All right, my adoring fan base demanded something pregame (OK, one person emailed me, but what does that tell you).

Sorry for the lateness, spending a night in Buffalo caught up to my sinuses and I left my hotel room this morning twice, once for our 90 second chat with John Tortorella and again to grab a bite of lunch. The rest of the time, I spent on my bed, not sleeping, but listening to the TV with my eyes closed. I probably could have used a nap, but there was a good chance I would have overslept and missed my ride to the rink. (And no, there is no truth to the rumor that my trip to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo for some wings had anything to do with my staying in bed today!!!)

Not much to update on. Karri Ramo is in net after Johan Holmqvist put in a strong effort Wednesday in Buffalo. He was really the only reason Tampa had a chance to win that game, and if the Lightning could have played for him in the final minutes, they may have actually won that game!!!!

Andre Roy out of the lineup, Andreas Karlsson in. Also, Chris Simon returns for New York tonight, fresh of his 30-game suspension for stepping on the ankle of Jarkko Ruttu.

And just to feed the rumor fodder, Columbus has two scouts in attendence tonight, including Director of Pro Scouting Don Boyd.
Other teams here: Dallas (again), Atlanta, Philadelphia (It’s Dave Brown, their Player Personnel Director), New York Rangers, and Pittsburgh (Dan MacKinnon, their director of pro scouting who is watching for the second night in a row)…

SECOND INTERMISSION

Sorry, not sure what happened to the first intermission update. It must have gotten lost into a black hole in cyber space somewhere.

But the first period looked a lot like the game Wednesday in Buffalo as the Islanders doubled Tampa Bay’s shot total, 14-7. Second period was much better as Tampa Bay outshot New York 11-7. The Lightning also killed off a pair of penalties, but couldn’t convert on their power play chance late in the period, despite putting on some good pressure. (Does that sound familiar???)

Tampa Bay has three power play opportunities in this game, the third time in the past 10 games in which the Lightning have had more than two power play chances.