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Forum: Talk Lightning
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Sorry for the late posting on this info, and I’m sure many of you are already aware, but I took a rare day off, and after a crazy week dealing with so many issues surrounding the team, I needed it. Don’t tell my wife, but I was supposed to vacuum the house this morning, but after four hours of sleep and then spending 90 minutes in my son’s kindergarten class helping the kids make edible maps of North America, I spent the next 90 minutes napping on the couch as highlights from We night’s actions ran the loop on NHL Network’s On the Fly.
In all fairness, I did get laundry done this afternoon, loaded the dishwasher, picked up my boys from school, got some homework done, cooked dinner and took them outside for a little street hockey in the cul de sac before she came home from an after-school workshop. As per usual, it wasn’t enough work done on my “off-day’’, but I figure I can run the vacuum tomorrow!!!
Any way, center Chris Gratton will undergo hip surgery and though no timetable has been established, he is almost assured to miss the rest of the season. My guess is that since Lightning GM Jay Feaster expressed some interest in possibly re-signing Gratton, they want him to get the procedure done now rather than waiting until the end of the season.
“Chris Gratton has been the ultimate team player in trying to soldier on and battle through the pain of this injury,” Feaster said. “Our training and medical staffs have been amazed at how Chris has handled the pain and continued to contribute to the team during the past four months. After meeting with Chris and the medical and training staffs last evening I recommended - and Chris agreed - that we should get this taken care of now rather than prolonging not only his pain, but ultimately, his recovery time. As an organization we are indebted to Grats for his commitment to putting the team first throughout this injury’’
With Gratton out, Junior Lessard was recalled from Norfolk on an emergency basis. The former Hobey Baker award winner in 2004 has 16 goals, seven on the power play, and 36 points in 55 AHL games this season with Norfolk and the Iowa Stars. Since being acquired from Dallas in exchange for defenseman Dan Jancevski on January 15, Lessard has six goals and 15 points in 19 games.
No word on where Lessard will play in the lineup. Guess we’ll see tomorrow.... By the way, Michel Ouellet was awarded as assist on Jeff Halpern’s goal on Wednesday, so he finished with a goal and assist (Maybe I should have made him one of the three stars??? Uh, maybe not)
On a much different note, it was a career night for Brad Richards in Dallas tonight in his debut as he picked up five assists. He never had more than three in a game with Tampa Bay, and that’s kind of hard to imagine considering he is the franchise leader in assists. The five points was also a career high for Richards, with the previous of four occurring twice for the Lightning, the last coming Feb. 25 of last season against Pittsburgh. The five assists for Richards also tied a Stars’ franchise record.
The shackles are definitely off for Richards!!!!
Think he’s going to fit in with the Stars? I guess the only bad news is that things are only going to get worse for him. I mean, can they expect to get five points a night out of Richards now? 
Posted by Phil Lalli, Tampa , Fl on 03/02 at 07:27 AM
Give Halpern and Boyle the two assisstant captain “A’s”, give Vinny the “C"( no offense Tool Man but you have to be on the ice to lead the team) and lets get this team into a rythym for next season. You won’t have 2 better assistants than Danny or Halpern and it is about time Vinny actually wears the C again- it’s been his team for the past 4 years anyway!
Posted by S. Lew, Tampa on 03/01 at 10:15 AM
You want to see Lecavalier and St. Louis score again???? Get Prospal back. He is a great set up guy, always accurate at passing and I think giving him away leaves the top line looking very average. That said, I also think its time for Torts to go. He said in the Tribune today he is not going to change because he feels he is coaching the team the way it is supposed to be. Maybe if you were winning all year you could say that!
Posted by lightning friend, tampa on 03/01 at 09:54 AM
Boyle ...thats the way to play ...like a 40 million dollar man. And great leadership on the ice as well ! If vinny decides to kick it in , we are two players away from a real good team. Assuming we also trade kuba for a hard hitting pure defenseman...like a Darian Hatcher of ,say , 6-8years ago.Fun to watch all the effort from the defense & all 4 lines!
Posted by Mike Joyce, Bangkok, Thailand on 03/01 at 05:00 AM
I noticed that with dependable goaltending, the team isn’t sagging in to the goal and screening Smith. By being more open and spread out, it is getting easier to clear the puck out of the zone.
Has anyone noticed that the Bolts seem to be getting grittier. Could that be the leadership of Halpern and Picard in being more physical. Even Janik got into a fight and Boyle actually stood someone up - at their own blue line.
Interesting tidbit - Ouellet played on Richards’ line for how long and couldn’t score; yet, with Halpern he has two goals in two games!!
Posted by vince, tampa on 02/29 at 11:35 PM
Patty,nobody is hating on ritchie,it was just time for some changes and if you are that big of a bandwagon fan that you will jump ship just bc ritchie is gone maybe you should go ahead and move to dallas with him bc no one wants to hear anymore richards butt kissing.much needed win tonight,boyle actually played well,new guys looking good,goaltending held up for once,mike smith looking good
Posted by DivisionNick, DC on 02/29 at 10:41 PM
I’m glad Brad is finding success in Dallas. After tonight’s game, I’m hoping the Bolts find a way to keep Smith for at least a few years, and I’m excited to see how this team looks with some experience together. I’d still prefer to see one more finisher up front, but Janik has been playing with some enthusiasm, Picard looks pretty good, and with the way Smith handles the puck, the Dmen might have an easier time clearing the zone. He needs to work on rebound control, and settle down a bit, but he looks big in net.
Posted by Mike Joyce, Bangkok, Thailand on 02/29 at 04:50 AM
I agree with you Goalman, about Picard. Not only does he skate well, challenge opposing forwards before the blue line and actually hit someone, but he also knows how to play a 2 on 1 break. Pay attention Boyle!!!!
Posted by Bill in Tampa, Tampa on 02/29 at 12:43 AM
Having watched Brad since the day he was drafted it was nice to see him smile and having fun. But I am also a little angry. Where was this Brad that I watched tonight on CI his last two years in Tampa. Tonight I saw him hussle for the puck, dig along the boards and make some moves with the puck that made me wonder was he coasting in Tampa.
Posted by Pattie Meade, Pinellas Park on 02/29 at 12:28 AM
I am so very proud of Brad, he showed with linemates that can finish, good things happen. Did you see the smiles, the way he flew around the ice, did you see he was happy to play on a team that does not shackle him? Brad looked like Brad again. I knew what I was talking about when arguing with all those Brad-haters and I was right! I cannot be more excited for him. My favorite player looked great and now my 2nd favotite team becomes my 1st.
Posted by Goalman, Sarasota on 02/28 at 11:30 PM
I don’t think we had much choice in the deal for Brad.I liked the way Mike Smith played and Halpern was terrific.The player who really impressed me was Picard. This kid skated with authority and knew what he was doing. Also,he’s not afraid to hit someone.Pay attention,Kuba!!
How can you not be happy for Brad.He is such a class act.As I said,we didn’t have much choice in affording to keep him,but it really burns me when I hear these jealous losers beef about him.If Wayne Gretzky played with 2 slugs on his line,he wouldn’t have been the player he was. Last time I looked, hockey was a team sport.Hlavac and Ward couldn’t throw the puck into the net .
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Posted by Mike Joyce, Bangkok, Thailand on 03/02 at 06:46 PM
The way that Vinny has been coasting and wandering around the ice for the past month, he doesn’t deserve to have the C. That should be for leadership, and he isn’t leading anyone, or even himself.
I do agree that Halpern is showing a lot of leadership. It seems that he’s getting much more out of Ouellet than Richards was able to get. He would deserve a letter.