TAMPA – Anthony Cirelli hunts down pucks like Eliot Ness chased down bootleggers – he just won’t quit.
Cirelli will chase down an opponent deep in to the defensive zone, draped all over their back from the blue line all the way back to the end line. Sometimes, he forces a turnover. Sometimes he steals the puck. And sometimes, as he did on Dec. 10 against the New York Rangers, he will steal the puck and score a goal.
The doggedness approach to the game is infectious. It rubs off on those around him.
Cirelli is the type of player who “drags the team into the fight.’’.
High praise for a 21-year-o...
