Raw Charge

Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning game thread

2010-03-20T23:00:25Z

Versus

The anniversary of the stick-on-fire celebration, Bolts host Caps (preview)

2010-03-20T14:59:45Z

WHERE:St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
WHEN: 7:30 PM EDT
MEDIA: Sun Sports (cable), 620 WDAE (radio)
OPPONENT COVERAGE:Japers' Rink

Things have been simmering between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals since that little skirmish earlier this season between the likes of Steve Downie, Alex Ovechkin and Matt Bradley. Everyone's keyed in on it during each of the additional meetings between the two teams since then, and nothing much has come from it.

Yet there is reason to think that perhaps this meeting may be of a more vitriolic nature . This game represents the anniversary of Alex Ovechkin's infamous "Sticks of Fire" goal celebration (video is included on that link) early during the caps 5-2 win.

There's bad blood between these two clubs, you don't exactly need that reminder as a catalyst going into tonight... But if something were to set off the proverbial powder keg, it may be the memories from that little incident.

Happy anniversary...

The Bolts are concluding a four game homestand tonight, and journey to south Florida for tomorrow's game against the Panthers. The team is reeling, but they still hold out hope for the playoffs (even if they've fallen to six points outside the eighth seed):

"It’s hard, but there are still 12 games and 24 points to be grabbed and I’m not giving up. I don’t think anybody is giving up. No one is going to feel sorry for us and we’ve got to fight until the end, and I believe we will." – Lightning forward Martin St. Louis commenting on the team’s mood down the final stretch of the season

I know a lot of people are not giving up, but a lot of fans have. The Bolts have proven too inconsistent this season to put up a last-ditch playoff run. They've squandered too many important games in the standings with efforts unbecoming of a team that hopes to make the playoffs.

Case in point on that focus, Nolan's Five Questions post over at Frozen Sheets Hockey blog. His fifth question is the one that gets people thinking... If not right now, than two or three weeks after the conclusion of the season. It is certainly goign to be another off-season of change, but what is looming exactly remains unseen.

Attention Zeke Squad members, you will be happy to know that Zenon Konopka is listed as probable for tonight's game on the TBO preview.

Other Previews

Tampa Bay Lightning official team preview

Tampa Bay Online

Full game coverage on SB Nation

The Dave Andreychuk Foundation website launches

2010-03-19T21:48:11Z

The Dave Andreychuk Foundation website launches

Former team captain Dave Andreychuk's charitable organizaiton,t eh Dave Andreychuk Foundation, has launched their web presence, a team press release announced.

The Dave Andreychuk Foundation operates out of both the US and Canada and has three stated gaols:

1. Assist children in need
2. Support causes for children and families enduring chronic and/or life threatening illness
3. Encourage the investment of youth and amateur sports

For more information about the charity or how you can get involved, please click on the title of this post.

For the Lightning, another coming off-season of change

2010-03-19T20:00:23Z

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

Deensemen Mike Lundin and goaltender Antero Niittymaki are two upcoming members of the Lightning's 2010 Free Agent class (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

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Some people are latching on to the fading dream of the season where the Bolts back their way into the playoffs. Yet others are moving on to other sports - spring training is in full swing, after all, and the NFL draft is inching closer by the minute. The Lightning's recent free fall of late has removed them from the local sports narrative.

While the Lightning's season-long inconsistency gives them the potential to surprise everyone and finish strongly, it's a reach to expect a comeback from a roster that's coming apart with injuries.

It's never too early to look at the off-season ahead with the Lightning roster... Even if the team was locked into a playoff seeding, the next several months will be a time of change at 401 Channelside Drive as Jeff Vinik formally starts remaking the franchise in his own image. Those changes, for now, remain to be seen.

Yet it will certainly have an effect on who stays and who goes for the Lightning. Let's take a quick look at the Bolt's current Restricted Free Agents (RFA) and Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA), and the likelihood of them being resigned.

Restricted:

RW Steve Downie
C Blair Jones
D Mike Lundin
D Paul Ranger
C Paul Szczechura
RW Teddy Purcell
C Nate Thompson

Of this list, the only restricted free agent that may not be tendered a qualifying offer is defenseman Paul Ranger. Ranger, on top of being away from the team most of the season, has not been contributing enough to the Lightning to warrant being brought back. That is, unless he were to take a substantial pay-cut or sign a two-way contract. In general, a guy can't spend so much time injured and away from the game and be taken back before re-establishing his game.

Jones and Szczechura hang around for the sake of providing organizational depth. Nate Thompson has earned a new contract since his mid-January arrival in Tampa. It'd be nice, however, if he could net a few more points next season. Purcell, acquired at the deadline, has shown he can keep up with Vincent Lecavalier... Now what happens if they get to work together from the get go?

Lundin, who was vanquished to the minors during the 2008-09 campaign, started this season again in the AHL (losing out Hale and former Bolt Lukas Krajicek for a roster spot). Since his call up by the club, he's not only earned steady playing time but has been paired with the likes of Mattias Ohlund.

Online reports conflict regarding Lundin's pending FA status. NHL Numbers (who was the source for the majority of this report) lists Lundin as a UFA after the season while CapGeek lists him as a RFA. We called Octagon Hockey, the agency that represents Lundin, and requested Lundin's pending free agent status. They stated he was to be a RFA. Regardless of FA status, it's important he is not only tendered but re-signed long-term.

Finally, Downie will undoubtedly be tendered a qualifying offer. How much of a pay raise he is up for remains unseen, but as an RFA I fully expect him tendered.

Unrestricted:

RW Brandon Bochenski
C Ryan Craig
D / F Kurtis Foster
D David Hale
C Zenon Konopka
G Antero Niittymaki
RW Mark Parrish
LW Alex Tanguay
LW Stephane Veilleux

Most UFA's on this list signed last off-season with the intention of re-establishing their free-agent market value. While some did it swimmingly (Antero Niittymaki, Kurtis Foster), others struggled to regain their form (Alex Tanguay). This is going to be the nuisance of the off-season in addition to what sets the tone forward with the makeup of the team.

No one on this list could be re-signed without a hint of debate. While Antero Niittymaki has won support and playing time, you have to wonder if he's won the right for a substantial pay raise from his $650,000 one-year contract, and the job security that will come with it. Other teams will likely be in the market for goaltending this off-season and Niitty will be their target acquisition. Do the Bolts get involved in a bidding war to retain Frank?

Even if Niittymaki was to be re-signed, remember that the team has the rights to six netminders at current: Dustin Tokarski (AHL), Jaroslav Janus (AHL), Michael Zador (CHL), Riku Helenius (SEL), Karri Ramo (KHL) and Vasily Kochechkin (KHL). If the Bolts are serious about bringing Karri Ramo back to North America (as the general meme has stated), or introducing Koshechkin (a 2002 draft pick who is a towering 6'6" and was listed as one of the 10 KHL'ers that the Hockey News wanted to see in the NHL ) to the North American game, the opportunity to play NHL minutes must be there. To re-sign Niittymaki shuts the door on such opportunities unless Mike Smith is traded or bought out.

Another difficulty in re-signing Niittymaki is his history of hip problems (he's been operated on twice for injuries there). While he has played well this year, the potential he becomes another Darren Puppa-like re-signing (to sign a big contract extension and then get hurt) is legitimate.

The above isn't trying to make a case in letting Frank leave through free-agency, it's more of an attempt to impress upon the fact this is a more complicated situation than it looks. All pending UFA's are complicated subject and shouldn't be looked in the absolutes of "re-sign" or "let go".

Kurtis Foster is another case of this complexity. As a fan, I would love nothing more than to see him re-upped by the club... But he is not a natural forward and could potentially be blocking the way for Lightning defensive prospects if he were retained specifically on D.

Alex Tanguay failed to re-establish his offensive credentials playing alongside Vincent Lecavalier this season and will likely be free to go elsewhere. Even if he wanted to stay in Tampa, he'd likely face a substantial pay cut to do so.

What are your thoughts on these RFA's and UFA's? Who do you want to see retained and who is expendable? It's still a long ways from July 1^st and the start of free agency, but when the season ends next month, the season of change begins.

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 70: versus the Buffalo Sabres

2010-03-19T13:00:32Z

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Buffalo Sabres 5-2.

There weren’t a lot of redeeming qualities about this game. The Lightning played hard, and they weren’t as easily discouraged as they had been the previous couple of games, but it was penalties that did them in. They did come back in the third to make it 4-2 late in the third, which is great, but it was also too little too late.

In a surprising move, head coach Rick Tocchet pulled Antero Niittymaki during a third period power play for a two-man advantage. That was interesting for two reasons. One, Tocchet hasn’t pulled a desperation move like that before. He apparently has realized that it’s do or die time in regards to playoffs and was pulling out all of the stops – literally. Frankly, it would’ve been nicer to have seen this a few games ago, but at least he’s starting to figure it out.

The other reason that move was so surprising was that it indicated that Tocchet had more faith in his defense than perhaps they deserve – as was shown at the very end of the third period when Buffalo got their empty netter. Individually, the defensemen on the Lightning are good – some very good. But as a group playing together, they’ve got a long way to go.

The names that I kept hearing on the broadcast over and over were Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos, Steve Downie, and Niittymaki. Those seemed to be the guys that wanted the game the most.

Niittymaki was great; I wish he had more defensive support. A guy can only stop so many shots on his own, after all. And he’s tried to stop them all, too. The thing is, it’s the law of averages that finally gets to a guy like that. If you get enough shots on you, one’s likely to go in at some point.

Downie wasn’t one of the names that I consistently heard all game, but as the game wore on, he was mentioned more. Coming to Stamkos’s defense, after Stamkos had gotten ran, was predictable – and frankly, it needed to be done. He has taken some questionable penalties this season, but overall, Downie’s turning into a very good offensive threat. Once he finds that balance of playing with passion and staying in control, he’ll be almost unstoppable.

Stamkos is likely still playing injured. He wasn’t that great in the faceoff circle, only winning 4 out of 14, but he got better as the game went along. Martin St. Louis is playing banged up himself, so that line’s a little gimpy right now. Which is too bad, since those two guys make up most of the Lightning’s total offense.

Lecavalier is a new man since the Olympic break – and that couldn’t have happened at a better time. He’s been shooting more, winning more faceoffs, and scoring more. About the only thing that Vinny isn’t doing is playing better defensively. He’s a -8 in his last nine games. But most importantly, he’s leading the way. You can tell that he really wants to get into playoffs, and he’s more than willing to carry the team on his back to get there. Unfortunately, seeing how the rest of the team’s doing while he’s taken his game up another notch, he’s doing more carrying than leading at this point.

The next game is the last matchup with the Washington Capitals this season on Saturday, 20 March. Game time is 7:30 pm Eastern. If you don’t have tickets, think about getting some. This ought to be a good game.

And, if the hockey gods are kind, maybe a preview to a first round playoff matchup?

Sabres vs Lightning coverage [SB Nation]

Die By The Blade [SB Nation Buffalo Sabres site]

Sabres vs Lightning recap [TSN]

Sabres vs Lightning boxscore [TSN]

Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres game thread

2010-03-18T23:00:20Z

Versus

Full game coverage on SB Nation

Lightning playing the spoilers? Bolts versus Sabres preview

2010-03-18T18:27:11Z

WHERE: St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
WHEN: 7:30 PM EDT
MEDIA: Sun Sports TV (Cable), 620 WDAE (radio)
OPPONENT COVERAGE: Die By The Blade

The Buffalo Sabres come into Times Palace tonight, having a very middling 4-4-2 record in their past ten games. The infallible and dominant Ryan Miller has looked more and more mortal as the season has gone on... With both points in mind, teh Bolts could endanger the Sabres third-seeding in the Eastern Conference with a win tonight.

You see, the Montreal Canadiens have won their past six games in a row and the Ottawa Senators (who are on a dismal 3-6-1 stretch) are all of 3 points behind the Sabres for the northeast division lead and the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference.

While the Lightning's own playoff chances have gotten slimmer and slimmer in the past few days, it must be remembered that the Bolts do still have a chance to influence the Eastern Conference playoffs, even if they ultimately do not participate in them.

Of course, you have to do two things to potentially play the role of the spoiler: Score goals and ultimately win an important game. The Lightning are not scoring goals right now, with only two tallies their past two games. When Todd Fedoruk has become a crucial part of the offense, something is wrong.

And of course, what is wrong is that the wear-and-tear of a long season has finally reared it's ugly face. Ryan Malone is out, Mattias Ohlund is out, Zeke Konopka is out. Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis are hurting... These are just the known, public injuries.

There's not telling if the Lightning defense will be able to contain the Sabres... They've been struggling to hold their own with the absence of Ohlund from the lineup. Yet even with Mattias Ohlund contributing minutes to the blue-line, Tampa Bay's defense has been underachieving and inconsistent all season long.

The Sabres are the third of the past four Lightning opponents that have been weak (at best) on the power play. They're ranked 23rd in teh league with a 16.5% conversion rate. Of course, on the flip side, they boast the best penalty kill unit in the National Hockey League with a 85.9% kill rate. While the Lightning have been playing strongly during the power play, they have their work cut-out for them tonight.

Other Previews

Tampa Bay Lightning official team preview

TSN

Off Topic: SB nation launches South Florida Bulls blog

2010-03-18T02:53:07Z

Off Topic: SB nation launches South Florida Bulls blog

I don't quite understand the name Voodoo Five, but I can tell you I am damn happy to see the Bulls get represented on SB Nation.

Check out Voodoo Five

Wes Walz to be special guest at NHL FanHouse chat this afternoon

2010-03-17T16:14:15Z

Wes Walz to be special guest at NHL FanHouse chat this afternoon

Former NHL player and coach Wes Walz will be participating in an online chat this afternoon at 2 PM on AOL's NHL FanHouse. Discussion topics are going to vary from Steven Stamkos to his own playing days with the Minnesota Wild...

(h/t Eric McErlain)

A year later (Raw Charge anniversary)

2010-03-17T15:15:09Z

Greetings and welcome to the Raw Charge. The Raw Charge is the newest SB Nation entry in its NHL coverage and is devoted to the Tampa Bay Lightning as well as general opinions and news pieces regarding the National Hockey League and occasionally postings about Tampa Bay sports in general.

-- John Fontana, March 17th, 2009

I am happy to report that "The Raw Charge" never caught on. And I am also happy to report Raw Charge and it's budding community is doing well at it's first anniversary. Thanks to readers and the rest of the Boltosphere for your support!

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 69: versus the Phoenix Coyotes

2010-03-17T13:00:42Z

Chris O'Meara - AP

View full size photo »

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1.

The game wasn’t terribly good. It wasn’t completely awful, either, though. The Lightning played fairly well, but not remarkably so. Antero Niittymaki was very strong in net, only allowing two goals – which is a vast improvement over that stretch of games where the Lightning were allowing five goals or more.

The defense has been a lot better as well. I would consider Mike Lundin to be the top guy on defense, at this point. He takes care of the top forwards from opposing teams and shuts them down. He’s done a pretty good job of doing just that, too. And he’s fantastic at blocking shots.

Vincent Lecavalier has really stepped up his game. He’s been a touch inconsistent lately with his faceoffs, but he’s managed to make it into the top 10 in the NHL with his faceoff percentage. And having him in front of the net now, instead of on the perimeter, is definitely a good place for him. Yeah, he’ll take more abuse, but that abuse also gets him mentally into the game. Sometimes I think he thinks too much when he’s on the ice. He does best when he doesn’t think but just reacts to what’s going on, and putting him in the middle of the action in front of the net really helps him with that.

By the way, how underrated and overlooked is Nate Thompson? This guy comes to the team from the New York Islanders, and he’s a faceoff machine. He won 10 of 12 faceoffs against Phoenix – that’s an 83% winning percentage. And while he hasn’t been doing quite that well every game, he’s usually well up over the 50% mark, all the same. And yet, he’s rarely mentioned by anybody, even in that regard.

The problem with the Lightning during this game wasn’t so much the effort as it was the attitude. Perhaps this comes out of the injury bug going around, but the Lightning are very easily discouraged these days. They go down a couple of goals and they seem crushed by that instead of it making them want to fight to get back even – as they’d been doing for much of the season. It took them most of the second period to recover from being down two goals. That’s not a good thing.

For months, the Lightning have been relatively injury-free. But for this final stretch of the season leading into playoffs, that’s changed. Key personnel are out because of injury or are walking wounded. Ryan Malone just had "minor" arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday but is also dealing with an upper body injury as well, Mattias Ohlund is out indefinitely with an ankle sprain, Zenon Konopka has back spasms/a slightly ruptured disc, Steven Stamkos has a bruised back, and Martin St. Louis has been banged up with undisclosed injuries.

And those are just the players that are bad enough off for the public to know about. So not only is the push for a playoff spot difficult because the team isn’t winning, but likely the team isn’t winning because they’re not healthy. That shouldn’t be used as an excuse, however, since most teams aren’t completely healthy at this time of year.

It’s a very good thing that Lecavalier has found his scoring touch again. Because at this point, he’s going to be the only guy they’ll be able to rely on on a regular basis. Though, other guys off of the team are going to have to step up and support him as best they can. Like Steve Downie, for instance, needs to focus entirely on scoring, at this point. Especially since his line mates Stamkos and St. Louis aren’t entirely healthy.

The next game is at home Thursday, 18 March, against the Buffalo Sabres. Game time is 7:30 pm Eastern. Go out and say hi to the silver-medal winning Team USA goaltender Ryan Miller – but be sure to cheer for the Lightning, all the same.

Coyotes vs Lightning coverage [SB Nation]

Five For Howling [SB Nation Phoenix Coyotes site]

Coyotes vs Lightning recap [TSN]

Coyotes vs Lightning boxscore [TSN]

Phoenix Coyotes at Tampa Bay Lightning game thread

2010-03-16T23:00:23Z

Versus

Full game coverage on SB Nation

Lightning vs. Coyotes game day preview [UPDATED]

2010-03-16T18:12:42Z

More photos » Matt York - AP

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WHERE: St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
WHEN: 7:30 PM EDT
MEDIA: Sun Sports (cable), 620 WDAE (radio)
OPPONENT COVERAGE: Five for Howling

The Bolts square off against another formidable divisional force tonight, one that has taken the league by surprise because of the summer drama tied to the franchise. It's the Phoenix Coyotes.

It's a scheduling anomaly rematch between the two clubs, who already faced off once this season, played in Glendale with the Lightning winning that one 4-1, and the Coyotes own fortunes can appear to be an anomaly as well. The team has 89 points after their dreadful Blackberry-inspired drama. Ice Edge Holdings still has not finalized the purchase of the team from the NHL, though they did recently send out a letter to re-assure fans it would happen...

Oh, and Dave Tippett should win the Jack Adams, hands down. 89 points achieved for the first-year coach, with all the drama and sideshow tied to the team... The only way he shouldn't be the top candidate for the coach-of-the-year award is in teh tin-foil-hat community who sees it as a NHL-owned-franchise-Employee-of-the-year award instead of awarding the truly best coach.

Back in Tampa, Steven Stamkos has a back contusion and will be a game-time decision for tonight's must-win contest. Yes, must-win. Though some might find it depressing, the Bolts have to make showing nightly for the remainder of the season. It's not enough to simply keep pace in the east any more. The Lightning need to make up four points between them and the Boston Bruins... That or be surpassed by the likes of the Thrashers, Panthers or even the resurgent Carolina Hurricanes.

Phoenix has the worst power play in the NHL (Ok, make that two drawbacks to Dave Tippet being named coach-of-the-year), converting on only 15.1% of their opportunities. 16.5% on the road (good for 15th in the league). Of course, the Bolts were recently tripped up by another club that had a weak power play in the Toronto Maple Leafs... so percentages mean only so much.

There's no word yet on the starter for tonight's matchup, I'm guessing the Bolts will tempt fate and give Mike Smith a try.

For those attending tonight's game, there are plenty of festivities planned to mark St. Patricks Day at Times Palace.

[Note by John Fontana, 03/16/10 3:13 PM EDT ] The team announced via a press-release that LW Ryan Malone has undergone a minor arthroscopic procedure today on his left knee. He will be out for 10 to 14 days while recovering from the procedure.

Other Previews

Tampa Bay Lightning official team preview

Loving The Lightning

TSN

Ashton and Panik added to Norfolk Admirals roster

2010-03-16T16:10:18Z

Ashton and Panik added to Norfolk Admirals roster

Lightning prospects Carter Ashton and Richard Panik have both been added to the Admirals roster: Ashton was assigned to the Ads by his junior team and Panik signed an amateur tryout contract with the Admirals.

Ohlund out indefinitely with ankle sprain

2010-03-15T18:22:27Z

More photos » Gregory Smith - AP

Mattias Ohlund will be sideline dduring the Bolts crucial stretch of games with an ankle sprain (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

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Assistant team captain and defensive leader Mattias Ohlund has missed the past two games with what had been an undisclosed foot injury. It was revealed by the team after yesterday's loss to the Penguins that it's an ankle sprain and that Ohlund is now out indefinitely as he recovers.

Damian Cristodero wrote a blog post about the Lightning injury woes and about Ohlund's status before the team took to the ice for yesterday's game:

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mattias Ohlund was limping noticeably through the Lightning locker room this morning with ice around his left ankle. Coach Rick Tocchet said Ohlund is getting "aggressive" treatment for the injury, which Tocchet said has not required tests but is obviously more than just a bump.

There is no timetable for Ohlund's return, and forwards Ryan Malone and Zenon Konopka remain sidelined as well with their own injuries.

Q & A with Tampa Bay Lightning Goaltending Prospect Dustin Tokarski

2010-03-15T14:30:16Z

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

6 months ago: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Dustin Tokarski (40) makes a save during overtime as teammate Martin St. Louis defends during their 2-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers in an NHL hockey game Friday, Sept. 18, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

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Goaltender Dustin Tokarski was chosen in the fifth round, 122nd over all, at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He played three years with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, winning the major junior championship - the Memorial Cup - in 2008. A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, he helped the Canadian junior team win the World Junior Championships in 2009.

He's now in his first professional season, playing with the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL, and has seen limited action with the Tampa Bay Lightning, chalking up just over 40 minutes of playing time coming in relief in two road games in January. Norfolk is currently gearing up for a playoff run, and I had a chance to talk to him last week and ask him a few questions....

Did you start out as a goalie or did you start out at a different position?

Well, when you’re young, you play a bit of everything. So I played everything up until I was 13 years old and then I became a full-time goalie.

Who from your past – a coach, a teammate, family – would you credit with helping you get this far as a goaltender? Who helped start you on this path?

That’s tough. I’ve had so many people influence me to get where I am. But to start it all off, I’ve got to say my mom and dad, for sure. My dad was a goalie, but he never put any pressure on me ever to be a goaltender. But when the time came that I chose that, he definitely helped me with little stuff and would shoot on me and gave me pointers when I was young.

We hear a lot about forward and defense conditioning during the off season, do goalies do the same regimen or how exactly is it different?

It’s somewhat similar. I mean, you’ve got to be in overall good shape, just like players. But you definitely do different drills for a goaltender. You’d like to have strong shoulders for your arm movements, and you obviously want to have strong legs for quick movements in the crease – powerful pushes and edges. You do a lot of powerful movements as a goaltender. So you try to specify your training like that.

This summer I’ll be following a program from Tampa, and I’m sure they’ll help me make it a personal one, so I’ll just follow that.

Do you do any other sports to cross train with?

I really like to golf in the summer. I golf for fun. Training-wise, that doesn’t help too much. But basically in the summer I play hockey and practice, and I play golf, and I work out. Those are my main activities.

What’s your favorite golf course?

Oh, I don’t know. I’ve played a lot of them in Spokane, and home. I don’t really have a favorite.

Which is better – your short game or your long game?

Probably would have to say my short game.

You have a past with Norfolk’s acting head coach, Leigh Mendelson, with the Spokane Chiefs organization. Has having a familiar face helped with the transition from juniors to the pro ranks?

Yes, for sure. When I got here – just to know a familiar face, even just to talk with everyday opinions about – was pretty comforting. Even just to ask an opinion on where to look to rent and stuff like that – just a bunch of little stuff – and he was great with helping me out, so it was really nice.

Norfolk has had two major coaching disruptions this season: Darren Rumble being fired in January and Jim Johnson being promoted to Tampa Bay two weeks ago. Did that cause any upheaval in the Norfolk locker room?

Not in the locker room. We’ve got very good leaders on our team, with Ryan Craig leading the way. I mean, when Darren moved out and Jim stepped in, sometimes that’s just what you need is a change. The change obviously helped our hockey club and put us on a streak. And when Leigh stepped in for Jim, we just kept the same mental aspect of what got us to where are now. And I think we’re still doing the same things – just staying focused and worrying about the things we can control.

Speaking of upheaval, how much of the NHL trade deadline talk made its way to Norfolk? Is it an after-thought or does it affect guys as much as the guys at the NHL level?

Well, I mean, that’s another thing out of your control. You know, in the WHL there’s a trade deadline, too, and I’ve been thru that for two years now. You pay attention, of course, to the changes that happen up top in Tampa. It’s definitely interesting. But at the same time, you want to stay focused on what you’re doing.

You made your NHL debut in January on the road against Florida (in Miami) and New York (against the Rangers). What are some of the off-ice perks in the show that surprised you compared to the AHL and juniors?

Well, you’re treated amazing up there. Everything from equipment-wise to food-wise to hotels, it’s all top-notch. They make sure that the only thing you have to worry about is to play hockey on the ice. So they treat you really good.

But you use your same equipment from Norfolk?

Yeah.

How long does it take to break in those? Your pads?

It varies. Last year, in Spokane, I broke in a pair in a couple of days. Right now I’m trying to break in a pair and it’s been over a week. So it kind of depends every time.

From the same maker, it still depends? Or from switching from…?

I haven’t switched makers, so I’m with the same one. It just varies; it’s all personal.

You've made a name for yourself in Canada in the World Junior Championships, and yet you're now part of a franchise in a non-traditional market. Do friends back home give you grief for this?

No, no grief at all. I mean, if anything, I get praised. When I got drafted to Tampa, all my friends were saying, "Cool, you get to play hockey and wear shorts at the same time."

You're in the unique position of having recent playoff experience (with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs in the Memorial Cup) and tournament experience in the World Junior Championships. How does that come in handy at playoff time if the Ads make it into the AHL playoffs?

For sure, all that experience helps. From midget it helped me in the WHL. And from the WHL helped me at World Juniors. It all leads on. I’m excited for playoffs, and I really hope we make playoffs, and take a run at it and hopefully go on a nice streak.

I know you just turned pro so they might not have produced any but, do you have any of your own rookie hockey cards and whose cards would be a fair trade?

I don’t know what you mean by "rookie." I don’t have an NHL card yet. I don’t know, really. There are some cards out there, but I don’t know if they’re considered my "rookie" card. I’ve had some with Spokane, and I know that there are some out here, but I don’t know exactly.

With everywhere you have traveled - in juniors, in the AHL and in the NHL - what’s been your favorite place to play? Favorite city to visit?

I’m not sure. Every place I’ve played has been really good for hockey, and I’ve enjoyed it. You know, we’ve just played in cities, nothing too crazy. I mean, I’ve played in tons of different cities and they’re all different.

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 68: versus the Pittsburgh Penguins

2010-03-15T00:12:18Z

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1.

The game started out well enough. They had picked up where they'd left off the last game against the Washington Capitals. Everything was running smoothly, and Antero Niittymaki was playing well.

Actually, Niittymaki played well the entire game. It really looks like he's back to form from earlier in the season. Without Niittymaki, the third period might've been very ugly.

There was some ugliness in the first when Brooks Orpik landed a hard but legal hit on Steven Stamkos. It knocked Stamkos down and hurled him into the boards with some velocity. It wasn't anywhere close enough to the boards to be considered boarding, thankfully.

But Steve Downie took exception to Stamkos being hit that way, and decided to hit Sidney Crosby. I've seen cleaner hits, but I don't think that Downie was trying to injure Crosby. He just wanted to send a message. Had the game turned into a route, then that likely would've come back up again.

As it was, there was a little messiness with Victor Hedman and Ruslan Fedotenko in the third. There was some all out fighting going on, but the officials decided to call it "roughing" despite punches being thrown. They also managed to give Hedman the high sticking penalty when he got Fedotenko's stick in the face. Pretty tricky of Hedman to have had that happen, huh?

Yes, the officiating was questionable once again.

However, despite the unequal penalty calls, you can't blame this loss entirely on the on-ice officials. The Lightning had had control of this game thru two periods. Yes, they had four penalties called on them in a row, but they've overcome penalty trouble before to win games.

The fact of the matter is, they let control of this game slip away to the Pens in the third when they had opportunities to win it. No shots for the first seven minutes of the third is unacceptable - even if they were killing off penalties. They still had 4-on-4 time to work with during that stretch, and they did nothing with it. Usually, the third period is their best period of the game, but not this time.

Vincent Lecavalier had flashes of brilliance, but he wasn't consistent. Martin St. Louis had a bit of an off night as well. And Stamkos was struggling to keep up with things at times. The defense did look pretty good again this game, however.

Perhaps they'll do better with the Phoenix Coyotes, who will be in town on Tuesday, 15 March. Game time is 7:30 pm Eastern. Let's hope they can pull themselves together by then.

Penguins vs Lightning coverage [SB Nation]

PensBurgh [SB Nation Pittsburgh Penguins site]

Penguins vs Lightning recap [TSN]

Penguins vs Lightning boxscore [TSN]

Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning game thread

2010-03-14T20:30:21Z

Versus

Full Coverage on SB Nation

OT: The Golden Roar Photoshop contest

2010-03-14T20:34:57Z

OT: The Golden Roar Photoshop contest

Puck Daddy has been running a Photoshop contest of Sidney Crosby's Olympic goal celebration. Some of these are funny, some of these are cliché (the 300 references are overdone), and others are just odd.

Take a gander for a laugh and vote if you like any of them. Personally, for Photoshop quality, I've voted for the Sidney Scream. Not the funniest of the entries but from an artist standpoint - fantastic job.

Voting ends this evening!

Daylight savings hockey-time: Lightning versus Penguins preview

2010-03-14T16:45:55Z

WHERE: St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
WHEN: 5 PM EDT
MEDIA: Sun Sports (cable), 620 WDAE (radio)
OPPONENT COVERAGE: Pensburgh, From The Point

The Bolt, are trying to keep their playoff hopes alive and have kept pace in the east East with Friday's remarkable win against the Washingotn Capitals. "Remarkable" because the team did it while playing the second of back-to-back games, and while the team was without the likes of Mattias Ohlund and Ryan Malone.

Oh, yeah, and they took on the current beast-of-the-East, the Washingotn Capitals, and came out with two points after they fell to the likes of the Toronto Maple Leafs (the least-of-the-East) the night before.

And now the Lightning face the Eastern Conference's second ranked team, the reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The Lightning need to keep their game raised in this afternoon's battle - on par and above their Friday night effort... And they need to find more consistency in keeping that level of play through the last month of the regular season.

The Penguins have had their own problems with consistency this season, and are coming off a loss to the Devils on Friday night. They'll be looking to rebound with easy pickings in Tampa... But then again? That's what I figured about last time these two teams met up just after new-years. The Lightning ended up winning that contest 3-1 and the Penguins would continue on a losing torrent the next few games before rightign the ship.

With the firepower that the Penguins boast, it's odd to note they are ranked 21st in the NHLon the power play (17.2%) while the Lightning are 11th (19.2%). The Pens have the 9th ranked penalty kill (83.3 %) as to the Lightning's 22nd ranked PK unit (80.3%). All in all, these teams matchup evenly on special teams -- a strength versus strength, a weakness versus weakness. It may very well render special teams play moot.

The teams are also quite even with the goals-against per game, the Lightnign are ranked 22nd (2.98 goals allowed per game) while the Pens are ranked 21st in the league (2.89 goals allowed). The diference comes down to offensive output at even strenth, where the Pens have the clear advantage.

The focus will be on star Sidney Crosby and blossoming Steven Stamkos, who had his eighteen game point streak put to rest on Friday. If Pittsburg focuses on stopping Stamkos, it opens up the game for the rest of the Lightning offense much like it did on Friday.

Zenon Konopka will again be out for the Lightning while Ohlund and Malone remain questionable.

Other Previews

Tampa Bay Lightning official team preview

TBO

TSN