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The newest Lightning players are not only in town today, they’re in tonight’s lineup.
All three players acquired in Tuesday’s trade with Dallas are expected to play against Minnesota: Goaltender Mike Smith will start and wing Jussi Jokinen will play on the top line with Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis, while center Jeff Halpern’s role is less certain, although starting out centering the second line is a strong possibility as I believe Tortorella wants to keep the Gratton-Tarnasky-MacDonald line together.
Smith will wear jersey No. 41, Jokinen No. 11 and Halpern No. 10.
Also, defenseman Filip Kuba is out with a knee injury he suffered in practice on Tuesday (not sure anybody really noticed, I mean, there was fog coming off the ice and the glass was all wet with condensation, oh, and that whole trade thing from yesterday); his status is day to day. The team recalled recently acquired defenseman Alexandre Picard, who will wear jersey No. 2.
There’s a couple of tidbits leftover from yesterday that didn’t find a home in the newspaper and I had no energy to pass them along last night:
Jay Feaster said during his meeting with the media yesterday that he fielded calls for pending unrestrictred free agents Andre Roy and Chris Gratton. Feaster said he didn’t want to move Roy and intends to try to re-sign him before July 1.
On Gratton, he said teams showed interest in the veteran center and Feaster did discuss the situation with Gratton. But because Gratton has been suffering through a hip injury that has hampered him for the better part of the second half of the year. And because Gratton has been “soldiering’’ through the injury, he wasn’t going to trade an injured player to another team. Feaster also said he intends to discuss a contract extension with Gratton’s agent, Pat Morris, who is also the agent for Brad Richards.
Both Feaster and Tortorella discussed somewhat the meeting that was held with prospective owner Oren Koules and one of his partners, Len Barrie. Both said it was a productive meeting and a chance for both sides to express their opinions and understanding on where each was coming from. In the end, it was probably a draw in terms of how things went, with Feaster and Tortorella convincing Koules’ and Co. the importance they felt in retaining Dan Boyle while the new owners expressed their interest in trading Richards, who was eating up $7.8 million in salary.
By the way, was cruising around the net and ran across Mike Heika’s blog from the Dallas Morning News and I have to say that Richards looks pretty good in green. As I have said a couple of times during interviews the past couple of days, I believe Richards is going to thrive in Dallas. I firmly believe he will be a consistent 80-plus points player for the Stars, and considering the defensive style Dallas plays, that’s saying something.
FIRST INTERMISSION
Wow, not a lot of energy in the building tonight. I figured there might be a curiosity factor going on after the trade on Tuesday. But I guess a mid-week game against Minnesota is not exactly a sell-out draw. Come to think of it, most of the Western Conference teams don’t tend to draw crowds (except Detroit and Colorado, of course). Hey, maybe they should stick with the current schedule format after all. Ummm, no, not so much.
As far as the game, not a whole lot going on to speak of. Mike Smith has been solid to this point, stopping all six shots he faced in the first period. Faced his first shot 1:23 into the game on a side-angle shot from the far top of the right circle from Brian Rolston. He does look big in net, that’s for sure. Seems in control, not a whole lot of wasted motion. And boy, does he come as advertised when it comes to handling the puck. He made a Rick DiPietro-like play coming way out of his net to pick up a puck along the boards. The defense is really going to have to get used to that and Smith (I’m sure he already does) is going to have to make sure he communicates with his defense on plays like that.
Jussi Jokinen has fit right in with the top line playing with Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis. Jokinen looks like he can handle the puck well, makes a good pass and has a quick shot. I don’t know a whole lot about him - other than his fantastic work on the shootout - but I know that he’s a skilled guy who had been playing in more of a third-line role in Dallas this year. He might find a good role on this team.
Marian Gaborik took a double minor for high sticking at the end of the first period, so Tampa Bay has three minutes of power play time to carry over to start the second. By the way, the first power play unit featured Lecavalier, St. Louis and Jokinen up front with Dan Boyle and Alexandre Picard manning the points with Picard on the left side.
Some quick stats: Jokinen with two shots in 7:43 of ice time, Halpern played just over four minutes centering Mathieu Darche and Michel Ouellet. Picard with 5:48 of ice time ( which about equals the total time Doug Janik played in the previous four games!!!)
SECOND INTERMISSION
You can say this about Mike Smith, he’s got Marian Gaborik’s number in this game. Gaborik had two breakaways in the second period, got off three shots on two chances, and has no goals. Unfortunately, the Wild did score twice in that period, the first coming on a Pierre-Marc Bouchard cross-crease pass that Paul Ranger kicked into his own net. On the second goal, Smith had virtually no chance as Vinny Lecavalier lost the puck in the offensive zone, leading to a 3-on-2, then Dan Boyle (go ahead Mike, rip on him) lost a battle along the wall that led to a 2-on-1 that Pavol Demitra finished off on a pass from Mikko Koivu.
Michel Ouellet got one back on a power play when his attempted pass deflected off the stick of a diving Brent Burns and into the net to make it 2-1 heading into the third.
Alex Picard endeared himself to Lightning fans when he delivered a heavy hit on Koivu just inside the Lightning zone. Picard has already played 13 minutes in this game. Not a bad debut for the young man.
Of note, everybody in the lineup has played at least five minutes to this point.
Posted by TroyB, Bradenton, FL on 02/28 at 10:58 PM
Had to do it…just ordered #91 Dallas Jersey…
4 Assists tonight for Richards! 3 of which were to Hagman his new BFF.
I’ve been blogging with the Dallas fans tonight…All say we got 3 talented players
#####…5 Assists Now…Holy Crap!!!!!
Posted by Dave k, WI on 02/28 at 10:08 PM
Watching the Dallas game and #91 Richie has 3 assists. Can not wait until the new owners can Uncle Jay and Torts. Maybe then the Bolts will become a good team again. It looks like Smith is a good goalie, but the truth is he will suck under the Torts system.
Posted by jason saikaley, sarasota on 02/28 at 10:01 PM
Richards now has three points tonight so far…...........good for him!
Posted by TroyB, Bradenton, FL on 02/28 at 08:52 PM
Listening to Stars game. Richards’ 2nd shift nice feed tally one assist.
Posted by Mike Joyce, Bangkok, Thailand on 02/28 at 05:53 PM
Even mentioning Bobby Orr and Boyle in the same paragraph, even to say Boyle isn’t in that category, is an insult to Bobby Orr - and I just insulted Orr again. Boyle isn’t worthy to carry Orr’s jock strap, either offensively, or defensively.
He’s another that signed a big contract, then turned to spit to show how wise the new owner was. That’s what job security does for you.
Posted by S. Lew, Tampa on 02/28 at 03:19 PM
Boyle gets a 6 year contract because he is so “loved” and he plays like he is owed something as opposed to owing us something because of his pay. Boyle—wake up—you are not Bobbie Orr. Start playing defense and stop making costly errors. As for V4, he needs a set up guy and TBL basically gave him away for nothing. I admit Picard played well last night but without some change he will be pinching up more and more and the other teams will be zipping past him and scoring just like they do to Boyle, O’Brien and Kuba. It will be same old story and everyone will be blaming the goalie again.
Posted by lightning friend, tampa on 02/28 at 01:21 PM
PS New guys were awesome !!
Posted by lightning friend, tampa on 02/28 at 01:20 PM
Anyone see the interview of Boyle , the newest 40 million dollar man ? Never saw anyone so upset about that type of contract. And was his “performance” last night a tribute to Brad Richards,if it was it was very fitting ! Exactly how many turnovers did he have ? Maybe some day soon he will man up and not only contribute to the team is all aspects of the game ...maybe he can summon up the decency to show some leadership skills as well. Halpern made him look like a baby with the way he played and the message he sent in his interviews.Where is our Mark Messier ? Step up Vinny&Boyle.
Posted by Mike Joyce, Bangkok, Thailand on 02/28 at 10:53 AM
Let’s face it. Last night, the defense (mainly Boyle, Ranger and O’Brien) sucked big time. Even Janik played better than they did.
Combine poor play from the defense, with an nonexistant Vinny, who was just coasting around trying to look important, and you have the loss.
If Vinny is as interested in a long term contract as he professes, he needs to start remembering where his good lifestyle originates.
Posted by Ruthe Robertson, St Petersburg on 02/28 at 08:11 AM
New players, same results and it will stay that way until Marty and Vinny start playing the way they should. Boyle’s “defensive” skills have rubbed off on Ranger. Puck moving defenseman is right, he moves it the wrong way. Smith must be in shock to see this type of defense.
Posted by Mike Joyce, Bangkok, Thailand on 02/28 at 05:56 AM
I stand by my comments about Boyle. He’s in the Nick Lidstrum range for salary and is far short of the quality of player of Lidstrum, and as Erik said, did lead to the the defeat of the Bolts (along with his defense partner).
Overall, we are much improved in goal; however, players will have to learn to look for clearing passes coming from the goal. On a power play, Smith sent the puck all the way up to the offensive blue line and Boyle only stood there looking, and let the other team’s player easily skate to intercept. There were several clearing shots by Smith to the Bolts blue line and it was obvious that our players couldn’t adjust to a goalie that could shoot the puck.
No words about Halpern, with a goal and an assist????
Posted by Billy Charlebois, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on 02/28 at 12:48 AM
New players, big contract extension for Boyle, the “Big Three” have nothing to worry about, there’s a home crowd, electricity in the air, seven power plays, one double minor, and one in the last period of the game, the team headed in the right direction, players giving 110%, blah, blah, blaw, blah. They STILL lost. People are looking in the wrong place to find out what’s wrong with this team. They look on the ice and on the bench instead of BEHIND the bench. This team gets out-coached on a regular basis and he has lost #4 and #26. Get somebody that these very gifted players will want to play for, instead of in spite of.
Posted by Matt D, Dallas on 02/27 at 11:09 PM
Just checked the NHL scoreboards saw the close loss. But it does look like your newest guys contributed pretty well, and ya’ll can be certain we will be cheering for you over here in Texas.
Also, you will come to love Smitty handling the puck. Reading your comments, it reminded how I take for granted that kind of skill from our goaltenders.
Posted by vince, tampa on 02/27 at 10:43 PM
good effort,good play by the new guys,that was a good hockey team we faced tonight,time will tell,overall a quality game we were in it to the end….
Posted by Pete, Alexandria on 02/27 at 08:38 PM
Patrick, I think all Mike is saying is that if Boyle doesn’t live up to his contract, people might feel like we lost the wrong player at the deadline—hence, the pressure.
I don’t agree with Mike myself, but it’s a reasonable opinion to offer. Maybe you can relax a bit and let people say what they want to say.
Posted by Chris W, Jensen beach on 02/27 at 08:30 PM
Gotta love the enthusiasm of “juice” in the first, kind of scary watching Smith handle the puck, still not used to it perhaps. Haven’t heard Picards name since the intro, suppose thats good for d-men.
Stil going to miss"Lady Bing” but at least in the first of their first not too bad, of course time alone will tell.
Hey patrick, could have also got some good assets for Boyle (small market or not)in trade but not how uncle Jay wanted to go
Posted by Pete, Alexandria on 02/27 at 08:29 PM
Patrick, I think all Mike is saying is that if Boyle doesn’t live up to his contract, people might feel like we lost the wrong player at the deadline—hence, the pressure.
I don’t agree with Mike myself, but it’s a reasonable opinion to offer. Maybe you can relax a bit and let people say what they want to say.
Posted by Tony, Dallas on 02/27 at 05:26 PM
You all did get a great goalie and some pure skill in Jokinen. I will be watching and cheering for you.
Posted by Patrick Goodman, Tampa on 02/27 at 03:44 PM
Hey Mike in Bangkok, Get a Clue will ya?
Boyle was a must-sign otherwise he’d be an unrestricted free agent and the Lightning would get nothing ($) in return for him. You do understand that TB is a small-market team don’t you? They can ill afford to lose someone like Boyle without cash/players in return. Seriously, try thinking through things before you offer your opinion.
Posted by Bill Berg, Blairsville Ga. on 02/27 at 02:06 PM
Looking forward to watching the GAME. Hope ALL the new players will show promise and MOST fans must understand you have to give to get. GO BOLTS!!
Posted by Anthony Adum, Fort Myers, FL on 02/27 at 12:40 PM
Stinks that I can’t watch tonight, however I will be listening. Can’t wait to hear about our new boys in action! Go Bolts!
Posted by Gary Meleski, Sebring, Florida on 02/27 at 12:27 PM
Now the real test comes. We’ll get to see how the players react to the trades. We’ll see what we are getting. Going to be very interesting.
Posted by Mike Joyce, Bangkok, Thailand on 02/27 at 12:18 PM
This should be interesting. I think that the one with the most pressure will be Boyle, as his deal is the one that triggered the big trade - granted the decision wasn’t Feaster’s or Torts’.
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Posted by hkygl, tampa on 02/28 at 11:03 PM
Bottom line they need a new game plan. All the trades and goalies are not going to make a difference if they do not stop the “Chip in” and then chase the puck. If you watch other teams you will not see this unsuccessful style of playing. The other team always know our game plan and then they are waiting for our predictible dump and chase and then they get the puck and actually SKATE the puck back to their net, set up and shoot. Even Halpern said last night that it was a new style of playing, he had not had to skate after the puck as much before. It has to tire the team out. It is boring, predictible and needs to be changed.