Hey, this is probably pretty obscure to Canadian hockey fans in particular, but Steven Stamkos played in Toronto on Tuesday.
Yeah, pretty wild, right?
Hockey games have a way of occasionally spoiling fun storylines, although in this case, it’s all mostly funny. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning lit up the scoreboard in Tampa Bay’s 5-4 OT win ... and Stamkos finished without a single point.
Nikita Kucherov (one goal, one assist) and Vladimir Namestnikov (also one goal, one assist) stole the show at times, which adds a little bit of humor in that they spent time lining up alongside Stamkos.
Come on, that’s pretty amusing.
Stamkos continues to play coy through it all, or maybe he just has ice water running through his veins ...
#TBLightning Stamkos said tonight didn't feel any different. "Did it feel weird to you guys?"
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) December 16, 2015
Speaking of narratives, Jonathan Bernier wasn’t exactly lights out in his return from that AHL mojo-boosting stint, falling to 0-8-2 on the season.
At least his teammates aren’t throwing him under the bus.
Bozak on Bernier: "Those weren't easy goals by any means."
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) December 16, 2015
Stamkos-to-Toronto talk will likely persist as long as there are media articles to click and pending free agency for the sniping center, but maybe it will slow down just a tad.
Then again, maybe not.