Hlavac off Richards' line

It may be for one game. It may be for one shift, but to start Tuesday's game against the Thrashers, it appears that underachieving Jan Hlavac will be off Brad Richards' line and on a line with Jason Ward and Nick Tarnasky. Joining Richards and Darche will be Andreas Karlsson.

Small picture: The moves are spanking to Hlavac who just can't seem to convert the many scoring chances he has had. It also is a bit of a pat on the back to Karlsson who coach John Tortorella said had three scoring chances against the Capitals, one of the few secondary players to achieve anything in that game.

Big picture: Tortorella is desperately looking for a combination that will get more scoring out of his lineup. Consider that Vinny Lecavalier, Vinny Prospal, Marty St. Louis and Brad Richards have accounted for 59 of Tampa Bay's 99 goals. Ten other forwards have accounted for 26.

It is one of the main reasons the team has been outscored 74-60 while playing five-on-five.

Tortorella called it "unacceptable'' that his secondary forwards have not been able to score. It also causes what you got Saturday, when the top guys didn't have great games, there was no one there to pick up the slack and the team lost 3-2.

The move actually has been a long time coming for Hlavac, who, along with Michel Ouellet (both of whom were supposed to be the finishers on Richards' line) have been major disappointments. The real question is Karlsson. The guy has zero goals and one assist. Is he really going to be the answer on the second line? He played well with Richards in the playoffs, so we'll see. Guess it can't be any worse than what has been there as far as production, and Karlsson at least adds a defensive sensibility. That is important because Torts said he wants to use less, if he can, his top guys in all situations, offensively and defensively.

The trouble is, Torts has lost some trust in the secondary guy so he keeps throwing the big guys out there

"This is the dynamic of our club right now,'' Tortorella said. "I'm using all our top players offensively and defensively. We need some other players to step up in certain areas to take some of that. We need people to step up in all areas of the game.''

 

Comments

[Nan]

Let's just hope that they announce soon that Koules is buying the team. I think everything is status quo until something happens there. And then if someone does buy the team, the NHL process will drag it out for so long that the actual sale will probably drag out until the summer. This is our only hope that someone else will buy the team and then infuse some cash.

Face it, Tort's hands are tied at this point. He is doing the best he can with what he has. He is stuck playing the top guys more than the wants to because the other's aren't scoring. I agree with Ajax, that the others haven't scored much before, so why expect it now! Torts and Sully really need to be preaching defense right now. That is what is badly needed.

Getting back to the topic at hand though, I agree that Karlsson is not going to make a difference on the second line either.

I hope the boys will get the win tonight. I still enjoy watching the games, well at least when the MVP line is on the ice anyway.

Go Bolts!

[Mark]

Hlavac was already playing on the third line Saturday. Torts is crazy if he thinks Karlsson will make more impact that a struggling Hlavac. Hlavac is working his butt off and getting chances. You have to stick with him.

[Nils]

That was part of my "big picture" speech last week, ajax. They don't have the skills. The team as now constituted is going to zipville.

[ajax]

The reality is that the bottom 5-7 forwards have to step up? I ask, why does everyone expect so much out of this group of guys? The correct statement might be, "we are expecting them to show more than they have at any other time in their careers" These guys are preforming at the same level they have their whole career. Maybe management should figure that out. Why does everyone blame these guys for not scoring when none of them have ever been scorers. Maddening to me. Maybe, just maybe they j-u-s-t don't have the skill level that is demanded out of them. NIght after night these guys not only don't score, they don't even create many chances. They just aren't quality NHL players, that is reality. This 2nd line they are starting tonight is scarry defensively. No physical presence from any of the three. Why not give Tarnasky a shot, he would provide Richards with some valuable grit and some muscle on the defensive end. Putting three non checkers together is insane. Back to Karlsson, how many times has he really turned the corner and next thing you know he is a healthy scratch? I'm ranting! Sorry, let's hope Marty and Vinny put up a W tonite.

[jr]

Please don't shoot the messenger but I'm sure this comes as no surprise to the knowledgeable: Hockeyfutures.com rates the Lightning 29th in NHL prospects. Their take:

"Strengths: With three netminders among the top six Lightning prospects, the organization is strongest between the pipes. None of the three, Karri Ramo, Riku Helenius, and Vasily Koshechkin is ready to be a starter at the NHL level, but all three have the potential to be number-one netminders in the NHL somewhere down the line. The Lightning still has a solid group of strong, mobile, stay-at-home defensemen. The bulk of Tampa Bay's prospects are already playing professional hockey. Weaknesses: Tampa Bay has a severe shortage of good forward prospects. Many of those who turned pro last season had underwhelming rookie seasons. Additionally, while the team has quite a few legitimate young, big blue liners, there is a noticeable lack of a good offensive defenseman among them. Kevin Quick could yet fill that role, but he is still a bit of a wildcard, as he has not played beyond the high school level. Top Five Prospects: Karri Ramo (G), Riku Helenius (G), Matt Smaby (D), Andy Rogers (D), Blair Jones (C) Key Graduates: Shane O'Brien, Nick Tarnasky"

They were even generous in calling Shane O'Brien a graduate of the Lightning farm system. And our "strength" is goaltending!!!????
Oh, and in case, you're wondering, the Hurricanes were ranked last.

[Leanmean43]

David,
I agree, scoring is not our problem, we've scored 3 or more goals most games this year, the problem is defensive lapses at crucial times of the game. There's been 3 games where we've been up two goals in the third and lost, if we'd won those games we'd be in the division lead right now. When we have a lead in third we need to play smarter. If the game is tied in the third we also need to come up with that big play instead of totally falling apart like we did that calgary game.

[david]

More scoring especially from the second and third lines would be great. That is not the real problem, the Bolts are 8 th in the league in scoring, which is acceptable. They are 28 th in Goals against, only Atlanta is worse in the East. There is alot of room for improvemnet defensively and they must or no playoffs.

[Another Joe]

The players on the 2nd,3rd, and 4th line are capable of playing better. They have to step up and play.

[Mike13]

The word of the day: Desperation.

The players need to play with it. The coach needs to preach it. And the GM needs to make a move because the team is knee deep in it. We all know that the fans have it.

When he comes back, perhaps Torts should consider playing Boyle on one of Richards' wings.

[olin]

hej- No bobblehead's, no trinket's, but we still got snow blowing off the roof afterward's.....oh- and we got scratch off's for derby lane.

[ajax]

Torts finally shows a slight sign(publicly) of knowing he is in deep do-do. "this is the dynamics of our club right now." It is what it is gang, and he knows it. No matter how he shuffles this deck it will come up all "jokers"
I said it Sunday after seeing these Fab 3 topgether. Worst 2nd line in hockey. How many times have we read that they are really happy with Karlsson? He gets more 2nd chances than a cheatin husband! My humor is as poor as my patience short.
We are playing a horrible Atlanta team tonight. They have by far the worse goal differential in hockey. Let's hope we get 2 tonight(ain't everything rosy!)

[Nils]

He's just reporting what's going on with the team. The problem I've had with him is that he hasn't reported ALL that's going on with the team (difficulties with the first sale from the get-go, morale of the players, Wilson's total lack of candor, MacLean's disastrous past, etc.).

[Rudy]

I state it already couple times, but this guy Damminian is famous already with blaming everybody else without seeing real problem. And I don’t think he is doing that just inspire debate in blogs. I thing he has a problem.
How many times we fixing problem in Richards line without fixing a Richard himself. Maybe he is a problem.
Can Marty score with him – NO.
Can Vinnie score with him – NO.
You can put anybody there and they will not score. That is guaranty. Put hlavac with Prospal and Vinnie and you see. Put Richards with them and they stop scoring. Like how we do power play.

[agatha]

Shane O'Brien.

[Joe]

"The move actually has been a long time coming for Hlavac, who, along with Michel Ouellet (both of whom were supposed to be the finishers on Richards' line) have been major disappointments."

Who have they aquired in the past two season that HASN'T been a major disappointment?

[Another Joe]

I agree I dont put the blame on torts or Feaster this year. The bolts could have used the 5-6 million more we have in cap space to add two players.

PS&E time here needs to come to an end. We thank them for building this team and getting us the cup but its time for new ownership to come in. bottim line.

Not letting us trade a 4th round pick for a top goalie is just stupid.

[Not the Marlboro Man]

This ownership has taken a huge dump on the fans this season, and to think I got suckered-in to buying a bunch a tickets that I don't even want now. They are making everyone get a real bad oppinion of the whole situation. Jee-whiz, is it too much to ask for a frigin trade? Brzgylov, Huet, Mickey Mouse, anyone who can at least stop a beach ball from going into a mouse hole. How-bout someone who can shoot a puck in the net on the second line besides Richards. We went through this whole bag of crap last year, now its deja-vu all over again until some money boy will come along to pull us out of the ditch again. Does A.L. Williams have enough to buy the team back? How about Esposito, maybe he has some rich golf buddies or something? Come on guys your killing me...I just want to see some decent hockey, is it too much to ask anymore?

[jr]

He's listening to the guy who signs his paycheck. In the here and now, that's unfortunate for the fans.

Today is the last day for deals before the Christmas freeze. Trading starts again Friday, Dec. 28.

Feaster wasn't even authorized to trade a fourth round draft pick to Anaheim for a goalie who would have made all the difference (2.22 GA, .926 SV%). That would have meant paying him $925,000 for the rest of the season as I understand it. That would be the equivalent of putting 600 more fans in the seats each game and with the detectable attrition in attendance, he would have been worth it. Then there is the loss of concession money.

More importantly, the Lightning would have gotten beyond the first round and maybe gone deep or even very deep in the playoffs. There's that loss of playoff dough ownership always expresses anguish about.

Now the Lightning are scrambling to find equilibrium let alone a playoff spot. Those clowns in the front office now will have to pay a hefty price to get a shot at the playoffs.

Esswentially, who is on Richards line from what's available means nothing, absolutely zero.

This ownership can't see beyond its next cup of latte.

[Alabaster Cat]

Can there be a sense of despondency brewing on this team? Could it be that the expectation of failure is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy?

One hopes that isn't so, but one could get a sense of this problem when observing the body language of most (not just some) of the players during the unimpressive Washington game last Saturday.

It seems that if this is the case, some major problems will likely lie directly ahead (Atlanta and Toronto, this week will be telling), and, if so, it would be very surprising if a new mix of guys on the second line could have any great impact.

It might be time to shake the tree with a trade. Instead of relying upon the present "team chemisty," it could be better to just change it a bit. A smart GM might be very interested in finding what some refer to as a "character guy" to bring on board. Needed is an unselfish player who hates to lose, finds quick popularity with his teammates, and brings an infectious positive attitude to the rink every night. I don't think he necessarily has to be a big time scorer. Guys like Doan (Phoenix), Morrow (Dallas), Madden (New Jersey), Draper (Detroit), and the Bolt's injured Captain (Taylor) come to mind, although this is not to say that these particular guys are presently available on the market.

Players like these can affect the team culture and bring out the best in their mates. But does Jay Feaster have the authority, the courage, the willingness, and/or the necessary understanding to take action.

One wonders who this man is listening to, or if he is listening anyone at all.

[Mike13]

DC, can you re-tool the 7th sentence in paragraph 6? "That is important because Torts said he wants to use less, if he can, his top guys in all situations, offensively and defensively."

You lost me there. You got me back on track with the rest of the post though.

Can't say that the Hlavac news is a shocker.