Lightning honor Stamkos with ’emotional’ tribute
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper stared up at the jumbotron as an emotional tribute video highlighted Steven Stamkos‘s 16 years with the franchise.
Near the opposing bench stood Stamkos, now a member of the Nashville Predators, returning to Tampa for the first time in another uniform.
“I was thinking about how soft I’ve gone in my elder years. I just start welling up,” Cooper said Monday night after his team’s 3-2 overtime win. “How do you fit 16 years into a two-minute video? It almost doesn’t feel right. It was extremely well done. But in the end, it doesn’t matter how well you do it. You’ll never do it justice.”
Stamkos is the Lightnings’ all-time leader in games (1,082), goals (555) and points (1,137). He’s a superstar who grew the sport in Tampa and was a fixture in the community.
But Stamkos, 34, and the Lightning parted ways after last season when they couldn’t come to terms on a new contract, an impasse that was both public and contentious. The Tampa Bay captain signed a four-year, $32 million contract with the Predators. The Lightning replaced Stamkos on their top line with free agent winger Jake Guentzel, who is four years his junior.
Monday offered Stamkos his first chance to reconnect with Lightning fans since leaving for Nashville.
“I don’t think it’s goodbye. I think it’s more of a ‘thank you, see you later’ type of thing,” he said after the game. “It was pretty emotional. You see where it all began as an 18-year-old kid. Where I grew up from a boy to a man and a Stanley Cup champion. A husband, a father, a son. Most of my life has been here.”
Fans roared as Stamkos skated out for warmups, as signs in support of the former Lightning star papered the glass. A few fans had messages critical of Tampa Bay management for not getting a deal done with Stamkos. But most took the moment to celebrate his accomplishments with the team.
Stamkos said there was comfort being back at Amalie Arena, albeit in a different locker room. But it was surreal to have longtime friends become his on-ice enemies.
“It’s weird. I have dinner with some of the guys last night and it’s like I never left, right? That’s just the bond that you have. And then you get on the ice, there’s the competitive nature in both sides that comes out, so there’s not much chitchat. Then you see each other right after the game and it’s like we were just back to last night,” he said. “So that’s the life of an athlete. It’s cliché that there’s no friends on the ice, and you’re obviously not looking to kill anyone out there, but you want to win just as bad as they want to win.”
Around seven minutes into the first period, the scoreboard lit up with photos of a young Stamkos in his hockey gear. Lightning fans rose to their feet as the tribute began: a two-minute montage of Stamkos’s journey from No. 1 draft pick in 2008 through Tampa Bay’s four conference titles and two Stanley Cup championships with Stamkos as their captain.
The electronic scoreboards around the rink lit up with his career stats, awards and accomplishments, along with the slogan “Forever 91” and thank you messages. At the conclusion of the video, the spotlights hit Stamkos, who skated from the Predators bench — where Nashville players were engrossed by the video tribute — to the middle of the rink, raising his stick to the fans as the arena projected his No. 91 on the ice, as has become tradition when former Lightning stars return to Tampa on new teams.
When play began again, Lightning fans loudly chanted “Steven Stamkos” in honor of their former captain.
“It was pretty cool when the crowd started chanting his name,” said defenseman Victor Hedman, one of Stamkos’ closest friends on the Lightning. “And then they cheered when he got those two [assists].”
Stamkos helped the Predators hit the scoreboard in the second period after the Lightning built a 2-0 lead on goals by Brayden Point and Mitchell Chaffee in the first period. Ryan O’Reilly scored a power-play goal with Stamkos getting the secondary assist — just his second point in nine games with the Predators. The Tampa fans went from booing the announcement of the goal to cheering Stamkos’ name for having helped create it.
The cheers were a little more muted when Stamkos set up the tying goal by Gustav Nyquist just over eight minutes later for his third point on the season, although many Lightning fans still cheered loudly when his name was announced. The only boos Stamkos received during the game came in overtime, when the Predators patiently controlled the puck rather than attacking offensively.
Tampa Bay won the game on Nick Paul’s OT winner.
“Obviously a pretty weird, pretty emotional night. But once the tribute happened, you kind of settle into the game and then you focus on what you need to do to help your team win,” said Stamkos. “And it just came up a little short tonight.”
The night provided the fans a chance to show their appreciation for Stamkos. But the Predators forward admitted he can’t quite move past his time in Tampa and his departure from the Lightning.
“I don’t know when that moment comes. If it comes. If it doesn’t come. When you’re in this place for so long and have the memories, I mean, I don’t think you can ever really completely turn the page. That’s probably the reality,” he said. “I don’t know. We’ll see. I’ll let you know if that day comes, but I don’t think you completely turn the page.”
The first 12-team College Football Playoff is down to the final two contenders: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish and eighth-seeded Buckeyes will meet Jan. 20 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T. Whichever team wins will end a championship drought. Notre Dame aims for its first title since 1988. Ohio State’s lull isn’t nearly as long, as the Buckeyes won the first CFP championship a decade ago, but given how consistently elite they are, it seems like a while.
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Ohio State’s Ryan Day are also aiming for their first championships as head coaches, and Freeman’s past will be in the spotlight. Freeman and the Irish lost to the Buckeyes and Day in each of the past two seasons. But after a masterful coaching job this season, Freeman now will face his alma mater — he was an All-Big Ten linebacker for Ohio State under coach Jim Tressel — with everything on the line. Day, meanwhile, can secure the loftiest goal for a team that fell short of earlier ones, but never stopped swinging.
Here’s your first look at the championship matchup and what to expect in the ATL. — Adam Rittenberg
When: Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
What we learned in the semifinal: Notre Dame’s resilience and situational awareness/execution are undeniably its signature traits and could propel the team to a title. The Irish have overcome injuries all season and did so again against Penn State. They also erased two deficits and continued to hold the edge in the “middle eight” — the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half — while dominating third down on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame can rely on front men such as quarterback Riley Leonard, running back Jeremiyah Love and linebacker Jack Kiser, but also on backup QB Steve Angeli, wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and kicker Mitch Jeter. These Irish fight, and they’re very hard to knock out.
X factor: Greathouse entered Thursday with moderate numbers — 29 receptions, 359 yards, one touchdown — and had only three total catches for 14 yards in the first two CFP games. But he recorded career highs in both receptions (7) and receiving yards (105) and tied the score on a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. A Notre Dame offense looking for more from its wide receivers, especially downfield, could lean more on Greathouse, who exceeded his receptions total from the previous five games but might be finding his groove at the perfect time. He also came up huge in the clutch, recording all but six of his receiving yards in the second half.
How Notre Dame wins: The Irish won’t have the talent edge in Atlanta, partly because they’ve lost several stars to season-ending injuries, but they have the right traits to hang with any opponent. Notre Dame needs contributions in all three phases and must continue to sprinkle in downfield passes, an element offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has pushed. And they finally did start seeing results against Penn State. The Irish likely can’t afford to lose the turnover margin, although they can help themselves by replicating their third-down brilliance — 11 of 17 conversions on offense, 3 of 11 conversions allowed on defense — from the Penn State win. — Rittenberg
What we learned in the semifinal: The Buckeyes have a defense with championship mettle, headlined by senior defensive end Jack Sawyer, who delivered one of the biggest defensive plays in Ohio State history. On fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes remaining, Sawyer sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, forcing a fumble that he scooped up and raced 83 yards for a game-clinching touchdown, propelling Ohio State to the national title game. The Buckeyes weren’t perfect in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and they struggled offensively for much of the night against a talented Texas defense. But Ohio State showed late why its defense is arguably the best in college football, too.
X factor: The play two snaps before the Sawyer scoop-and-score set the table. On second-and-goal from the Ohio State 1-yard line, unheralded senior safety Lathan Ransom dashed past incoming blockers and dropped Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Longhorns were forced into desperation mode on fourth-and-goal down a touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. All-American safety Caleb Downs, who had an interception on Texas’ ensuing drive, rightfully gets all the headlines for the Ohio State secondary. But the Buckeyes have other veteran standouts such as Ransom throughout their defense.
How Ohio State wins: Texas took away Ohio State’s top offensive playmaker, true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who had only one reception for 3 yards on three targets. As the first two playoff games underscored, the Buckeyes offense is at its best when Smith gets the ball early and often. Notre Dame is sure to emulate the Texas blueprint, positioning the defensive backs to challenge Smith. Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has to counter with a plan that finds ways to get the ball into Smith’s hands, no matter what the Fighting Irish do. — Jake Trotter
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Doug Greenberg, ESPN
Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.
If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was -13.5 against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama showed -9.5 against none other than Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.
Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.
However, Notre Dame was also on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.
Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season; it has covered the favorite spread in every CFP game thus far, including in its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.
The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, OSU had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook’s greatest liability.
Ohio State opened at +700 to win it all this season and is now -350 with just one game to play.
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