St. Louis needs to be "selfish"

An interesting dynamic is shaping up with Marty St. Louis. As we know, the right wing has been put on the point of the power play to act as its quarterback. The move has added some needed puck movement to the first power play unit, but it may be inhibiting St. Louis from taking as many shots as he would like and coach Barry Melrose wants to see.

St. Louis has just one goal and 21 shots in 10 games. And while he readily admits "that's not enough," he also said his spot on the point has made him think more about passing than shooting. Melrose said he hopes that will change.

"I hope it increases (St. Louis' shots) because he has the puck more," Melrose said. "Marty has to be selfish on the point. He has a great shot that he gets away quick."

St. Louis had zero shots Saturday against the Senators and missed the net on a shorthanded breakaway. That followed a four-shot, three-post effort Thursday against the Sabres.

"I'd like to get that kind of game more often than one out of 10," St. Louis said of the Buffalo game. "I need to get those every two or three games. I'm a shooter. I'm trying to get myself into position where I can shoot the puck more. But sometimes it's hard."

St. Louis' struggles seem to mirror those of his linemates Vinny Lecavalier and Vinny Prospal. The line, as a whole, has been getting better, and st. Louis, too, looks like his old self at times, too It just has to be more consistent. In fact, after the season's first five games, St. Louis averaged one shot. Now he is up to 2.1.

"It's an improvement," St. Louis said tongue in cheek. "But two shots a game is not enough for me, like one goal after 10 games is not enough."

"

Comments

Jay was always a headline man. The idea of team contributions never impressed the headline maker that he was. He never quite got the "30% of the team was playing 70% of the minutes" was a certain failure. Malone has been awesome the last few games, the guy is a good old fashion hockey player. Feaster misses his boy Brad. A headliner who can't seem to find a line in Dallas either. Vinny and Marty will have far less stats this year and should, considering they will be playing 20% less. That will be fine with me, as long as the W's continue to come up and we keep playing 10 forwards each and every night. I hope Melrose sticks hardfast to playing all the forwards. It builds confidence in each other and it builds the team for the playoff run when you need the full roster playing. I really don't think Jay had a clue to building a hockey "team" He was PT Barnum and just loved to be at the press conference that introduced another cash$$$$ heavy contract. Jay Feaster the man with the Steinbrenner checkbook. Do you think it is a coincidence that he is busting our chops? Everyone hates Melrose, yet how often have you heard someone not mention any name, but say how hard it was to play here last year under the microscope, every play every game?? The old regime left us helpless and players wanting to get the heck out of here, we have turned the page for the better.

[léo]

Don't know if anyone else mentioned it or not but Feaster says hello.
If ya look real hard at the very, very, very fine print along the heading, you can just make out the words "To Ajax, with love." Nyuck-nyuck, hardy-har.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3682037
P.

[mike p]

OH MAN! Brodeur out 3-4 months (maybe more)!! Who could have seen that coming? Let's hope the bolts can crush jersey now without their starter. Man, NJ is gonna have to turn up the heat this season if they even want to make the playoffs.

[PD]

agree with Ajax, should be rather simple to pin point a few Ip addresses, its not like it isn't all recorded.

[Steve-O]

skp I beg to differ. His last two seasons were as good or better than 03-04 in terms of points. 5 minutes less per game may reduce those. I agree that with all the changes and a slow start confidence could be an issue but he has still shown the breakaways, but has been playing the pipe organ a lot. Don is right, a couple inches and he has 7 or eight goals. Marty will be fine. He has a new roll on the PP and he will adjust and shoot. He has always been a hard worker and he will have his 80+ points before all is said and done.

[Don in St. Pete]

I believe MSL will be fine and when all is said and dome will get his 90 points. Think back to the first five games, the MVP line was horrible on d, but MSL and V20 have really picked up their defensive play in our zone. It seems like V4 is getting back to almost 100% so expect to see Marty opening it up a little more. A couple of inches against Buffalo and he has a hattrick. He was the best player on the ice against a stout Sabres team, and when the other teams top group is forced to play defense the whole time, they are not scoring goals. Marty will get his, let's be patient and let our defense ( with 5 of 7 guys being new ) learn where he's going to be and how to get him the outlets. It started working against Buffalo, let's just keep it rolling. GO BOLTS!

[skp]

steve-o, i'm not saying he's a has-been, he's still productive and a great top-line player, but he hasn't shown the ability to reverse the momentum of a game the way he once did, he's not the same consistent breakaway threat he was a few years ago, and dare i say the confidence in his offensive abilities doesn't seem as apparent the last few season...

when you're as small and aggressive as marty is and your previous coach played you for about 25 minutes a game, i'd bet you start aging in dog years.

like i said, i'm hoping he's a mental adjustment away, and that he is capable of producing those same 80+ points with 15% less ice time, but right now he doesn't play with the same edge that made him one of the marvels of the league just a few seasons ago

[Steve R]

Could the Caps borrow Olie and Smith for a little while, our goalies just plain suck so far this year.

While I'm at it, can we have MSL too?

[Steve-O]

33 is old? 102 and 83 points the last two seasons. Boy that sucks. He is a has been. C'mon! New system, new responsibilities not some major dropoff in his ability. He's passing too much is all coach is saying. An average of 2 shots a game is too few for a shooter like MSL. If he gets that up to 4-5 a game like it should be the goals will be there.

[skp]

is marty ever going to approach his 2002-2004 level of play again? it may simply be asking too much of a much older player than the one who lit the lamp with regularity a few years back, but i would be thrilled if he were a quick mental adjustment away from getting it back....still my favorite bolt, but he doesn't look like a guy who can carry a shift, period, or game for the bolts the way he once did.

[rbc]

Marty will be fine, that being said, shoot the puck, shoot the puck and shoot the puck !!!!!!! Too many times trying to make the perfect pass, just shoot the puck. You people upset about imposter, who cares, just ignore the shmuck, ignore the shmuck and ignore the shmuck. All is pretty quiet on the bolt haters last couple of days??? Funny watching our 8 million dollar used to be center on a line with avery and ott, wow talk about miss using funds and player. Now, i like brad and i am just saying you think dallas is wishing that trade back cause it's looking like they need smith since turco is averaging over 4 goals per game and brad has nobody to play with again.

[schoony]

Artyukhin=The new A-TRAIN

[Boltflasher]

I'm shocked that you two--Lightning Rod and ajax--have played right into the impostor's hands. He played you like a toy piano. Why do you guys find it impossible to ignore him? I'm thinking you are as psychotic as he/she is.

[Marv]

The reason Marty has been down in goals is he passes to V4 to often. This occurred all last year and this year also. It is almost like he has been told to feed V4. Don't believe ... watch him during the games.

Marty is a much better player than he is being given credit for and should be more selfish. He goes into the corners and only through his quickness and respect by other players has not been hurt.

Shoot Marty when you have the shot!

Marv

[ajax]

Does Mr. Damien read his own blog? This blog is a 100x more busy than the Bucs blog, yet it is being ruined. The technology to stop the imposter is sooo readily available, so why is it not done. I think it is pretty easy to figure out who it is. Insanity feeds insanity. Have a good year Bolt fans. When everyone leaves the imposter can talk to himself, and once in for all be 110% right versus us Florida Idiots, oh silly me, that is his goal.

Man...some of the things that are being characterized as "selfishness" these days...keeping what's yours...shooting the puck...Where did this inane idea that it's "selfish" to shoot come from? Hockey is so fast and so unpredictable and the puck so oddly shaped, shooting the damn thing should be way at the TOP of your list of things to do with it. Only good things happen when you fire the puck--score, deflect in off someone, rebound right to a teammate for an easy one, get the D and G on their heels so maybe they make a mistake in a few seconds trying to recover, etc. etc. etc.

ALL breakaways...ALL 2-on-1s and all 3-on-1s...ALL rushes toward the net in OT or while shorthanded...ALL cases of being between the dots without a Dman lying directly in front of you...should ALWAYS result in a shot on goal. Every time. When I see one of these opportunities go by--and Marty blew a ton of them last season--I lose a little more hair. He's more willing to grip it and rip it this season, instead of the Boylesque pump fake that nobody buys, then pass from the point to a covered teammate, or to Vinny wide open but standing on the goal line in the corner...which is a great thing.

After putting "Safe is Death" into the cold ground as a motto, I suggest "When in doubt, SHOOT"

[Steve-O]

I read the MSL situation a little differently. I don't think M-Rose is putting pressure on him to score, what he is saying is that just cause he is on point and being the QB, he still needs to shoot. Be selfish he said. Don't just pass, Shoot! He knows Marty has a great shot and he needs to fire the puck. That's not being down on him that's saying we have confidence in you, be confident in yourself and shoot. Good things will happen. It is definately not time to put him on different lines. It is a different style of play than with Torts and you can see the growth coming as guys are getting more comfortable. No panic needed. MSL is rock solid and the twine will start making music soon, you can't stop him!

[Hockey chic]

Morning fellow posters,

If imposter wants to be me he or she better get up pretty damn early in the morning to do so.

Anywho I had to sleep on this to think about what I wanted to say and here goes. The post that said that Marty had his break out year and since he has been double teamed is true.

The fact that the coach is calling for him to step really bothers me. We just spent two and half freakin days talking about the shoot out and how it cannot come down to one guy and yet Melrose wants to point the finger at MSL is ridiculous. You cannot have it both ways folks.

I did see a lot of jump in msl when the season started not that many games ago and it has dimished a tad of late. However, one can tell that he takes the game very personally and does not ever want to have a game where he does not want to score.

So Mr. Mullett find a way to motivate not just MSL but the whole team. Quite frankly I think MSL needs to keep skating hard and crashing the net and the goals will come. Just go out play hard everyday and it will happen and a month from now we will be having a very different conversation on this blog.

Know one wants to play with the guy that is only worried about scoring. Just keep trying, having fun, as that is what this game is about and do not put to much pressure on one guy. It is a team sport and the entire team wins the game not just one player.

Coach Bill, thoughts and prayers are with you and yours. Enjoy the time with your father.

Go Bolts!!

[lLightningRodl]

I couldn't agree more, that the coach and all of the new and old players need to be evaluated, as the season progresses. Many are right on point. MST is still better than 90% of the players out there, on my opinion.

However, the other real issues and factors are when, how, and what is fair, given the state, quality, and psychological trauma of many of the players on the team at the end last year. Furthermore, given the additional factor that a large number of new players were added to the team before and during the early part of this season, this fairness question becomes more complicated. Then what is a fair time frame needed to allow any coach to effectively evaluate the mix and quality of this major revamped team. On the player's side, what is fair for the players is having enough time to solidify/gel into a real team that cares and stands up for each other, develop the character and grit needed to compete game in and game out, etc.

First, let's face some facts, the Lightning over the last 2 yrs. was a team in disarray and had many holes; the coach was way to rigid to change/adapt to the players he had, took his short comings out on the players so he lost the locker room, and the ownership situation baffled him; and ownership wanted out badly so pennies we counted over the fans.

Having thought about and observed all of the major issues and factors of the last 2 seasons, and this season to date, there are apparent trends and obvious facts that shed some light on the current state and potential of this Lightning team and the new coaching staff. First, the solid goalie situation, which we now have, is a major component for any team to build upon; and having good goalies gives both the coach and all of the other players a huge advantage in the developmental process of formulating and becoming a good competitive team. Currently, the Lightning has one of the lowest average goals against per game in the league, which says volumes about this team's potential, even with the lack of scoring in first 5 games.
Next, having 2 good goalies and their results in the 1st 10 games have provided the coach and the rest of the team advantages that haven't existed since the CUP run. The advantages for Melrose and staff are they can evaluate more players, try different lines, give more ice time to players showing potential, put players in different roles/positions, etc. As for the players, it include the time to develop team and individual character, solidify/gel with the teammates that are here now, strengthen the belief that they have a chance to win every game, etc.

From what I see, I think that Malone, Hall, and R2KN have a lot of up-side. Sat. night Melrose started to use R2KN on the powerplay, and he helped occupy a defenseman and partially blocked the goalie on V4's goal. Next, he went to the crease on a shift in the 3rd period, and stayed there. The result was nearly a goal by Recchi; and boy did R2KN cause chaos when he did that. Let's face it, R2KN is our biggest and nastiest forward, why not use him like powerplay point leader Capt. Dave? Close in you don't have to have the best hands, just grit long with his size. Someone tell Melrose to do more of that, as it sure look good to me. Malone is starting to fit in, and he has elevated his game. Hall is simply playing good hockey every game. Other forwards are also improving. The def. is generally playing within itself; and considering most are young, there is up-side potential with everyone of them, with apparently Ranger taking the lead on D.

Finally, after the Sat. win, there were horns honking everywhere, kids were screaming, adults were taking about what a good game it was, Smith was unbelievable, R2KN played a great game, etc. there were smiles on people's faces including mine. It felt like the good old days; and I walked home with a smile on my face and a jump in my step. I know there will be downturns; but I like what I am seeing and feeling once again about the team I root for, playing the game I love. Hard to ask for more than that, given the last 3 years.

[coach bill]

the above posts (7:41 & 6:47 ) weren't me. Thanks Flasher for the concern. Next Happy Hour- you better show up! Good night you all- any more "coach bills " ain't me.

[lLightningRodl]

B. CBill, HC, etc. I knew many of these posts in the last 3 days were not you. The one above was not me.

The psychotic's MO is to start out nice and then he/she tries to bait the blogger who wrote it, and also the blogger(s) who's name he/she actually uses in making-up their fake blog/response or set of fake blogs/responses. Thereafter, he/she waits for a reaction and/or continues to carry on a disjointed and delusional dialogue with himself/herself, using other bloggers names and/or names he/she apparently makes up on the spur of a foggy moment. I have come to strongly believe that he/she is in very dyer need of going back to their doctor and checking into the last institution that treated him/her in the past, so he/she can resume taking obviously huge doses of Thorazine and/or Stelazine. Over a long period of time, I am convinced that resuming inpatient treatment and getting back to taking this/these strong medication(s) in mega doses will allow him/her to get some minor degree of normalcy back in his/her life. If he/she have not been treated locally, along with having no access to these medications, please let me know. I am willing to call, some HS friends who are now medical doctors, to get him/her referrals to the best central Florida or local treatment centers available.

Guys, please understand that his/her situation is all so very sad and clearly tragic; and I fell the strong need to try and help him/her. I am sure all of the long term bloggers on this site feel the exact same way.

Mr./Ms anonymous, we hear your cry for help loud and clear, so please let me and/or any of the regular bloggers here, know what we can do to help and support you, at this desperate hour in your myopic life. I will gladly pick up the cost of any and all prescribed anti-psychotic medication(s) that you are in need of, just tell me what pharmacy, and I will take care of it ASAP.

With warm regards, and my deepest and highest concern,
LightningRod

[******]

Yeah, and actually, let's bring Brian Bradley out of retirement also.

Most idiotic post I've seen on here. Even worse than the imposter

We need Brad on the point, with Freddy and Stillman, Kubina as a right handed shot and Captain Dave in front of the net. They should of traded Vinny instead of Brad. With better support Homer would of been just fine instead of wasting a trade on Smith. Cowboys, all of em. Marty is yesterday's news.

[Cleo]

Marty needs to imagine Dave Jackson's elbow in the upper corner of the net. He's already proved he can hit that.

[PD]

Every one out to vote boys and girls, if you haven't already.

[PD]

Asking Marty to play the point is ridiculous.

He is out of position, he shoots from a foreign spot, he has to worry about a 2-1 the other way but most importantly it takes Marty out of doing what he does best..being Marty.

He can't be comfortable doing something that should have be handled by Boyle or Kuba..sigh here.

[rod]

Ever since martys first breakout season he has been a target for all defenses and has more or less struggled.

i thought he would be poised for another break out season with all the offensive help he has now.

[Boltflasher]

Coach Bill, best wishes to you and your father...and spend all the time you can with him...

[Craig]

A little off topic but I don't think there's any player in the NHL that hits more crossbar than Marty over the past two seasons. When he does shoot he LOVES to go topshelf on his shots and it seems like they either hit off the crossbar or sale over the cage.

Even in pregame he likes to aim just below the bar. Infact his final shot before he heads to the lockeroom is almost always that exact shot, just underneath the bar.

Marty, along with Arty and Malone, is one of the guys that hustles everytime he's on the ice and on every shift. Those are the guys that make things happen in front of the net on the PP. He's also very good at chipping and deflecting shots in from the point. But I can kinda see why they want Marty on the point, because he does have a good shot and he's one of the better skaters in transition from O to D.

[Tackleberry]

I think I am done with this blog. Too many imposters have ruined this. Until DC comes up with a registration, I am going to stay away. So from now on, anyone who posts as Tackleberry is not the original.

"By the way, any posts signed "coach bill" between now and Friday night won't be me as I will be out of town. Meanwhile, Damien hopefully will be able to do something about the impostor."

OK bill, have a good one. But why put it on Damian? He has enough going on. I already did something about the impostor. We all have that power. It's called driving him away because there's nothing for him to do, no one to impersonate. That's something we can do right now, without waiting or expecting someone else to do it for us. I hardly ever even read the names after the messages....they're supposed to be fake anyway, right?

think about it

[McGz]

Marty should be posted up down low on the right side, not on the point since Vinny scores from the point anyway on the PP. I agree that he needs to be more selfish and fire the puck, he has a rocket of a shot.

[coach bill]

I feel Marty should be on a more physical line. Gratton, Artukin, and Marty would be an excellent line. It would take those kind of grinders to get Marty out of his slump.

By the way, any posts signed "coach bill" between now and Friday night won't be me as I will be out of town. Meanwhile, Damien hopefully will be able to do something about the impostor.

[ben bolt fan]

Marty has a great shot once he moves the defense. Somtimes you do not need a hard slapper as much as a shot that gets through the deense when you are on the point. Once the puck gets past the first line of defense then the scramble and the dirty goals come. Marty needs to skate his butt off every night and take more shots when the puck is on his stick.