What would you do?

Lightning GM Jay Feaster said he is going to look for goalie help either through trade or free agency during the summer. It was the first time he has said that publicly. Feaster said he is not giving up on the season, but regardless of whether the team hauls itself in to the playoffs, it doesn't change the fact that the team needs goaltending help.

If it is obvious by the Feb. 26 trade deadline, the team will not make the playoffs, Feaster likely will try to get what he can for the potential unrestricteds on the roster rather than lose them during the summer without compensation. That could include trading any of the following: Dan Boyle, Johan Holmqvist, Chris Gratton, Jan Hlavac and Vinny Prospal.

So, the question is, what would you do? What is your scenario? Does the Lightning trade Boyle at the deadline and try to re-sign him as a free agent? Does it trade one of the Big 3 over the summer to clear payroll for a goalie? Does it fire the coach?

Tell me what you think.

As for tonight, Karri Ramo starts in goal.   

Now, it's the Big 5

Perhaps you noticed it here and there during Tuesday's loss to the Sabres. Occasionally, coach John Tortorella put Vinny Lecavalier and Brad Richards together on a line with Marty St. Louis. Not only that, he put defensemen Dan Boyle and Paul Ranger out with them. That should be a pretty fearsome five-man group. But one thing we have learned is All-Star lineups don't always mesh.

Tortorella has tinkered with the Brad-Vinny thing before, and it never has really shown results. Perhaps it is because both are centers. perhaps their games just don't  mesh very well. After all, they do not regularly play together except on the power play, and then, Richards is on the point. So, for whatever reason that has not been a winning combination. But for a team that is struggling to find goals, especially at home, where it has been outscored 50-28 during a 2-9-1 streak at the St. Pete Times Forum, you have to give everything a try.

The five-man group practiced that way Wednesday (Vinny Prospal was on a second line with Michel Ouellet and Jan Hlavac) and we likely will see it to start Thursday's game against the Canucks. Knowing Torts, it might last all of two shifts before he goes back to Vinny-Vinny-Marty.

And, by the way, I need to mention the way St. Louis and Richards handled themselves after the loss to the Sabres, especially the way I criticized them for ducking out of the locker room after a bad loss to the Senators. But after the Buffalo game, they were at their locker stalls waiting to talk. Richards even waited while the swarm of reporters went to St. Louis first.

Good for them. As alternate captains that should be part of the job, and they did it well.

    

Is a goalie worth one of the Big 3?

A very good question because it is becoming increasingly clear that Tampa Bay, beyond any other consideration, must get a No. 1 goaltender. Let's face it, the team cannot continue on its current path with a save percentage of .880, and as much as Karri Ramo may have skills that likely will develop, he has shown inconsistencies that, right now, indicate he is not ready to hold down a No. 1 spot. So it's not a stretch to think the team might look for a goalie over the summer in either trade or through free agency.

The question is, does the team have the payroll space to do it? That will depend on the budget set by either owner Palace Sports & entertainment or would-be owner Oren Koules.

Whatever the budget, the Lightning is going to have to clear some room, and that could start this month. As we read in this morning's paper, If the team is out of the playoff hunt by the Feb. 26 trade deadline, the team could start cutting payroll by trading potential unrestricted free agents. That includes players such as defenseman Dan Boyle, goaltender Johan Holmqvist and forwards Vinny Prospal, Jan Hlavac and Chris Gratton, among others.

But a front-line goaltender is an expensive proposition and it is conceivable more room will be needed. It definitely will be needed if the team makes the playoffs and doesn't do any housecleaning during the season. Again, it depends on the budget. But let's say whoever owns the team is not going to spend to the cap. Is it worth it at that point to trade one of the big-money guys?

It is a tough equation and perhaps one the team will have to grapple with this summer. Vinny Lecavalier is the face of the franchise and might be the game's best player. Brad Richards' $7.8-million salary and his no-trade clause make him difficult to move. And Marty St. Louis' age, 32, might make suitors wary.

Still, is a goalie (and I mean a top-line goalie) worth trading one of these guys? It's your call.

Also, Holmqvist in goal tonight. Right wing Michel Ouellet (separated shouler) also is back. He skated on Gratton's line this morning.

 

 

Tortorella: I lied

And he said it with a little smile on his face, too.

Coach John Tortorella said he knew defenseman Dan Boyle (out 11 weeks after a second surgery to repair tendons in his left wrist) was going to play Thursday against the Senators for the first time since Nov. 3. And he said he knew the tumult it would cause among reporters after the morning skate. So when asked if Boyle would play, Tortorella said no.

"I just didn't want you guys bugging him,'' Tortorella said when asked about it Monday.

That was it? No new information? No smoke screen to throw off the Senators?

"That was it,'' Tortorella said.  "Everybody was trying to figure it out. I just didn't want you guys bugging him in the morning.''

As for Boyle, both he and his agent George Bazos said the defenseman, who scored two goals, came through the game with flying colors despite playing a team-high 24:25.

"I surprised myself,'' Boyle said.

More in tomorrow's paper.

Also, center Brad Richards apparently has a slight case of mono that did not keep him from practicing Monday. He is expected to play against the Sabres.

Sale going slowly / European trip official

Lightning president Ron Campbell said negotions between owner Palace Sports & Entertainment and Oren Koules to buy the team are taking a lot longer than anyone had originally foreseen, but expects talks to go "much quicker in the coming weeks.''

Palace Sports had said it wanted a purchase agreement in place by the end of the month.

From his vantage point, commissioner Gary Bettman said there are "no red flags.'' And while we've heard that one before, the difference this time is Bettman apparently is much more closely involved than the first time, when Absolute Hockey Enterprises imploded and their bid for the team died.

It died, however, with Bettman brokering a deal that stopped a lawsuit between the partners and allowed Koules, a Hollywood producer, to mount a bid on his own, though his OK Hockey also includes his business partner Mark Berg and, as far as we can tell, California banker Russell Belinsky. The parameters of the deal are the same: $200-million for the team, the St. Pete Times Forum lease and 5.5 acres of land near the arena.

"I'm much more closely involved this time. There are no red flags,'' Bettman said at his All-Star news conference. "There are discussions going on in a way that if they reach a successful conclusion, should enable this transaction to proceed in the ordinary course.''

Campbell said koules is a "very, very passionate hockey person,'' and that if the sale proceeds, fans in the Tampa area "will be very, very excited.''

As far as the European trip to open next season, it is finally official, though everybody seems to have known about it since September. Lightning will play twice against the Rangers in Prague. The Penguins and Senators will play twice in Stockholm. There still is a possibility the Lightning will play an exhibition game in Europe before the games in Prague.

   

Can someone find me a quote?

As you might have guessed by now, it was impossible to ask coach John Tortorella about Dan Boyle because Tortorella didn't take any questions after Thursday's brutal 8-4 loss to the Senators. But we will talk to him eventually and that question will keep.

Here was the scene, though, after the game in the locker room: There was no one there except Andre Roy and Shane O'Brien. Look, nobody is under any obligation to speak to the media and, generally, the guys are available, but when your team is beaten down as the Lightning was by Ottawa, it's just good public relations to stand in there and talk about it. And no offense to Andre and Shane, both of whom are terrific guys and always generous with their time, but in situations like Thursday's you want to see some of the veteran leadership be available to give their perspective.

It is not as if Lightning players were unavailable. If you stood in the hallway outside the locker room long enough, whoever you wanted to speak to would come along. Marty St. Louis, seeing reporters in the locker room as he exited the shower, offered to speak. Defenseman Dan Boyle showed up and, after a multi-week silence, talked about his return to the lineup. And if you read today's game story, Andre was very good. The larger point is that after what was no longer than a five-minute cooling off period only two players were immediately available to talk about a bad loss, and none of them were the alternate captains.

Quite a difference from the days of Dave Andreychuk and Tim Taylor, captains who always were in the locker room, win or lose. Here's a story from the Cup season, or it might have been the season before.

The Lightning had just been hammered by the Islanders on Long Island in a horrible effort. Truly putrid. The locker room opens (in those days it was  a 10-minute cooling off period) and every player was at his locker at the Nassau Coliseum. Even Nikolai Khabibulin, who didn't play that night, was sitting there.

I tuned to Andreychuk and apologized for interrupting a team meeting. Andreychuk said it was fine and added, "No, we're waiting for you.''

Andreychuk had demanded the players wait at their lockers to be accountable for a bad loss.

"You ask anyone here anything you want,'' Andreychuk said.

And I did, though it was a little uncomfortable talking to players in an otherwise hushed locker room with everyone else listening to what a teammate had to say.

I tell that story to fellow reporters who cover other sports and they cannot believe it. Can you imagine the strength Andreychuk had as a leader, the respect with which he was held, that his teammates agreed to sit and wait to talk to reporters. It was an incredible scene I will never forget.

Would have liked to have seen some of that on Thursday.

   

 

Well, now Boyle is in

Don't know what to think here. Asked after the morning skate if defenseman Dan Boyle was going to play, coach John Tortorella said "No.'' Then Boyle shows up for the pregame skate and we're told he will be in the lineup. Appears Doug Janik is the scratch.

The story going around was that the doctor that performed the second surgery on his left wrist tendons, Thomas Graham of the Curtis National Hand Center in Baltimore, came into town Thursday afternoon and gave Boyle final clearance.

Interesting, though, that Tortorella, with his "No'' seemed pretty sure Boyle would not be in the lineup. Haven't talked to him since this morning but would really like to know if he was just fudging to keep it out of the media and off the Internet so as not to give the Senators a heads up. In other words, if he just lied to us.

Either way, it will be really interesting to see Boyle play after almost 11 weeks of recovery time. The defenseman has played just four games this season. The rust will be thick, the lungs burning.

    

European plans / Boyle still out

The official announcement wasn't supposed to come until Saturday at commissioner Gary Bettman's press conference at All-Star weekend, but someone apparently leaked the league's plans for next season's openers in Europe to the web site TSN.ca.

As we've reported several times, the Lightning will play the Rangers twice in Prague, and the Penguins and Senators will play in Stockholm. The games will be on Saturday and Sunday before the normal mid-week openers in North America. The new twist is the teams, according to the web site, could play preseason games in Europe as well; the Lightning, for example, in Berlin.

Lightning spokesman Bill Wickett declined to elaborate other than to say, "If we were to compete in regular-season games in Europe, we may look to play a preseason game.''

As for tonight's game with the Senators, defenseman Dan Boyle will again be out. Not sure if that has more to do with coach John Tortorella's well-documented aversion to changing a winning lineup than Boyle's condition.

Boyle is skating well and took numerous slap shots at today's morning skate.

      

Remote control

We already know the basic plot of the day after the Lightning's bad loss on Jan. 15 to the Avalanche; the 8 a.m. skate and then the players-only video session that lasted two hours and forced the players to be accountable to each other. We also have heard from coach John Tortorella about how it wasn't done to embarrass the players.

But in a meeting with reporters on Wednesday, Tortorella for the first time gave a few extra details about the players-only session, what was expected and what was accomplished, and why, perhaps, it was the starting point for a three-game winning streak.

Tortorella said it usually takes him three and a half hours to break down a tape and chart scoring chances, turnovers, etc. He said he and associate coach Mike Sullivan do separate breakdowns in separate rooms so as not to influence or argue about what one or the other person sees or evaluates. Tortorella said he did not know how long the players would take with their critique (they watched the entire game). But when the players stayed in the locker room for two hours, he said, "I knew they were doing it right.

"That's what was so great about the process is that I felt they really bought into it,'' Tortorella said. "This isn't the coaches. This is the players holding themselves accountable. That's all part of the process, and I thought they did a terrific job. Everything about it was dead on. They saw themselves doing those things and they were talking about it. I thought it was really a god process.''

The process continued the next day when players and coaches got together and the players explained what they had learned to the coaches. Tortorella said centers Brad Richards and Vinny Lecavalier ran the meeting. Both had remote controls to show the clips and parts of the game desired. Marty St. Louis, the third alternate captain did not attend because his wife, Heather, had their third child the day before.

"The coaches didn't say a word,'' Tortorella said. "Vinny and Richy controlled the meeting. They explained all the clips. They were great. The meeting was fantastic. I thought they did a terrific job. I knew they did it the right way. That was the reason for the process, not to punish them but to make sure they understood how they played the night before.''

Tortorella said the process was part of a larger one to try to instill leadership in the locker room, especially from Lecavalier, St. Louis and Richards.

"The whole process after the Colorado game, them doing the tape by themselves and trying to hold one another accountable in the room together, that's cultivating leadership, and it's needed,'' Tortorella said. "It's their room. It's the players' room.''

As for the three-game winning streak that goes on the line Thursday against the Senators at the St. Pete Times Forum, Tortorella said, "It shows me they still have some fight in them and that's been rekindled here. If we don't have fight, I'll make it miserable around here because that is wrong. You need to fight every day no matter what's going on with your club. You come to the rink every day and you try to get better. That is the effort.''

      

Why we like Shane O'Brien / No Boyle tonight

There has been some discussion that the Lightning gave up too much (a first-round draft pick) for defenseman Shane O'Brien. It is a lot in the short term, and the argument has merit in that the kid (and at 24 and with only 128 NHL games to his credit, he is still a kid) is still so raw. But he's got talent. He wants to be involved and move the puck, and he has plenty of time to mature into a good player, and I think if you look at the raw material, you have to agree, he has an opportunity to be very good.

But I like him because he is cocky (and he likes to speak to reporters; always a plus). But I love his throwback sensibility to a time when the game was played with a physical edge and you stuck up for your teammates and yourself. O'Brien has said he got that from his uncle, Dennis who spent 10 years in the league with the North Stars, Avalanche, Barrons and Bruins.

So it was no surprise in the Avalanche game when, during a fight with Ian Laperriere, he pointed to a linesman moving in to break up the bout and told him to back off.

"I finally had him where I wanted him,'' O'Brien said of Laperriere, "and I didn't want him to break it up.''

The linesman stepped back and O'Brien belted Laperriere with a final right hook and took him down.

How can you not like that?

As for Boyle, a bit of a surprise he's not in the lineup tonight. Then again, perhaps the plan is to play him one game (Thursday against the Senators) and then give him three days off for the All-Star break.

Boyle is ready to play. He is shooting and passing well during practice. The only concern at this point would have to be during battles, especially when opponents lift his stick which could put some stress on the left wrist tendons.

Anyway, we'll have to wait another two days perhaps to see Boyle in action.

      

Holmqvist is NHL's second star of week

The NHL announced its three stars for the week ending Sunday: Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf, Lightning goalie Johan Holmqvist and Flyers right wing Scottie Upshall.

Getzlaf, who will play for the Western Conference in the 2008 All-Star Game in Atlanta this Sunday, led all scorers with eight points (two goals, six assists) and posted a +3 rating as the Ducks
captured three of four games during the week. He recorded points in each game, scoring a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over Dallas, Jan. 15; assisting on both goals in a 2-1 victory vs. Nashville, Jan. 17; registering three more assists in a 4-2 win against Minnesota on Jan. 18 and closing the week with a goal in a 5-2 loss at Dallas on Jan.20. Getzlaf ran his current point-scoring streak to 14 games (6-15--21) and is in 8th place in League scoring (19-38--57). His plus-25 mark is fourth best in the League.

Holmqvist posted back-to-back shutouts in his two starts during the week, stopping all 52 shots as the Lightning registered road wins at Pittsburgh (3-0, Jan. 18) and at Ottawa (2-0, Jan. 19). With his performance last week, Holmqvist improved his overall record to 16-13-4 and lowered his goals-against average to 2.89.

Hartnell has been named the League's Third Star for the second consecutive week, posting six points (five goals, one assist) in three games. He began the week with a goal in a 5-3 win vs. Florida (Jan. 16); registered his second hat-trick in six games and added an assist in a 5-3 victory against NY Islanders (Jan. 19) and closed the week with a goal in the Flyers' 6-1 win over Ottawa on Jan. 20.

Holmqvist forces the issue

It should not be a surprise that Johan Holmqvist will be in net Tuesday against the Oilers. The guy has two consecutive shutouts, after all. More interesting is what this will mean for the team's stated plan to evaluate Karri Ramo to see if he has the stuff to be a legitimate No. 1.

As it turns out, the Lightning, amazingly, is still in the playoff race (it began Monday just seven points out of first in the Southeast) and, shockingly, wants to get in. So, as coach John Tortorella said today, Holmqvist will keep playing as long as he keeps winning (or I would believe is playing well).

What does this mean for Ramo? Well, the guy has a great attitude and understands this is part of the learning process. As goaltenders coach Jeff Reese said, playing okay is, well, okay. But if Ramo wants to keep playing, he has to raise his level. Ramo said he understands that and believes he has another level to give.

Interestingly, Ramo said he will now go through the process Holmqvist described he went through while Ramo was getting the bulk of the playing time. He will get back to basics. He and Reese will work on the little things like staying square to the shooter and staying mentally focused. Hey, it worked for Holmqvist, who was as sharp as we've seen him the last two days. And I don't mean sharp like he was putting on a clinic that should be videotaped and watched by young goalies. I mean he was in position, was seeing the puck well through traffic and made the saves he had to. And that is all you want from a goalie.

And good for Ramo for seeing the situation for what it is. More on this in tomorrow's paper.

And FYI: Defenseman Dan Boyle is expected to play this week, perhaps as soon as Tuesday. ... Also, Torts will tie the late Herb Brooks Tuesday for most games by a U.S.-born coach at 506. He needs seven more wins to tie Bob Johnson's record for U.S.-born coaches at 234.

Spotlight again on the defense

Interesting discussion this morning of what it will take to beat the Senators and it had everything to do with the defense playing a north-south instead of an east-west game; that is, making plays up the ice rather than across it, or even worse, across the defensive zone.

Friday's game against the Penguins was a prime example. When the transition was straight ahead, the Lightning thrived, and the forecheck was strong, as we saw in the first and third periods. When the game seemed side-to-side, with the defense making passes to each other rather than the forwards who have done such a good job lately coming back to be available for passes up the ice, the Lightning was on its heels a bit, as they were in the second period.

Do that kind of stuff against the Senators, one of the quickest teams in the league, and it will be a long night. There also is the chance the forwards start to get antsy. If they're not getting the puck, perhaps they get frustrated and begin drifting up the ice. That leaves the defense even more at a disadvantage.

Coach John Tortorella said the onus is on the defense to be aware of the help provided by the forwards, knowing where the forwards are and getting them the puck.

"I just don't think we're a smart team sometimes,'' he said. "You can make it an easier game for yourself if you just stay smart and stay within the concept that's successful. We fluctuate there. We put ourselves in tougher situations not because of the other team but because of the way we play. That's something we need to work on, situational play and what's going on within the game.''

Crosby is hurt

Penguins star Sidney Crosby left Friday's game at 7:37 of the first period with what the team said was a high right-ankle sprain. He will not return and will be re-evaluated on Saturday.

It must have been a scary scene for Pittsburgh's fans who watched Crosby, who entered the game tied with Vinny Lecavalier and Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk with 63 points, slide into the end boards and stay there. He skated to the door leading to the locker room but then had to be helped down the hallway.

Crosby, voted a starter on the East All-Star team and last season's MVP as voted by the media and players, drew a penalty on the play as he was being harassed from behind by Lightning defenseman Paul Ranger, who was called for slashing. Crosby got off a shot while falling and then slid into the boards.

 

Boyle's return seems imminent

Dan Boyle traveled to Baltimore to have his wrist checked by Thomas Graham, chief of the National Hand Center, who performed the second surgery on his injured left wrist tendons. With Boyle in his 10th week of recovery after the Nov. 9 procedure, and with the window for recovery anywhere from eight to 12 weeks, it is not a stretch to believe the puck-moving defenseman is getting a final MRI before he is cleared to play.

How soon will he be back? Perhaps next week, when the Lightning on Tuesday faces the Oilers and on Thursday the Senators at the St. Pete Times Forum. The Jan. 25-27 All-Star break would give Boyle a rest after that action, though the Lightning could wait till after the break to give Boyle a little more time.

The only word from the Lightning was that Boyle is "progressing nicely'' and that there is no timetable for his return.

Boyle has been skating since the end of December.

"He looks good,'' coach John Tortorella said. "But I don't want to hear about percentages. I just want to know when he can play. And he'll play.''

This can only be good news for Tampa Bay which certainly misses the puck-rushing element Boyle brings to the table. At the very least it will fee some of the defensive emphasis on the top line if there is another weapon that has to be watched.

Beyond his obvious frustration at not being able to play, this is a critical season for Boyle, who needs playing time to help ressurect his value. The Ottawa native can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Before the injury he was expected to try for a contract worth between $6-million and $7-million.

As for tonight's game against the Penguins, Johan Holmqvist will be in net.

 

Lecavalier is East captain

Center Vinny Lecavalier was named the captain of the East squad for the Jan. 27 All-Star Game in Atlanta. Calgary's Jarome Iginla will be the West captain.

It's just a nice honor, nothing more, especially for Lecavalier, who might be relegated to left wing (that is what he said) with top vote getter Sidney Crosby playing center and taking the opening faceoff.

Lecavalier, 27, was the Lightning's No. 1 draft choice and was No. 1 overall in 1998. HIs 63 points heading into Thursday's games was tied for the league lead with Crosby and Atalnta's Ilya Kovalchuk. He will play in his third All-Star Game, his first as a voted starter.

At the same time, Lecavalier does not have a point in three games (his longest streak since a four-game drought in November 2005) and has no goals in four games (his longest drought since November 2006).

His struggles, just at a time when the Lightning needs him the most, is tomorrow's story in the paper.

Feaster reiterates Torts' job is safe

We've heard this before so it's not huge news. In fact, it's just a small part of tomorrow's story about the Lightning's grueling 8 a.m. punishment skate. But it's worth repeating that GM Jay Feaster reiterated earlier comments that coach John Tortorella's job is safe. He also said there is no plans to trade any of the top players while the playoffs, amazingly, are still a possibility.

Can you believe the team is just nine points out of first in the Southeast?

Anyway, Feaster said he is happy with the job Torts is doing.

"I believe John Tortorella is the right guy to coach this team,'' Feaster said. "I truly believe that the core of this hockey team knows him, they knew what was coming today (the morning skate) and why today happened the way it did. From that standpoint, there's no quit on this hockey team in terms of the coaching staff.''

Feaster pointed to the tweaks Tortorella and associate coach Mike Sullivan have made in Tampa Bay's system to inhibit defensemen from pinching through the neutral zone and squelch some odd-man rushes against, and how the players have readily bought in.

"I don't think this team has quit on him at all,'' Feaster said of Tortorella. "I'm still bullish on him.''

As for trades, with ownership still negotiating with Hollywood producer Oren Koules to buy the team, Feaster's hands are somewhat tied. He said if there was a deal he wanted to make he could approach current ownership and potential ownership and try to get approval.

"Instead of focusing on the won-loss record and games udner .500, let's focus on where we are relative to the Southeast Division and even the eighth playoff spot,'' Feaster said. "There's no sense of quitting. From my perspective, it's about improving the team, not about fire-saling.''

Whether to be a buyer or seller will be evaluated as the Feb. 26 trade deadline approaches.

"From the standpoint of where we go, I feel we need to be realistic,'' Feaster said. "If toward the end of February there, if we're not, if we haven't made a dent in it and we're still on the outside looking in and it's an uphill climb, now we need to make sure we're not going to lose assets and get nothing in return.''

That is obviously a reference to the team's potential unrestricted free agents which includes defenseman Dan Boyle and left wing Vinny Prospal.

 

Who's responsible?

The team was on the ice at 8 a.m. today for the punishment that resulted from Tuesday's dreadful 3-0 loss to the Avalanche.

It was 46 minutes of non-stop skating. It began with two-on-two stick-checking battles for pucks. After that "Herbies,'' which were named after the late coach Herb Brooks and are kind of like suicides for hockey. Players skated goal line to goal  line, then to the far blue line and back, then the center line, then the near blue line and finished up with three back-and-forths to the opposite goal line.

More two-on-two battles, another round of Herbies, more two-on-two battles and finally finishing with six laps around the rink at a decidedly slower speed than when the morning began. The team then went into the locker room for what was billed as a two-hour video session.

No doubt the team needed it after embarrassing itself against a Colorado team that wasn't exactly a recreation of the old Canadiens. But the bigger question for me is who is responsible for this mess? Our columnist John Romano had a good column today trying to pinpoint how the team went from Stanley Cup champions to almost the worst team in the league in four years. He lays some of the blame on simple misfortune, some at the feet of general manager Jay Feaster.

His reasons:

1. The lockout, which took a year off of player contracts and changed the rules of free agency, which meant the team had to try to lock up its big stars earlier than planned.

2. Tying up as much money as it did in three offensive players (Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Brad Richards) at the expense of keeping goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. True, Nik never gave the Lightning a chance to match the Blackhawks, but when general manager Jay Feaster was forced to keep the core intact after losing his goaltender, it also forced the team to have a higher percentage of its payroll tied up in three offensive players.

3. Horrible decisions about goaltenders; that is, John Grahame and Marc Denis. The Denis trade also caused the loss of 30-goal scorer Fredrik Modin.

4. The complete lack of success in the draft. After drafting Vinny and Brad in 1998, Tampa Bay has only Ryan Craig, Karri Ramo, Paul Ranger, Nick Tarnasky and Mike Lundin out of the draft and onto the big club this season for a substantial period. None are what you would call impact players, though Ranger has a chance.

Feel free to add your own.

 

The interesting tale of Mike Egener

When Egener was picked in the second round (34th overall) of the 2003 draft, there was talk of him being close to NHL ready. But injuries and a position change later, Egener on Tuesday was sent down to ECHL Mississippi from AHL Norfolk.

Actually, Norfolk GM Claude Loiselle said Egener was not demoted but is going to Mississippi for two weeks on a conditioning assignment after missing 33 games with a separated shoulder and a groin injury sustained while rehabbing the shoulder. Egener returned to the lineup Friday. But Loiselle, who watched the game, said Egener was "tentative and not confident. ... So the thing to do is to go down and play."

Egener was shifted from defense to wing this season, Loiselle said, in part, because of Norfolk's over-abundance of defensemen. He said Egener took to playing wing because of his great skating ability. He also can hit, which made him valuable on the forecheck. Egener was getting power-play time, too, as a guy who could stand in front of the net.

Egener, 6-3, 213 pounds, played in six games with the Admirals with a goal and an assist.

In another move, right wing Marek Kvapil, finally over a high ankle sprain that kept him out six weeks, was sent from Mississippi to Norfolk. Coupled with the acquisition of Junior Lessard, the Admirals hope to get a bit of an offensive spark.

Minor trade

The Lightning traded minor league defenseman Dan Jancevski to the Stars for minor league right wing Junior Lessard. Lessard has been assigned to AHL Norfolk.

Lessard, 27, played 36 games with AHL Iowa with 10 goals, six on the power play, and 21 points. He led Iowa last season with 27 goals, 52 points and 12 power-play goals. He tied for third with 25 assists. He has played eight career games with the Stars from 2005-08. He has two goals and 14 penalty minutes.

Lessard, an undrafted free agent, will give the Admirals, who are struggling to score goals, more depth up front.

Norfolk General manager Claude Loiselle said it was difficult giving up Jancevski, who was a character player and the team's captain, but the need for offense was too great with the Lightning having called up Kyle Wanvig.

Said Loiselle: "We had to make a move.''

Nice honor for Lundin

Lightning defenseman Mike Lundin was named as one of 16 Young Stars invited to play in the Young Stars Game during All-Star weekend in Atlanta. Lundin is the third Lightning player, along with Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis, to be attending the weekend. The game, a new 3-on-3 format with goalies from the regular All-Star teams, is Jan. 26.

Lundin, 23, is a nice story. After four years at the University of Maine and without a pro game to his name, Lundin has become a capable cog on the Lightning's blue line. He has five assists and is plus-1 in 45 games and is averaging 14:59 of ice time. Not bad for someone who was supposed to be playing in ECHL Mississippi this season.

Here is the lineup (all are rookies):

EAST

Defensemen                            Age  GP  G   A   Pts  Draft Rd. Pick
* Tobias Enstrom, Thrashers     23    46  3   23  26   2003 8 239
* Kris Letang, Penguins             20    27  2   6   8     2005 3   62
* Mike Lundin, Lightning           23    45  0   5   5     2004 4 102
* Marc Staal, Rangers               21   46  2   5   7       2005   1 12

Forwards                                  Age GP  G   A  Pts  Draft  Rd.  Pick
* Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals    20    44  8   23  31   2006   1    4
* Brandon Dubinsky, Rangers     21    46  4   10  14   2004   2 60
* Tyler Kennedy, Penguins         21    30  8   4   12    2004   4 99
* Milan Lucic, Bruins                 19    39  4   5     9    2006   2 50

WEST
Defensemen                           Age   GP  G   A   Pts  Draft Rd.  Pick
* Alexander Edler, Canucks      21     38  2   8   10    2004    3   91
* Erik Johnson, Blues              19      31  3   13  16   2006    1     1
* Jack Johnson, Kings              21      46  1   6     7   2005    1     3
* Matt Niskanen, Stars            21      47  5   12  17   2005    1   28

Forwards                              Age     GP  G   A   Pts  Draft  Rd. Pick
* Sam Gagner, Oilers             18      43    3   13  16   2007  1     6
* Patrick Kane, Blackhawks     19      45    9   31  40   2007  1  1
* Peter Mueller, Coyotes         19      43  10  12  22    2006  1  8
* David Perron, Blues              19      31  9   9   18     2007  1  26

With whom should Brad play?

So let's extend today's story a bit with this question. Should coach John Tortorella make more of an effort to switch up the lines in an attempt to get Brad Richards going again? It's an interesting question and one I don't think has a definitive answer.

Everyone wants Brad to regain the form with which he showed in 2005-06, when he had career bests of 91 points and 68 assists. Trouble is, he was playing with Fredrik Modin and Marty St. Louis then. That was before the awful trade for Marc Denis, that sent Modin to the Blue Jackets, and St. Louis became attached at the hip to Vinny Lecavalier. Since those two events, Brad's production has slipped, in part because he hasn't had wingers who could consistently finish. Jan Hlavac and Michel Ouellet have been terrible disappointments, and players such as Andreas Karlsson, Jason Ward, Mathieu Darche and Chris Gratton, all of whom have taken turns on Brad's line, have struggled.

But moving Marty off Vinny's line is problematic since that line, that also includes Vinny Prospal, is the only line that is producing. Is it wise, then, to break up the only line on which you can count? Do you want to take away someone (Marty) who is a catalyst to a certain extent for Vinny 4's success. And we also have seen Marty play in spurts with Brad this season. We also have seen Brad play with both Vinny 4 and Marty. It really didn't click.

True, it was in short spurts and sometimes it takes some time for new linemates to click. The response is that this team doesn't have time to wait, which is why Torts is going to stay with the top line and Brad is going to have to raise his game. And, really, is that too much to ask? The guy is making $7.8-million. There is a certain responsibility that goes with that. Four even-strength goals is not going to cut it.

In a perfect world (that is, one in which the Lightning is getting secondary scoring from ANYONE), there would be time to wait before Brad and Marty or whomever develops some chemistry. I just don't think at this point, the Lightning has that time. Expect Torts to go with what he knows has been working and riding that line to the bitter end.

And by the way, Johan Holmqvist will start tonight against the Panthers. 

St. Louis named an All-Star

Winger Marty St. Louis will join teammate Vinny Lecavalier on the Eastern Conference squad for the Jan. 27 All-Star game in Atlanta. St. Louis was among the reserves named by the NHL on Friday. Lecavalier was voted to the starting lineup.
It is the fourth appearance in the game for St. Louis, most in team history. He was named a starter in 2004, the year he was the league’s MVP. This season he is second on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 34 assists. He totaled 102 points last year on 43 goals and 59 assists.
The reserves named Friday:
RW Marian Hossa, Atlanta
LW Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta
C Eric Staal, Carolina
C Scott Gomez, New York Rangers
LW Dany Heatley, Ottawa
C Jason Spezza, Ottawa
C Mike Richards, Philadelphia
RW Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay
LW Alex Ovechkin, Washington
D Brian Campbell, Buffalo
D Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia
D Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh
D Tomas Kaberle, Toronto
G Tomas Vokoun, Florida
G Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders

The game shouldn't be so difficult

I say that tongue in cheek, of course. On the other hand, maybe the sentiment is right. In a 4-1 loss, in a game in which neither Vinny Lecavalier nor Sidney Crosby was involved in the scoring, I thought the Penguins were a good example of keeping things simple and creating by doing some basic things right.

Jordan Staal's second goal, for instance, came after Lightning defenseman Mike Lundin could not get the puck out of the defensive zone. Staal beats Shane O'Brien for control of the puck in the corner, skates toward the net and simply gets a shot on Karri Ramo. If nothing else, Staal should have gotten a rebound. Instead, Ramo can't make a save he should have make and Pittsburgh is up 2-1.

The Penguins' third goal,  again nothing flashy but basic. Petr Sykora's shot off a broken stick hits Staal and goes right to Ryan Malone who is doing exactly what he should, crashing the net. See? Simple, basic stuff.

As for the Lightning, I love watching their skill players, but I feel sometimes they are ill-served by trying to make the "perfect'' play. Geez, just wind up and shoot sometimes, who knows what will happen. Especially on a power play. You've got numbers, shoot and go for rebounds. And, by the way, these guys have some of the best shots in the league. They should use them more.

As for Jan Hlavac, even he said, "I don't know what to do,'' about his inability to score. When you miss from 35 feet in front of an open net, you may never score again.

Liked this quote from Torts after the game:

"I'm not too interested in analyzing things. I'm not too interested in players analyzing things. I'm interested in players making a difference more consistently. Because if we don't stop analyzing and don't start making a difference consistently, we're done.''

It is amazing, though, that even after Thursday's loss, Tampa Bay is still just eight points out of the final playoff spot. Sure, they have many team to climb over, but the league is so (bad?) this season, a couple of wins in a row could put Tampa Bay back into the thick of things. They should think about keeping it simple.

Nice honor for Wanvig

Lightning call-up Kyle Wanvig was selected to play for Team Canada in the American Hockey League All-Star Game. Here is the release sent out by the league:

Norfolk Admirals leading scorer Kyle Wanvig has been selected as a member of Team Canada for the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok. The All-Star Classic takes place Jan. 28 in Binghamton, N.Y.

Wanvig, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound right wing, was recalled by the parent Lightning last week. He remains the Admirals leader with 13 goals, 23 assists, 36 points and seven power play goals. He also is tied for eleventh in points, tied for fifteenth in assists and tied for twelfth in power play goals in the American Hockey League. In 321 career AHL games, Wanvig has 91 goals and 97 assists for 188 points and 648 penalty minutes.

The seventh-year pro from Calgary, joined the Lightning for his second career stint with the club last Saturday and is scoreless in two games during his current recall. Last season, he was scoreless in four games with Tampa Bay. In 70 career NHL games between the Lightning and Minnesota Wild, Wanvig has five goals and nine assists for 14 points and 87 penalty minutes.

Wanvig was drafted by the Wild in the second round (36th overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. After playing five seasons in the Minnesota system, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2006 off-season. He was acquired by the Lightning along with Stephen Baby for Andy Delmore and Andre Deveaux on February 1, 2007.

This is Wanvig's second career selection to the AHL All-Star Classic. He also participated in the 2004 All-Star Classic in Grand Rapids. Admirals captain Dan Jancevski joined Wanvig as a starter on Team Canada during that season. Other 2007-08 Admirals to previously appear in the AHL All-Star Classic include Marc Denis in 1999 and Karri Ramo in 2007.

The 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok will take place this month at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton. The event will begin with the 2008 CCM AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 27, and conclude with the 2008 AHL All-Star Game on Jan. 28.

The selections for the PlanetUSA All-Stars will be announced at 2:00 p.m. ET tomorrow, January 10.

Draft rankings

The NHL's Central Scouting Bureau released its mid-season prospect rankings, something that might be of real interest to the Lightning this year, figured it was a good primer for the draft. The entire list is available on NHL.com.

Center Steven Stamkos and defenseman Drew Doughty, two key members of Canada's gold-medal team at the recently-completed IIHF World Junior Championships, are the top-ranked skaters for North American clubs in the NHL Central Scouting Service mid-season ranking of players eligible for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, June 20-21 in Ottawa.

Stamkos, ranked by NHL Central Scouting as the top skater playing in North America, was fourth on Team Canada in scoring with six points (one goal, five assists) in seven tournament games. The 6-1, 183-lb. native of Unionville, Ontario also has recorded 51 points (30 goals, 21 assists) in 32 games with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League.

Doughty, the No. 2-ranked North American skater, contributed four assists in seven games during Canada's gold-medal run. The 6-0, 213-lb. native of London, Ontario has posted 31 points (seven goals, 24 assists) in 30 games with the OHL Guelph Storm.

Joining Stamkos and Doughty among the top North American skaters are: No. 3 Zach Bogosian (Massena, N.Y.), a defenseman with the Peterborough Petes (OHL) and the top-rated U.S.-born skater in the rankings; No. 4 Kyle Beach (Kelowna, B.C.), a center with the Everett Silvertips (WHL); and No. 5 Alex Pietrangelo (King City, Ont.), a defenseman with the Niagara IceDogs (OHL).

Chet Pickard (Winnipeg, Man.) of the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League is the top-rated North American goaltender, while left wing Nikita Filatov (Moscow, Russia) of Russian Super League club CSKA and goaltender Harri Sateri (Toijala, Finland) with Tappara of the Finnish junior league are the top-ranked skater and goaltender, respectively, in Europe.

The mid-season ranking features the top 210 skaters and 30 goaltenders in North America and top 170 skaters and 15 goaltenders from Europe.

       

Lecavalier: 3rd time as good as 1st

Vinny Lecavalier will make his third All-Star appearance in the game in Atlanta. But this time he will go in as a starter. The Lightning center received 224,661 votes, second among centers behind Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. The other forward starter will be Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson.

"I'm really excited,'' he said. "It's a great honor and, obviously, I want to thank the fans. To be voted, it's definitely a lot of fun. I'm excited to go, and I want to thank my teammates also.''

Lecavalier, 27, leads the league with 62 points on 28 goals and 34 assists.

Asked who would take the opening faceoff, since he and Crosby are both centers, Lecavalier smiled and said, "I'll go to left wing.''

"It's good for the organization,'' coach John Tortorella said. "We have some good players here. I'm really happy for Vinny. He has been that good. He's been that good for a long time. I think he's the best player in the league. He deserves it.''

Lecavalier earns All-Star start

NEW YORK (AP) — The Lightning’s Vinny Lecavalier will be starting alongside Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Ottawa Senators right winger Daniel Alfredsson for the East in the All-Star game, the NHL announced today.
Lecavalier, the league’s leading scorer, received 224,661 votes. The All-Star game, scheduled for Jan. 27 in Atlanta, will be his third, but his first start.
Marty St. Louis finished 21st among forwards in the voting, and Brad Richards was 32nd.
Crosby, the 20-year-old reigning NHL MVP, topped All-Star voting for the second straight year. The Penguins captain, in his third NHL season, received 507,274 votes, nearly 200,000 more than anyone else in the East, and about 30,000 greater than West leader Nicklas Lidstrom of Detroit.
The Red Wings are the second team in two years to place three players in an All-Star starting lineup. The Buffalo Sabres did it a season ago for the East en route to the first Presidents' Trophy in franchise history.
Lidstrom, a five-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman, will join teammates Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk in the Western Conference lineup.
Lidstrom, who received 477,787 votes, will partner with Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf on the blue line while Jarome Iginla — also of the Flames — plays up front with Zetterberg and Datsyuk.
Zetterberg and Datsyuk are among eight first-time All-Star starters. Iginla and Phaneuf, who have helped Calgary take over first place in the Northwest Division, are also set to make their initial starts in the midseason game.
Vancouver's Roberto Luongo got the starting nod in goal for the West.
Crosby, who entered Tuesday ranked fourth in the NHL with 57 points, got the most votes again but earned 318,509 fewer votes — a 39 percent drop — than he garnered for the 2007 game in Dallas when approximately 28 million ballots were cast.
Last year, Crosby at 19 years, five months, became the youngest player voted into the starting lineup since fan balloting began in 1986. He went on to be the NHL's youngest scoring champion with 120 points.
On defense will be fellow first-time starters Andrei Markov of the Montreal Canadiens and Boston's Zdeno Chara. Markov is the only starter making his first All-Star appearance. Chara is going for the third time.
New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur was elected for the fourth time and will take part in his 10th All-Star game, tying Lidstrom for the most among this year's starters. Lidstrom is in the starting lineup for the eighth time.
The league's top two goal-scorers, Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers (34 goals) and Washington's Alex Ovechkin — tied with Iginla with 32 — weren't elected to start for the East. Ovechkin was fifth in votes among forwards with 177,574, while Kovalchuk came in sixth with 173,629.
Zetterberg was chosen to his second All-Star team, but sat out last year due to an injury. Phaneuf and Datsyuk are also All-Stars for the second time, and Iginla will play in his fourth.
Luongo was voted to the West starting lineup for the second straight season following his trade from Florida to Vancouver in 2006, and will be an All-Star for the third time.
This marked the 20th year that fans determined the starting lineups for the NHL All-Star game. Voting took place online and by cell phone only for the second straight season.
Western Conference reserves, chosen by the NHL's hockey operations department along with general managers, will be announced Thursday. The rest of the Eastern Conference roster will be revealed Friday.

The vote totals:
East forwards
x-Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh, 507,274; x-Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay, 224,661; x-Daniel Alfredsson Ottawa, 224,483; Daniel Briere, Philadelphia, 188,740; Alex Ovechkin, Washington, 177,574; Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta, 173,629; Dany Heatley, Ottawa, 134,782; Saku Koivu, Montreal, 112,794; Maxim Afinogenov Buffalo, 111,425; Chris Drury, N.Y. Rangers, 92,337; Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh, 79,566; Mats Sundin, Toronto, 77,814; Jason Blake, Toronto, 72,905; Jaromir Jagr, N.Y. Rangers, 72,646; w-Alex Kovalev, Montreal, 67,340; Simon Gagne, Philadelphia, 63,074; Jason Spezza, Ottawa, 62,595; Marian Hossa, Atlanta, 58,991; Thomas Vanek, Buffalo, 56,936; w-Mike Richards, Philadelphia, 55,145; Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay, 47,798; Patrik Elias, New Jersey, 47,536; Brendan Shanahan N.Y. Rangers, 46,016; Vyacheslav Kozlov Atlanta, 39,528; Eric Staal, Carolina, 35,179; Marc Savard, Boston, 27,870; Bill Guerin, N.Y. Islanders, 27,097; Scott Gomez, N.Y. Rangers, 26,936; Olli Jokinen, Florida, 25,959; Justin Williams Carolina, 21,532; Brian Gionta, New Jersey, 20,752; Brad Richards, Tampa Bay, 15,458.
East defensemen
x-Andrei Markov, Montreal, 316,136; x-Zdeno Chara, Boston, 271,272; Brian Campbell, Buffalo, 205,332; Tomas Kaberle, Toronto, 193,634; Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia, 156,471; Wade Redden, Ottawa, 150,284; Jay Bouwmeester Florida, 140,058; Ryan Whitney, Pittsburgh, 138,655; Bryan McCabe, Toronto, 111,154; Dan Boyle, Tampa Bay, 106,203; Chris Phillips, Ottawa, 103,203; Henrik Tallinder Buffalo, 86,070.
East goaltenders
x-Martin Brodeur, New Jersey, 220,392; Henrik Lundqvist, N.Y. Rangers, 175,350; Cristobal Huet, Montreal, 170,215; Martin Biron, Philadelphia, 123,025; Ryan Miller, Buffalo, 90,146; Ray Emery, Ottawa, 56,293; Rick DiPietro, N.Y. Islanders, 55,395; Cam Ward, Carolina, 42,753; Olaf Kolzig, Washington, 34,712; Tomas Vokoun, Florida, 28,029.
West forwards
x-Henrik Zetterberg Detroit, 326,244; x-Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit, 303,309; x-Jarome Iginla, Calgary, 244,538; Mike Cammalleri Los Angeles, 165,042; Joe Sakic, Colorado, 162,489; Joe Thornton, San Jose, 147,795; Jonathan Cheechoo San Jose, 143,375; Marian Gaborik, Minnesota, 139,828; Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim, 132,180; Jason Arnott, Nashville, 127,288; Rick Nash, Columbus, 118,240; Paul Stastny, Colorado, 113,928; Mike Modano, Dallas, 98,086; Paul Kariya, St. Louis, 76,703; Shane Doan, Phoenix, 75,595; Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles, 64,856; Markus Naslund, Vancouver, 54,788; Ryan Smyth, Colorado, 50,222; Ales Hemsky, Edmonton, 49,680; Henrik Sedin, Vancouver, 47,797; Daniel Sedin, Vancouver, 46,795; Martin Havlat, Chicago, 46,321; Milan Hejduk, Colorado, 42,255; Andy McDonald, St. Louis, 35,196; Keith Tkachuk, St. Louis, 32,576; Patrick Marleau San Jose, 31,268; Brian Rolston, Minnesota, 27,423; Daymond Langkow Calgary, 26,157; Brenden Morrow, Dallas, 23,991; w-Patrick Kane, Chicago, 18,589; David Legwand, Nashville, 13,881.
West defensemen
x-Nicklas Lidstrom Detroit, 477,787; x-Dion Phaneuf, Calgary, 307,358; Chris Pronger, Anaheim, 206,590; Rob Blake, Los Angeles, 177,113; Francois Beauchemin, Anaheim, 151,746; Brian Rafalski, Detroit, 139,492; Sergei Zubov, Dallas, 101,585; Sheldon Souray, Edmonton, 97,539; Scott Hannan, Colorado, 96,621; Ed Jovanovski, Phoenix, 91,644; Mattias Ohlund, Vancouver, 88,579; Lubomir Visnovsky Los Angeles, 53,250; Robyn Regehr, Calgary, 37,022.
West goaltenders
x-Roberto Luongo, Vancouver, 263,221; Pascal Leclaire Columbus, 180,381; Dominik Hasek, Detroit, 119,465; J-S Giguere, Anaheim, 102,051; Miikka Kiprusoff Calgary, 84,416; Niklas Backstrom Minnesota, 79,727; Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose, 58,434; Nikolai Khabibulin, Chicago 53,217; Marty Turco, Dallas, 47,680.
x-starters

Would missing the playoffs be a good thing?

Let's look long term here for a second because in that case, it seems to me like an argument could be made that it might not be the worst thing in the world for the team to miss the playoffs. Yes, there would be some short-term pain. Ticket sales might slump, fans will scream, etc. But for a team that seems to be in a quasi-rebuilding mode anyway -- a talented young goaltender and a young defense learning the ropes and growing together is not a bad thing either -- the benefits might outweigh the pain.

I'm talking the draft here.

If Tampa Bay misses the playoffs and gets into the lottery, it is almost guaranteed the ability to pick an offensive talent that will be around for a long time. At the very least, that player might be the start of a much deeper farm system that leads to better rewards in the future. If the Lightning makes the playoffs, the first-round draft choice won't be nearly as good, meaning the team could get caught in the same cycle it is now.

Sure if Tampa Bay makes the playoffs, anything can happen. But by any kind of impartial reckoning, that just doesn't seem likely this season. What is certain, is the talent level throughout the organization must be replenished. That is best done through the draft, especially when there are so many young pieces -- goalie Karri Ramo and defensemen Mike Lundin, Paul Ranger and Shane O'Brien -- that are now gaining valuable experience and can grow together.

I'm not saying sacrifice the prime years of the star players. I'm saying, for this year, at least, an argument can be made that missing the playoffs could pay off down the road and be good for the long-term health of the organization.

Pat Lundin on the back

It was a ridiculous play but just the kind of thing that happens when teams find themselves in the awful downturn in which Tampa Bay is in. Defenseman Mike Lundin does not see a stick on the ice because he is surveying his options in an attempt to make a play. The puck he is pursuing hits the stick, a turnover and a goal. A big goal, a hurtful goal. But such a moment, and how people react to them, show character.

Lundin could have retreated to the training room to avoid talking about the play that, in a sense, cost the Lightning a point, though several defensive mistakes and bad goaltending by Johan Holmqvist didn't help. But there was Lundin, a rookie, after the game, sitting at is locker answering every question, taking the blame but saying he has to stay positive and go forward.

It is a good lesson for some athlete who hide when things go wrong. Then again, it is no surprise Lundin was such a stand-up guy. The defenseman has been a true pro, from how he handled being thrown into the NHL right out of college when he was supposed to be sent to ECHL Mississippi, to how he handles the press to how he he handled Saturday's adversity.

Lundin, 23, is a work in progress. But he is smooth and doesn't panic when things go wrong on the ice. With a few years experience he is going to be a solid NHL player. And on a team whose plus-minus numbers are plummeting, he is even while averaging 15:09 of ice time.

Tough break, but he handled it like a pro.

         

Another linemate for Richy

With the Lightning unable to make dramatic roster moves like trades while the sale of the team is pending, this is the kind of move you are liable to see: Kyle Wanving being called up from AHL Norfolk. Coach John Tortorella said the wing will play with center Brad Richards and fellow wing Jason Ward tonight against the Senators. At least that's how the game will start, apparently. Tort's lines don't usually last that long. The move gives Tampa Bay 21 roster players, meaning Nick Tarnasky will sit tonight. Johan Holmqvist will be the goaltender. A few things there: Rookie Karri Ramo is coming off his first really poor effort (as in his failure to make timely third-period saves) in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Canadiens, so it's probably not a bad idea to give him a game off the regroup. Also, Holmqvist beat the Senators earlier in the season. But there also is this: with the way the Senators are playing and the way the Lightning is playing, it is not out of the realm of possibility this game could be a route. No need to crush Ramo's spirits even more after the Montreal game. And since Torts has been clear Ramo will get the bulk of starts the rest of the season, there's no reason to play with his psyche. As for Wanvig, he has had his best statistical season with 13 goals, 36 points in 33 games for the Admirals. He is a minus-14 but also has a team-best seven power-play goals. As for playing him with Richards, Torts said he might as well: "No on else has done anything there.''

The core did its job

Liked this quote from coach John Tortorella after the 6-3 loss to the Canadiens

"Our top players put it right in my face,'' he said. "They were our best players on the ice.''

Vinny Prospal had a goal and two assists. Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier had a goal and an assist each. That's seven of the team's eight points. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay they couldn't do much about some inconsistent goaltending and some bad defensive lapses. Paul Ranger, especially, had a tough night and was minus-3.

The game, though, highlighted something we haven't spoken much about: third-period meltdowns. The team has been outscored 58-38 in the third period this season and has lost 10 games, two after regulation, in which it has been either tied or led heading into the third period.

"It is tough to explain why,'' Prospal said.

Is it just inexperience from the young defense in tight spots or simply a goaltending problem? Are the star players, who are pulling so many minutes, tiring out at the end?

Thoughts?   

It's up to the core

With the sale of the team putting a stop to any trades, the Lightning is going to have to make do with the roster it has, at least until Oren Koules either buys the team or bows out. That means if the Lightning is going to have any chance to make the playoffs, it has to get a huge boost from its core players: Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis, Brad Richards and Vinny Prospal.

The trouble is, those guys are having just as much trouble scoring as the secondary scorers who can't seem to score. Consider this: In the 3-8-2 stretch in which the team is involved, Tampa Bay has 29 goals. Take out the six it scored in that strange game with the Flames and it is 23, an average of 1.76. That means no one is scoring but especially the big guns.

Vinny 4 is getting his points but he has just six shots his last three games and is minus-3 since Dec. 1. St. Louis has two goals in his last eight games. Brad Richards, a league-worst minus-23, has no goals in eight games and one in 11. After scoring 12 goals in his first 18 games, Prospal has five in 22.

No surprise, then, that the power play is 2-for-25 in its past eight games and 5-for-40 in its past 11. The MVP line has been anything but lately.

All this is even more startling because the team is finally getting some goaltending. Karri Ramo in his five starts has provided goaltending that gave the team chances to win.

So the bottom line is this, forget all the talk about the goalies, the youth and inexperience on defense. If this team is going to climb over six teams to eek out the eighth playoff spot or climb back into the Southeast race, the big boys have to be the stars they are being paid to be.

This is not to dismiss those offensively challenged players such as Jan Hlavac, Mathieu Darche, Chris Gratton, Jason Ward and Filip Kuba. But leaning on the core is inevitable as it has scored 68 of the team's 114 goals (60 percenet).

It worked the past two seasons when brutal goaltending did not keep the team from the postseason because the core, including defenseman Dan Boyle, dragged the team there. Can it happen again? There's more on this in Thursday's paper. 

Boyle has first workout

Happy New Year everyone. It's nice to be back after some time off for the holidays. Hope all is well around the area. It certainly is better than in Toronto with the temperatures well below freezing and about 4 inches of snow on the ground.

Dan Boyle passed a notable benchmark Tuesday when he did some light stick-handling after the morning skate. Boyle worked out for about 20 minutes. It was the first such workout for the injured defenseman since his second surgery, Nov. 9, to repair complications from the first surgery to repair three severed tendons in his left wrist.

Neither Boyle nor the Lightning gave a timetable for Boyle's return but his agent, George Bazos, reiterated the process could still take another three to five weeks.

"It could be sooner,'' Bazos said. "It's all about Dan being ready when his wrist is ready.''

You could see how careful Boyle was being while on the ice. Any moves with the stick were done slowly, not from any pain but because he did not want to stress the injury in his first time out. It will be interesting to see how much affect Boyle will have when he finally gets back. You can do all the biking and skating you want but it's nothing like game conditions.

In three to five weeks, the Lightning will know what the rest of its season will look like. Hopefully, as far as Tampa Bay is concerned, Boyle will be playing for more than establishing whether he's still in line for a big, new contract. Speculation before the injury was that Boyle was going to ask for between $6-million and $7-million a season.

As far as tonight's game is concerned, the most interesting story was Toronto's decision to start Scott Clemmensen in goal. The backup has one NHL game under his belt this season (mopup duty in a 6-1 loss to the Rangers) with an .800 save percentage (four saves on five shots).

Clemmensen was Marty Brodeur's long-time backup in New Jersey and tonight will play his 27th NHL game.