Forum: Talk Lightning

Not sure we have a game yet. Olie Kolzig was pulled with the score 5-0 at the 11:39 mark after he allowed five goals on 28 shots. Not all his fault, mind you, as the Devils seemed like they were allowed to dance right into the crease and bang in a couple of goals. But I think the fifth one was iffy at best.

With Karri Ramo, who was called up earlier in the day, now in net, the Lightning decided to wake up. Radim Vrbata, Marty St. Louis and Ryan Malone (on a penalty shot) have all scored to at least make it interesting to start the third period.

When these type of things happen, you do have to ask yourself, why wake up now? Why sleep walk through a period and a half, allow the Devils to control just about every aspect of the game and then decide to take a shot of No-Doze? To me, it’s almost a case of false hope. As a coach, it must be frustrating as all get out to watch something like this occur.

The shot totals for the game are 31-19, which marks the 19th time in 20 games this season that Tampa Bay has allowed 30 or more shots on goal. Um, we haven’t even started the third period yet.

So, does Tampa Bay make this a game in the third?

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Tampa Bay’s new jerseys look sharp. The Lightning, however, do not.

There has been one good shift for Tampa Bay in this game. One. They haven’t looked dangerous offensively at all, they’ve had some troubles with defensive coverage, leading to some sustained pressure by the Devils in the Lightning zone. During one such stretch the Devils were able to change their lines - keeping in mind the bench in the first is further away - and keep up the pressure. Little too much of that going on. Shot totals are 15-6, and they are reflective of how the game has transpired to this point.

Hard to blame Olie Kolzig on the first goal. Mike Rupp just stuck his stick out on a shot and deflected the puck right through the wicketts on the Devils’ first shot of the game. The second goal came on a delayed call, with Zach Parise coming off the bench as the extra attacker and firing a shot from the top of the left circle to the inside near post that looked like it hit Kolzig’s pad and caromed off the inside of the far post.

I noticed one play by Steven Stamkos in his own zone that he needs to correct big time. He had a puck in the left corner and was wide open to go back behind the net and wait for pressure to clear. Instead he sent a backhander around the boards that the Devils corralled and were able to keep the pressure in the zone. I don’t think that play resulted in Ryan Malone shifting up to the Lecavalier-St. Louis line at the tail end of the period. We’ll see how things start in the second with the lines.

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Like to dream of being on stage rocking out with a guitar in hand? Then check out this news from the team setting up a Guitar Hero tournament before Sunday’s game against the New Jersey Devils inside Shots at Channelside. I think the game might actually be Rock Band, but either way, sounds like a pretty cool time.

This is from the team’s release:

THE Tampa Bay Lightning will host a Guitar Hero tournament prior to their game on Sunday, November 23 against the New Jersey Devils (5 p.m., Sun Sports, AM 970 WFLA).  The finals will be shown on LightningVision during the game.

The tournament, hosted by former Lightning forward and rock fan Chris Dingman, will run from 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. in Shots at Channelside at the St. Pete Times Forum.  Prizes include tickets to future Lightning games and Game Stop gift packages with a grand prize of two tickets to see AC/DC at the St. Pete Times Forum on December 21, 2008.

The $30 of tournament entry also includes an upper-level ticket and a donation to the Tampa Bay Lightning Alumni Association.  Additional discounted tickets for family and friends are also available.  Participants must be at least 18 years of age.

For more information, or to register, fans should contact Alison Namour at (813) 301-6683 or email anamour@sptimesforum.com.

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A couple of updates from after practice today....

First off, the injury to Mike Smith is not considered serious. Interim coach Rick Tocchet said that Smith is capable of playing and could have gone against New Jersey. But with Monday a day off, he wants Smith to get some treatment and take advantage of the 48 hour time frame. The injury is listed as a lower body injury and he is considered day to day. Judging from the ice packs Smith has been sporting, my educated guess is that’s a bit of a knee problem as he has been packing some ice in that area lately.

Smith will not dress for Sunday’s game and Karri Ramo, who played Saturday afternoon for Norfolk, will be called up and serve as the backup to Olie Kolzig against the Devils.

Lukas Krajicek sounds like he’s a no-go for Sunday. Tocchet said he’s questionable, but he didn’t sound optimistic. In the event that Krajicek can’t play, Tocchet indicated that either Andrew Hutchinson or Jamie Heward would be joining Ramo on the flight out of Lowell this afternoon and be in Tampa in time for the game.

With Tampa Bay at the maximum for roster spots, general manager Brian Lawton said forwards Gary Roberts and Chris Gratton have already been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Wednesday. Players on IR must miss at least seven days, so that means both would be eligible to return for this Wednesday’s game against the New York Rangers.

Sounds like New Jersey will be without several key players - we already know that Martin Brodeur, Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik and Andy Greene are out with injury, but it also looks like John Madden will be out. He didn’t accompany the team down to Tampa on Saturday because of a foot/ankle problem after blocking a shot, and though the idea of Madden flying down on his own wasn’t discounted by the Devils, it doesn’t sound likely. New Jersey will also be without defenseman Mike Mottau, who will begin serving a two-game suspension after an elbowing call against the Islanders on Friday.

By the way, in case you were planning on tuning into Sunday’s game on the radio, be sure to tune into 970, WFLA with the pregame show beginning at 4:30 p.m. Because the Buccaneers are playing at 1 p.m., they will be on 620 WDAE with a lengthy postgame show to follow the end of the game.

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In his latest diary entry, Steven Stamkos recaps how he heard the news that Barry Melrose had been fired, what it meant to see his name associated with Melrose’s firing and what it means for him moving forward.

You can check it out at Steven Stamkos’ weekly diary

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Well, now you can add Mike Smith to the list of injured Lightning players. Smith is not practicing and I’ve been informed that he is going to be listed as day-to-day with the dreaded lower body injury. There was no kind of indication after last night’s game that Smith was banged up and certainly not to the extent that he would be absent from practice. Would have to imagine that Olie Kolzig gets the nod against New Jersey on Sunday. And there is also a good chance that Karri Ramo might be recalled.

If you’re counting at home, that’s now five players on the injury list - Gary Roberts, Chris Gratton, Ryan Malone, Lukas Krajicek and now Smith.

Gratton and Malone are on the ice practicing, but Krajicek and Roberts are not.

Line combos are:Steven Stamkos-Vinny Lecavalier-Marty St.Louis

Ryan Malone-Vinny Prospal-Radim Vrbata (David Koci)

Evgeny Artyukhin-Jussi Jokinen- Chris Gratton

Ryan Craig-Adam Hall-Matt Pettinger

Not sure if you should read too much into that third line at least in terms of Gratton as Mark Recchi is dressed as a defenseman today probably to round out the defense with Krajicek not on the ice.

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Wanted to pass along a couple of notes that may not make the cutting room floor for you morning newspaper…

First of all, Lightning interim coach Rick Tocchet said after the game that he shut down Ryan Malone for the third period. With Tampa Bay up by three goals entering the final 20 minutes he wanted Malone to rest his injured leg, which is still a little sore. Not sure if that means it’s a muscle situation (not a groin) or not, but had the game been closer, Malone probably would have been back out for the final period.

The status of defenseman Lukas Krajicek is not as clear. Tocchet said Krajicek suffered a lower body injury and they would see how it reacted and evaluate him on Saturday morning. It sounded like the injury wasn’t that serious, but we’ll have to wait and see what Saturday brings. The Lightning do not have any extra defenseman on the roster - although David Koci can play defense in a pinch - and Norfolk is in the middle of an extended road trip which might make it difficult to get somebody down to Tampa on short notice if Krajicek can’t play on Sunday. Not to mention the fact that Tampa Bay is already at the 23-man roster limit, which includes Chris Gratton and Gary Roberts, who are both out with injury. I imagine one of them could be placed on injured reserve to clear a spot, especially if it’s a short time frame for Krajicek.

Marty St. Louis said he took 23 stitches above his left eye after getting hit with a puck in the first period.

Didn’t think the Lightning played all that well against the Predators, but Mike Smith was sharp in goal making 34 saves. Certainly it’s human nature to ease up a bit with a 3-1 lead that built up to 4-1. But there is no excuse for all the penalties Tampa Bay took - seven of them, giving up 14 shots with the man advantage - which could have opened the door for Nashville to get back in the game.

And there is no reason for the lack of urgency on the pair of two-man advantage power plays the Lightning had. I understand that Vinny Lecavalier scored at the tail end of the first one, but that came off a rebound and not through a play the team set up. And then there was a lengthy 5-on-3 in the third that could have buried the Predators, but they didn’t even register a shot on goal. That’s not a good sign.

But, putting on the glass-is-half-full goggles, a win is a win no matter how they come, particularly when its the first since Nov. 8.

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Believe it or not, the game is a lot closer than the score indicates after one period, with the score 3-1 in favor of Tampa Bay. It’s been a pretty even game, with perhaps a slight edge toward the Predators. But Tampa Bay has been opportunistic with their chances, particularly Vinny Lecavalier who scored his second goal of the game when Jerred Smithson sent an errant pass across the slot that Lecavalier stepped into and ripped a shot past Dan Ellis for an early 2-0 lead 7:05 into the game.

Jordin Tootoo cut the lead to one with a rocket shot from the far right boards that somehow found the top corner of the far post.

Then Marek Malik, the play-making Marek Malik, helped regain the two-goal lead when he made a nice play to keep the puck in at the blue line, then when he wasn’t challenged, weaved his way toward the net, tried to jam a puck into the crease where Mark Recchi found the loose puck and smacked a backhand into the net. And how did Recchi score the goal? By going to the net. How did Malik set up the goal? By going to the net. Sound like Rick Tocchet’s message is getting across?

On a bit of a more serious note, Marty St. Louis looked like he took a puck to the face at the 10:45 mark. There was an immediate trail of blood as he jumped up off the ice and raced for the Tampa Bay bench. At first he kind of just hung out just inside the tunnel area toward the locker room, but eventually made his way back and hasn’t returned. I’ll try to offer an update when I get one. UPDATE: St. Louis was stitched up and is expected to return.

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Another injury has crept up for the Lightning for tonight’s game against Nashville, and from yesterday’s line combos, there was a hint to who’s hurting now. While Chris Gratton has not been ruled out for tonight and he will take warmups to see how he feels, he has a lower body injury that has crept up. It’s not any kind of a muscle issue, I’ve been told, so I think we can rule out another groin strain. Gratton was one of the last guys off the ice, so if that’s any indication, looks like there is only a slim chance he plays.

Gary Roberts is definitely out, according to interim coach Rick Tocchet, with an upper-body issue that put him on the injury report on Thursday.

With Roberts out and Gratton iffy, looks like Matt Pettinger and Ryan Craig get the call. No sign of David Koci this morning, but he is supposed to arrive in time for the game, although I don’t think he’s going to in the lineup.

Tocchet was asked about whether he felt Koci’s presence was a need or a luxury, and basically he said the team toughness displayed by the team thus far has been good so he essentially said it’s nice to have Koci’s presence, but didn’t state where he fits into the team’s plans right now.

Mike Smith returns to the nets once again for Tampa Bay.

With original Lightning coach Terry Crisp in the house, he always draws a crowd from some former employees who worked with him, including video coach Nigel Kirwan, who stopped by to say hi to the coach who gave him his first break. Crisp, now a television analyst for the Predators, also came by to say hi to Tocchet, whom Crisp coached at the junior level. Tocchet had nothing but glowing praise for Crisp, who on Tocchet’s draft day went down to the Phadelphia Flyers draft table in Montreal, which was followed quickly by Tocchet’s name being called by the Flyers in the fifth round of the draft.

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The transaction wire continues to burn up over at Channelside drive after Tampa Bay claimed forward David Koci off waivers from the St. Louis Blues. Koci was claimed off waivers from the Lightning by the Blues back in October.

Word is that there were multiple claims put in on Koci, but Tampa Bay had first crack at him because they lost him on waivers. And because there were multiple claims, if the Lightning wanted to re-assign him to the minors Tampa Bay would have to place him on waivers first, which means he wouldn’t clear.

Here’s the press release from the team:

The Tampa Bay Lightning have claimed left wing David Koci off waivers from the St. Louis Blues, Executive Vice President & General Manager Brian Lawton announced. Koci signed with the Lightning as a free agent this past summer, but was claimed off waivers by the Blues on October 21.

A 6-foot-6, 238-pound native of Prague, Czech Republic, Koci appeared in one game with the Lightning this season before heading to St. Louis where he skated in four games for the Blues, recording nine penalty minutes. He split last season between the Norfolk Admirals, Chicago Blackhawks and Rockford IceHogs. While in the NHL with the Blackhawks, Koci notched 68 penalty minutes in 18 games – an average of nearly four penalty minutes per game. The NHL heavyweight has amassed 156 penalty minutes in 27 NHL games during the previous two seasons.

The 26-year-old finished out last season as an alternate captain for the Admirals, registering two assists and 57 penalty minutes in 21 games with Norfolk. In 65 games with the Admirals during the previous two seasons, the fan favorite had three assists and 280 penalty minutes.

Koci also spent seven games with the Rockford IceHogs last season, registering 25 penalty minutes. In 266 career AHL games with Rockford, Norfolk and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Koci has three goals and 22 assists with 1,065 penalty minutes.

Koci made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks in 2006-07, going scoreless with 88 penalty minutes in nine games. His first 42 penalty minutes all came in his first game on March 31, 2007, at Phoenix.

He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round, 146th overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft

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If you were in attendance for Tuesday’s game against Floridau, you might have had a difficult time tracking the line combinations. And since I know none of you watched it on television (an illegal web feed, maybe) since it wasn’t televised, you couldn’t keep track of the lines on the tube.

Well, I’m getting dizzy trying to figure out the logic of how they work. For your daily pleasure, here’s today’s combos:

Evgeny Artyukhin (Chris Gratton)-Vinny Lecavalier-Marty St.Louis

Steven Stamkos-Vinny Prospal-Radim Vrbata

Ryan Malone-Jussi Jokinen-Mark Recchi

Ryan Craig-Adam Hall-Matt Pettinger

Gary Roberts is not on the ice, so I don’t know yet how that factors into everything at this point. He was given yesterday off from practice, but so was Recchi who is on the ice.

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From the Lightning website (not the picture, though):

The Tampa Bay Lightning will unveil their new third jerseys this Sunday when they take on the New Jersey Devils at 5 p.m. (Sun Sports, WDAE 620 AM).  This is the second time in franchise history the Lightning will don an alternate jersey. The first was unveiled prior to the 1996-97 season.

The third jersey will go on sale in the Tampa Bay area on Monday, November 24.  Any fan who purchases the jersey at their local Champs Sports will also receive two free tickets to a future Lightning game.  TampaBayLightning.com will also host a ‘photo blog’ from team photographer Scott Audette as the Lightning prepare to unveil their new sweaters.

In addition, the first 5,000 fans on November 26 against the New York Rangers will receive a Vincent Lecavalier third jersey t-shirt. 

The Lightning have also unveiled their 2008 Holiday Packs.  The packs include four tickets, a third jersey t-shirt and a Chick-fil-A calendar starting as low as $65.  For more information, or to order a Lightning Holiday Pack, fans should call (813)301-6600 or visiting Tampabaylightning.com.

Tampa Bay will wear the alternate jerseys on 14 different occasions this regular season:

Date Opponent
November 23 vs New Jersey Devils
November 26 vs New York Rangers
December 6 vs Buffalo Sabres
December 18 vs Colorado Avalanche
December 30 vs Montreal Canadiens
January 19 vs Dallas Stars
January 30 vs Philadelphia Flyers
February 14 vs Washington Capitals
February 22 vs Boston Bruins
March 3 vs Pittsburgh Penguins
March 17 vs Toronto Maple Leafs
March 21 vs Atlanta Thrashers
March 29 vs Ottawa Senators
April 7 vs Pittsburgh Penguins

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All right, I’m already over having to read and hear about this situation, so I’ll try to give this my final word on the subject because to me it’s just revisionist history we’re talking about, but the story still has legs nearly a week after the fact. Even the election of Barack Obama seemed to wind down a week after he was voted into the Presidency.

OK, here’s what’s going on. I alluded to this in Sunday’s paper that now former coach Melrose went on CBC Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday and said he believed that high-profile players got him fired and that they went to ownership complaining about him. To be fair, Melrose said he takes responsibility for what took place and the players not responding to him and even when asked if he felt he was stabbed in the back, Melrose said no.

Well, from what I’ve been able to gather from conversations both on the record and those not on the record, nobody in the locker room went to ownership and asked to have Melrose fired. As well, I don’t think anybody went directly to general manager Brian Lawton and said Melrose had to go.

What the likely scenario which took place begins and ends with Lawton. I said a few ldays ago that something didn’t feel right around the locker room, something wasn’t meshing. Melrose allegedly read the riot act to the team during a practice day in Sunrise and essentially played his hand at that meeting. The players’ called his bluff, didn’t show up to play against the Panthers and two days later he was gone. Now, if I could sense something wasn’t right, imagine the feeling Lawton had being involved in it on a daily basis. He even, in hindsight, hinted at something when he spoke on several occassions about the importance of the team’s recently completed five-game roadtrip.

So Lawton saw what was going on, or sensed what was going on - and remember, Lawton wasn’t involved in any capacity in the hiring Melrose, a fact that can’t be discounted - and naturally he probably went to the players on an individual basis and privately asked them about the situation. Lawton didn’t like what he heard, gave it a chance to work itself out on the road trip and when it didn’t, went to ownership - likely Oren Koules since he has been around quite frequently of late, but probably did have conversations with Len Barrie, who joined the team in New York and Philadelphia last week - and informed then of what he thought had to be done.

Now, a report on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Hotstove segment suggested that Lecavalier is the one who went to ownership and told them a change had to be made. Vinny said it just didn’t happen.

“I didn’t do it, I don’t think anybody else did it,’’ Lecavalier said. “They went to another show after [the Hot Stove segment] and said they talked to me and that it wasn’t true, and after that I didn’t really think about it after that.’’

A report in the Globe and Mail said Lecavalier will tell his side of the story during this week’s broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada, but Lecavalier said he’s not concerned with whatever perceptions might linger from the report, which is seen by millions each weekend during hockey season.

He said what he had to say and he went with what he thought. They weren’t facts, he just went with something he thought happened, but Oren Koules said it wasn’t true, Brian Lawton said it wasn’t true, so I’m not mad,” Lecavalier said.

Now, in my estimation, it’s time to move past this. Melrose is no longer the coach, that won’t change. And while we may never get the full story or clear picture of the actual events that took place, there’s enough information to piece together a close facsimile to the actual truth, and that may be the closest we ever get.

Here is the Hockey Night report by Al Strachan, while below is Melrose’s interview with Ron MacLean on Hockey Night’s pregame show, which if you look can tell was taped outside the WTVT, Channel 13 studios on Kennedy Blvd.

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Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said after Tuesdays’ shootout setback to Florida that working on breakaway/shootouts was at the top of his list to practice. He cracked a sly smile when asked about it Wednesday, since they didn’t work on it, instead he wanted to emphasis defensemen getting pucks through to the net. One of the things Tocchet said the defense needs to do a better job of is getting around the shot blockers and making sure shots get on net. The Panthers scored twice last night when Bryan McCabe ripped a couple of bombs past Mike Smith from the right point. Tampa Bay tied the score when Steve Eminger wristed a shot through traffic that found its way behind Tomas Vokoun.

I guess that means practicing shootouts is second on Tocchet’s list, after all, defensemen shooting pucks on net sure happen more often than a breakaway or shootout (even though it seems the Lightning are involved in a shootout per week right now). Tocchet said they will work on them during practice on Thursday before getting ready for Nashville on Friday.

Ryan Malone skated with the team today and said he feels like he’s ready to go for Friday. Malone indicated that whatever lower body (leg?) ailment that has kept him out of the past four games isn’t completely healed and there is still some discomfort and pain tolerance he is going to have to deal with, but he feels well enough as of now that he believes he will play.

Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi were both given the day off from practice, or should I say, they were both told to stay away from the ice. The 40-something crowd was informed it might be better for them to just go have a workout in the gym instead of putting on the gear. Tocchet basically told them to take the day off, especially Recchi who has been playing quite a bit of ice time of late.

Here’s a nice nugget of information courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau, via the NHL:

Steven Stamkos had nine shots on goal for the Lightning in their game against the Panthers last night, matching the highest single-game shot total by a rookie over the last three seasons. The Bruins’ Phil Kessel had nine shots on goal against Ottawa on Oct. 28, 2006 and the Rangers’ Brandon Dubinsky put nine shots on target against the Sabres on Feb. 23, 2008. No rookie has reached double-figures in shots on goal in one game since the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin did so seven times in the 2005-06 season.

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Lot of the same story in that second period for Tampa Bay. Whole lot of action, yet, still trailing by two goals. The shot clock has Tampa Bay ahead 37-21 after 40 minutes, but as I said in after the first period, the scoreboard is the only one that matters and that one reads Florida 3, Tampa Bay 1.

The 21 shots on goal in the second period is a season-high, the previous was 18 this season, done twice. The team record is 25, accomplished twice, the last coming Nov. 28, 2006 vs. Washington.

One bit of good news here is that Radim Vrbata finally found the back of the net. It’s his first goal in 34 games, with his last coming Feb. 28, 2008 against Los Angeles when he was still with Phoenix.

The Lightning record for shots on goal in a game is 51, accomplished on Jan. 17, 2004, against Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers. Tampa Bay lost that game and only scored one goal.

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