Unfortunately, that face full of foam would be the only gift Stamkos would receive from his teammates yesterday, as he accounted for the Lightning’s only goal during a 3-1 loss at home to the Los Angeles Kings.

Needless to say, the Lightning still owe their team’s best player a real birthday gift.  A playoff appearance would be nice, but with two teams and nine points standing between them and the Southeast Division leading Washington Capitals, an expensive dinner seems much more practical at the moment.

Taking part in what he thought was nothing more than a playful act with an opposing fan, Thunderbug sprayed the male in the face with silly string.  But like most grown men, this guy didn’t appreciate having something sprayed in his eye, so he retaliated with a push to the back of Thunderbug.

As you may have already assumed, pushing the home team’s mascot will almost always get you ejected from the arena.  However, I can’t help but think that if this guy was smart, he would have ask to be re-seated in the lower bowl, or threaten to sue the club due to partial blindness suffered from silly-string in his eye.

You can watch the entire incident unfold in the video below.

Hat Tip – [CBS Boston]

Check it out.

None of these bouts were thrilling, but the were good enough to earn each of these six combatants a spot on the “Frozen Fisticuffs Fight of the Night” for Monday, December 12, 2011.

Here is a look at each of the three fights from last night’s game between the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After handing the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the second period, Anisimov turned towards Lightning goaltender Mathieu Garon and fired off a few fake gun shots with his stick.  That seemed to irk the Lightning players, who went after Anisimov immediately.  Among those looking to get at him was Lightning forward Steve Downie, who illegally left the bench in order to join the melee.  The referees didn’t see it, but the cameras did, and the result could be a suspension for Downie.

When it was all said and done, 38 minutes in penalties were handed out to the players involved, including 10-minute misconducts to Downie and Anisimov.

Here is another look at the incident.

Less than one minute into the game, the Flyers had possession of the puck in their zone and were patiently waiting for a Lightning player to forecheck.  That moment never came, resulting in Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn simply holding the puck in his zone until the referee blew his whistle to end this embarrassing display.  I believe Chris Pronger said it best when he stated the following:

“That’s not hockey in my book.  But whatever, the League’s letting them do it. Would you pay money to watch that? I wouldn’t either. That was a TV game, too. Way to showcase the product. Look at the players they’ve got over there.”

We couldn’t agree more with Pronger’s statement.  No one wants to watch players like Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos sit back in the neutral zone and wait for the opposition to attack.  Unfortunately, that is the way Lightning head coach Guy Boucher has his team playing and even his fans don’t seem to enjoy it, judging by the course of boos coming from the crowd.

Here is a look at a couple of instances where the Lightning players bored us all with their 1-3-1 trap from last night’s game.

Steve Downie

It was a spirited bout that saw both combatants land their fair share of blows, and it earns our “Stat Line of the Night” for Tuesday, October 25, 2011.

Hat Tip – [Deadspin]

Nathan Horton

Horton got caught up in a heated scrum with some Lightning players just seconds after Tampa had sealed the 5-4 victory, but when the referees finally intervened and sent the players on their way, he turned his attention to the Lightning fans.

While making their way to the dressing room, Horton witnessed fellow teammate David Krejci get hit in the head with a noisemaker, before taking matters into his own hands and hosing down a few of the rowdy Lightning fans with a water bottle.  Horton could receive a fine for the incident, which wasn’t caught on television, but was recorded on a fan’s cell phone.

As for the Lightning fans, if they thought this was bad, they will be happy to hear that Rick Rypien will not be in the Vancouver Canucks lineup during the Stanley Cup Finals, should they make it there in the first place.

Here is a look a Horton’s water bottle incident at the conclusion of Game 6.

And here is a closer look at David Krejci getting hit in the hear with a noisemaker.

Ference and the rest of the Bruins players were probably hoping this would be a goodbye kiss from Downie, but the Lightning’s 5-4 victory ensured that these two lovebirds will have the opportunity to hook up one final time on Friday during Game 7 at the TD Garden in Boston.

Get your chap stick ready boys!