senior writer at The Hockey News, I confessed my undying love for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Love might be a little strong. Let’s just say I admired the way they chose to play the game.

In an era when just about every team was trapping and trying to suck the life out of this fast and beautiful game, the Lightning — under then-coach John Tortorella — lived life in the fast lane.

Tortorella obviously wanted his team to be defensively responsible, too, but also saw the benefit of exploiting the glorious offensive talents of the likes of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards, not to mention defencemen Dan Boyle and Pavel Kubina.

The Lightning made hockey fun again — so much that they won the Stanley Cup in 2003-04. The Lighting are still a very good team, but even with two of the best players in the NHL — St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, they aren’t nearly as much fun to watch as they used to be.

The team’s current coach, Guy Boucher, who is a my way or the highway kind of guy, prefers his team to take a more passive approach to the game. Even though the Lightning boast some of the best skaters and offensive potential, Boucher has the Bolts playing a 1-3-1 system; and not your typical 1-3-1, either.

Rather than send a forechecker in to funnel the opposing puck carrier into a defensive trap, the Lightning often allow the other team to freely break out of its own zone before trying to smother them in the neutral zone.

Some will tell you it worked so well that Tampa Bay was able to take the Boston Bruins to seven games in the Eastern Conference final last season. Others, myself included, have suggested the Lightning were actually the better team and self-destructed because it allowed the Bruins free access out of their end.

Whatever the case, the Philadelphia Flyers were having none of it a few weeks ago when they visited Tampa Bay. Rather than skate the puck out of their end when the Lightning took position in the neutral zone, the Flyers stood still. It was really something to behold — 10 skaters all standing around looking at each other — on a game that was being televised nationally no less.

The Flyers claimed afterwards it wasn’t their responsibility to decide the tempo of the game and they were right, even if many viewers blamed them for the fiasco. Don’t expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to do likewise if they are confronted by the Lightning’s 1-3-1 defensive scheme Tuesday night.

Leafs defenceman Carl Gunnarsson was shocked when he saw a replay of the Flyers standing still with the puck and the Lightning sending no one to attack.

“I didn’t know what to think,” Gunnarsson said. “Just watching it was kind of funny, but for the crowd, it probably was not a fun game to watch. It’s never fun to play against a 1-3-1; you want that forecheck going just to create some fun — a fun game for the crowd. If that’s the way they want to play, you can always do what Philly did, but hopefully it’s not going to be a big part of the game Tuesday night.”

One player who thought the whole thing was ridiculous was Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul, himself a former Flyer. He certainly wouldn’t like to see a repeat of it.

“I didn’t think it was all that funny,” Lupul said. “You’ve got people who paid a couple of hundred bucks to come to the game and sit in the crowd. They don’t want to watch you just stand there with the puck. First and foremost you are going out there to try to win the game, but I think we also have a responsibility to the people in the crowd and the people watching on TV to put forth a decent product. No one wants to go to a game and watch guys stand around. You want to watch the best players in the world play and try to score goals and put on a bit of a show.”

Tim Connolly said the Lightning aren’t the only team that employs such a defensive strategy.

“Carolina played a similar 1-3-1, but not as passively, as Tampa Bay, so I’m sure we’ll have some kind of game plan for it,” Connolly explained. “We’re just going to have to focus on what we can do. If we can get pucks deep and play like we did in the third period against the Hurricanes, we’ll be fine.”

Tampa Bay’s skilled players have been producing at a decent clip this season. Stamkos leads the team in scoring with 11 goals and 19 points in 19 games and he has a plus-5 rating. Veteran defender Marc-Andre Bergeron is off to the best start of his much-traveled career with three goals and 17 points (plus-7) while St. Louis is next with five goals and 16 points (plus-9). Lecavalier, once one of the top scorers in the league, has played well with eight goals and 15 points (plus-7).

Clearly Boucher is determined to have his offensive stars be equally responsible on defence — much the way Jacques Lemaire did in New Jersey. If that means sacrificing a little offence, so be it. On some levels that surprises Lupul, though not totally.

“A little bit, yeah, but I haven’t played Tampa that much since they started playing this way,” Lupul said. “They were in the Eastern Conference final so obviously they’re doing something right. Not to say they wouldn’t be there any way with all the skill they have. It’s a different style to play and it’s a tough style to play against, but by the same token you’ve seen teams beat them so if you go out and execute and play well you can come in here and score some goals, just like anywhere else.”