Marc Denis, what do you think?

I think he has been terrific. He has made big stops on breakaways and odd-man rushes at key times when not making those saves would have sent games such as the Flyers game and the Panthers victory in another direction.

What do you know, I write about that in tomorrow's paper.

Still, I'm curious what everyone thinks of how he has done. His stats aren't super but they are good and he certainly has been faced with an interesting circumstance in that he stands around for a long time while the opposition is not getting shots. He has faced just 23.7 a game. He has a superb glove and his competitive nature is contagious.

Final analysis: He's tons better than John Grahame and gives Tampa Bay a chance to win. Anyone see problems?

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.

   

Craig out for a month with knee injury

Tampa Bay Lightning center Ryan Craig will miss the next month due to an MCL sprain of his right knee. The injury was sustained in Thursday night’s 4-1 win over Philadelphia.

Craig, who has a team high five goals, will not have surgery on the knee. He will undergo a four-week rehabilitation process before returning in late November.

-Damian Cristodero, staff writer

Signs of life

Here's the image I will take away from Thursday's victory over the Flyers: one shift by Vinny Lecavalier in which he was the first player into the corner to fight for a puck and then how he went behind the net to get the puck to Ruslan Fedotenko who scored.

It's the kind of stuff we don't see nearly enough from Vinny or from just about anyone else on that team. There is much to be said for skills but hockey, more than any sport, is where effort can overcome skill. Add the two together and you have a great player.

Coach John Tortorella and the players said they self-motivated on Thursday, pushed each on the bench. If true, it might be the last piece this team needs to put it over the hump. The skill is there. The effort made all the difference. ... Oh, and another great outing by Marc Denis.

And let's not forget a couple of guys who have quietly improved their games over the course of the season. Defenseman Nolan Pratt, I though, was noticeable and willing to throw some checks. And how about Nikita Alexeev? Give the guy some credit. He is starting to make a difference.

Finally, the outcome wasn't the best. Doug Janik got KO'd by Ben Eager. But didn't you love that someone, anyone, got PO'd enough to fight?

   

Big paychecks, few stats

In this day and age, does this really matter?

Professional athletes are given huge salaries all the time and it seems people don't even blink. But I'm curious for hockey fans, when players such as Vinny 4 and Brad and Marty get big contracts and then don't perform to a level that seems to justify that contract, does the love stop?

Those three are the nicest guys you will ever meet. And no doubt they want to do well. But do fans measure their performance differently now that they are making such big money?

Just curious.

 

Brad's hair

Okay, I know this is silly, but Brad Richards got his hair cut and joked (kind of) that he hopes the change brings a change in fortunes on the ice. Boy, he looks young with short hair.

Toughest practice ... ever

That is what captain Tim Taylor called Tuesday's practice at the St. Pete Times Forum. The toughest practice he has ever been through, on any team, at any level.

Torts really kicked their butts for 60 minutes. Guys were doubled over trying to catch their breath after workouts that included many one-on-one battles for the puck. That is grueling when there isn't a lot of time to rest. But they deserved it after that terrible effort against the Hurricanes.

Tell me the one thing you remember from the Cup season and I can almost guarantee you will say that this was one of the hardest working teams you have ever seen. Can't say that about this group. It is cliche but they do not win battles for the puck, they are not desperate when they skate and, please, can someone other than Ryan Craig get to the front of the net?

Can't quite put the finger on what is causing the lack of consistent effort, but didn't someone once say, "You can't be hungry if you're full''?

Torts said what he can do is limited. It all comes down, really, he said, to the players. Peer pressure is more important than pressure from the coaching staff. That said, Torts can start taking playing time away, but how much more effective would it be if one of the stars stood up and made a powerful statement.

Of course that would carry more weight if one of the stars was playing like a star.

Grahame, Part II

Here's a little  more from Johnny Grahame, who spoke to me before the game. He said he believes the Lightning could have been a little more supportive of him during the playoffs.

"When you're in a team sport, the good teams are families. Anybody who has been part of a good family will say support is a big part of it. Whatever they did is what they did. I think support is a big thing. It probably could have been a little better.''

But he also said, "No one would have liked to have played better, especially in the playoffs, than me. You take that learning experience and move on.''

I like Johnny personally. He was always very accommodating to me. He had a great opportunity with the Lightning but did not rise enough times to the challenge.I recall one time during the Cup season when Khabibulin was struggling, they told Grahame point blank, beat the Islanders and the No. 1 job is yours. He went out and played one of the worst games of the year.

He was kind of like that. That's why I believe he is better suited as a backup who can come in in short bursts and steal you some games. He did that many times during the Cup season.

   

   

HI, Johnny

So, Johnny Grahame makes his first visit to the St. Pete Times Forum since signing with the Hurricanes. Interesting he said he expects the reunion to be "awkward.'' But also that he might have a few things saved up to say to his former teammates depending on how revved up he gets.

I'm sure some of his former teammates would have a few things to say to him as well.

What do you say?

Was Grahame really to blame for the Lightning's mediocre 2005-06? He had problems, yes, but the team had quite a few others, such as it couldn't score consistently. Or was that just the result of players who didn't trust their goalie?

I think Marc Denis and Johan Holmqvist have been superb so far (Holmqvists' burp in Florida notwithstanding). Is goaltending going to be the difference with this year's team?

 

Powerless play

What is amazing about the Lightning's pathetic power play is the seemingly lack of urgency when they have the man-advantage. As far as I can tell, there isn't much of an excuse for the level of ineptitude the two power play units are showing. We know the people there have it in them to score. We've seen it. It wouldn't look half bad if you could look at the effort and say, "Yes, they are digging in the corners, they are battling for all they are worth.'' But when a power play is so sluggish it kills any momentum gained five-on-five, you have to wonder.

Ryan Craig said after Friday's loss to the Panthers he could not wait to get back on the ice Saturday and face Florida again. That's the right attitude. Let's see if his teammates follow suit.

And speaking of Craig, how good is this kid? Did you see that goal he scored against the Panthers, from his stomach after being knocked down?

Also, I liked Holmqvist in goal. I know he made that gaff with the third-period penalty but overall I thought he played well and made some big saves, especially when Tampa Bay was being outplayed while it was on the power play. How unfortunate for the Lightning that now that the team seemingly has its goaltending problems solved, they can't put the puck in the net.

Three losses by three goals. Sheesh, a couple of power play goals and this team is perhaps 4-0.

      

Tortorella's mistake

Coach John Tortorella made a few moves Wednesday, such as putting Ryan Craig up with Vinny 4's line and moving Vinny 20 down to the No. 3 line with Eric Perrin. He also used so many power play combinations in practice it was difficult to keep up. We'll see what he comes up with during the Florida game.

But the most interesting note I thought from this week so far was the coach saying he made a mistake last season in not riding the guys harder. He said, you know, they were Stanley Cup champs in 2004 and had earned the right to try to pull themselves out of the funk that gripped them all season long. He said looking back "I  lost my instincts,'' and vowed to not let it happen again. That is why after the second game he was so vocal about intensity, etc.

You should have sen him Wednesday. I hadn't seen him that amped for a practice in years. And truthfully, it was a great practice. The guys were really skating hard. We'll see what happens Friday.

So, is Torts better off driving the players hard and telling them and the media they could lose playing time if things don't turn around? Too soon to sound alarms? Or do we like the kinder, gentler coach who lets his skaters work it out for themselves?       

Stillman's return?

A reader asked if there was any chance of getting Cory Stillman back in a trade seeing as he has played on the past two Stanley Cup champs?

A good question seeing as Tampa Bay did the same kind of thing with Vinny Prospal, and Prospal gave them last season an 80-point year. But Stillman had serious shoulder surgery before this season and is on injured reserve. Plus, even if Stillman was healthy, the price probably would be high given the impact he had on Carolina's season.

The same reader talked about the supporting cast perhaps being the problem with the power play. While that group is important (Eric Perrin, for example, has been a breath of fresh air and energy, Tampa Bay needs guys like Vinny 4, Brad Richards and Marty St. Louis to step up and get it done, both on the power play and 5-on-5. If they don't, the entire season will look like the first three games. I'm sure none of you want that.

   

Tough guys (cont.)

Brian:

Thought your post about the lack of physical play was right on. Sure, the Lightning could use a few more guys who could bang bodies, but if the opposition knew the Lightning was going to make you pay for a stick across the back or running over a goaltender, the opposition at least would give it a second thought.

Still, even in this day and age there is something to be said for standing up for your teammates. For me, I'd like to see more stuff such as the hit Cory Sarich laid on the Red Wings player in preseason. I remember growing up watching the Islanders with guys like Gary Howatt, Bobby Nystrom, Gerry Hart. Weren't going to get you a lot of points but, man, they hit everything that moved. Really fun to watch and no doubt the team fed off it.   

Can't anyone score?

So what is going on with the offense?

Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Marty St. Louis, Ruslan Fedotenko, Vinny Prospal, Dan Boyle. There really is no excuse for this group not to be putting up numbers. We've seen it before. We know of what they are capable. Yet, when they get on the ice plays just don't click. They are there, of course. If you watched the Thrashers game, plenty of scoring chances were there just not completed.

Coach John Tortorella kind of admitted after the game the guys were starting to put pressure on themselves, and perhaps that was causing them to grip their sticks too tightly. I would think the danger is that the lack of success early, especially after everyone was watching the power play, might really start playing on their minds.

So what's the solution? Does Tampa Bay just wait for the talent to kick in? Should they revamp the power play? Change up lines? If you were the coach what would you do?

A new season

If you watched a Lightning game last season you no doubt were outraged, PO'd, and whatever other emotion you could muster, at some point by something an opponent did to a Tampa Bay player without, it seemed, any retaliation. Against Dallas in the final preseason game, Eric Lindros knocked into Johan Holmqvist, Eric Perrin was cross-checked and ... nothing.

That's why I thought what Torts said in an article the other day on team toughness was so interesting.

"Part of being tough is taking a hit and not retaliating and sitting in the penalty box. I know the fans and media get upset when they think you should retaliate. But some of the mental toughness you have to take in a  team is to take that and maybe take a penalty and score on a power play. Do I want our players to stick up for each other? Absolutely. But there are so many things going on with penalties, you have to be careful. Sometimes being tough is sucking it up and scoring on a power play.''

What do you think of that? Is the Lightning as tough as it needs to be, or would you rather have seen Mitch Fritz take Rob DiMaio's spot and crack a few heads? Give Doug Janik credit. He tried after Guillaume Latendresse cheap-shotted DiMaio, but at 7 feet tall on skates, Fritz might have made people think twice before even trying. It's a tough call, I think for a team trying to remake itself.

By the way, any questions, leave them here. I'll try to answer as many as I can.