And even a pulse

Nobody should be ready to declare the Lightning resurrected quite yet. There are still many things that need to be worked out. But if Saturday night's game is any indication, there is a much greater upside than downside with this team, especially considering the strange bounces that accounted for two of Washington's goals..

Consider the big boys not only scored, they again were visible. Okay, so Marty St. Louis' blind backhand pass across the top of the offensive zone was horrible. But he made things happen in other areas

And I mentioned him before but no one took the bait. Give some love to Nikita Alexeev, who believes he can contribute and is making people forget what a great underachiever he was, especially in 2003-04.

Alexeev might be as much a key to the season, in a relative sense, as the Triplets. One thing Tampa Bay lacked last season was any consistent production from the third and fourth lines. Assuming Alexeev goes back there when Ryan Craig is healthy, wow a boost he could give the team.

And he's going to be a father in June with fiance Toni.

   

Comments

[goldenbolt]

Nikita has been a real plus. Looks like the 18 year old has grown into a man and knows what is expected of him. Of course as a fan we expect that immediately but it always comes after maturity welcome to the world of life.

Denis - has given the team an opportunity to win all their games. The only thing we have yet to see is for him to steal one on his own. Should that happen we are better off than the 03-04 cup season.

Maybe the pushups at practice did serve a purpose. With the reponse to date they should added to the routine like lacing up the sticks.

[Manny Andrade]

The most impressive thing about yesterday's win was that 12 of the 18 skaters had points. Now that to me is a team effort.

[keith baxter]

Watched Buffalo last night, dismantle a decent Montreal team by playing "Lightning hockey". Speed, D pushing forward all the time, and team defense, backed up by good goalkeeping. The Lightning looked better the last two outings, but after watching Buffalo win their 9th in a row, our boys have a little more work to do and effort to put forth. Lets see what happens after a day with the PGA pros. I want to believe!!!! Roll on Thursday!