Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Dan Ellis has a slight change of heart about Linus Omark’s shootout goal

Dan Ellis

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Dan Ellis loses sight of the puck during second period NHL hockey action against the Calgary Flames in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh)

AP

Whether he chooses to be or not, Lightning goalie Dan Ellis ends up the focus of attention. We saw it earlier this year when he spoke out about how he worries about money and it happened again after Edmonton’s Linus Omark beat Tampa Bay with a remarkable spinorama goal in the shootout. The Lightning didn’t appreciate Omark’s show of flair and sparked a debate over whether or not it’s disrespectful to do something like that in the game.

Today during Lightning practice, they decided to have a little bit of fun and work on some spinoramas of their own. Keeping it lighthearted and fun (and amongst your teammates) does a lot to help keep cooler heads prevailed. In Dan Ellis’ case, it helped him to calm down and enjoy the finer points of offensive hockey. Mike Corcoran of ESPN 1040 in Tampa has the story.

After practice, Dan Ellis talked a bit about the controversy about spin-o-rama’s in shootouts.

“I think a lot was made of the Omark thing.” Ellis said. “Bottom line, the kid scored. If he does something like that, that gets the fans off their feet in like it did in Edmonton, so be it. I think it was a little bit touchy for our team because it was the kid’s first game and we thought it was a bit gutsy. In the end, if we want to go spin every time and put the puck in the net, then so be it.”


You know that Ellis didn’t like being the guy that was the “victim” of such a highlight reel goal and it’s a point of pride for a goaltender to not end up being “posterized” like that. You can read it in his words here that he’s still a bit ticked about but realizes that continuing to harp on it won’t do him nor the rest of the team any favors in the court of public opinion.

Of course, if Ellis and the rest of the Lightning and anyone else that didn’t care for his move doesn’t like it, they can just stop him from scoring.