Thoughts and observations from Thursday's Sunshine broadcast:
BEST ANALYSIS: It's tough to rip the refs and avoid being called a homer, but Sunshine's Bobby Taylor had the video to back him up - a nice shot of Martin St. Louis being suffocated against the boards when he didn't have the puck - and did a nice and fair job exposing poor officiating.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Thought another look back would have been nice after Andre Roy scored the Lightning's first goal. A great moment for a guy who played so poorly in Game 2 of the quarterfinals last year he did not accompany the team to Washington for games 3 and 4.
MULLIGAN: To close the pregame show, Rick Peckham said "you can throw the regular season (records) out the window; it's time for the playoffs to begin." How about throwing that cliche out the window?
BEST LINE: "Oh my goodness," gasped Taylor after a penalty was called on the Lightning 22 seconds into the second period. You could feel his disbelief.
BEST USE OF TELESTRATOR: Sometimes players miss shots and viewers think they just blew it. But on St. Louis' breakaway in the first period, Taylor used the telestrator to show how the puck was rolling and wouldn't settle before the shot. St. Louis hit the crossbar.
BEST GRAPHIC: The one showing Roy only logged 59 seconds on the ice before his second-period goal.
TOP MOMENT: Replays showing Dan Boyle making a save, then scooting out of the crease on his butt - with the puck between his legs - to avoid a penalty. Good camera work, excellent explanation by Taylor.
