Tonight’s game from the St. Pete Times Forum is just underway, as the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning face off with the Southeast Division lead up for grabs.
You’d think that would be enough motivation to get both teams to play well tonight. But that didn’t stop Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau from trying to get an extra edge by saying this after their morning skate:
“They lead the league in power play attempts because guys like Steve Downie, even though he might not be playing tonight, but if I was a referee I’d never make a call on him ever. He dives every two seconds, Steven Stamkos dives every two seconds.”
To their credit, Lightning coach Guy Boucher and general manager Steve Yzerman saw what Boudreau did there and refused to take the bait, each saying that Boudreau was trying to influence tonight’s referees.
Canadian sports site TSN also points out that Washington’s Alex Ovechkin has drawn more minor penalties than either Stamkos or Downie this season.