Bolts Rally, Spoil Richards Return

By JC De La Torre

Vincent Lecavalier wasn't about to allow his bud Brad Richards get the last laugh. Lecavalier scored twice (including the eventual game winner) and added an assist to rally the Lightning past the Dallas Stars 4-2. It was also the first time Tampa Bay has beaten Dallas in Tampa Bay since 1996.

The game marked Brad Richards return to the place he started his NHL career and won the Stanley Cup. Lecavalier opened the scoring just 1:33 into the game with a short handed goal. 20 seconds later, Richards answered on the power play to tie the game at 1. It would stay 1-1 until the 4:19 when Richards assisted on a goal by Loui Eriksson to give the Stars the lead.

Tampa Bay tied the game midway through the third by converting a Dallas turnover in their own zone into Steven Stamkos' blast from the low slot. At 14:54 of the third, Lecavalier rocketed a blast past Stars goalie Marty Turco that seemed to sizzle the net, put the Lightning in the lead and left his teammates and coach talking.

"That was a goal in any league," Lightning and former Stars Goaltender Mike Smith told the St. Petersburg Times.

"Not many guys in the league can score goals like that," coach Rick Tocchet added, "That was a special goal."

Lecavalier would assist on Vaclav Prospal's empty net goal to provide the final margin.

Tampa Bay improved to 15-21-10 and now are only 10 points out of a playoff spot. Tampa Bay lost the services of Evgeny Artyukhin, who was suspended for two games by the NHL for a knee-to-knee hit on Florida's Ville Peltonen.

Lightning Dominate Philly, Lawton Says Team Not Shopping Vinny

By JC De La Torre

Amid the dark clouds descending from the north, Vincent Lecavalier and the Tampa Bay Lightning put together one of their better efforts of the season, dominating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 during their return to the St. Pete Times Forum.

"He is not being traded today. He's not being traded tomorrow. He's not being traded any time soon. This should put everything to rest," Lawton told the Tampa Bay media in a hastily called presser, "Normally our club policy is to not address rumors. Obviously with Vinny Lecavalier's situation, there has been a lot of speculation floating around - completely unfounded, I might add, Vinny Lecavalier is not being shopped by the Tampa Bay Lightning. It would be erroneous of me to say that people haven't called me on Vinny Lecavalier because they certainly have, and that has started literally from the day that I took this position. Why would something like that happen? Because he's a great player." One would hope that Lawton's forked-tongue is not giving us lip service this time around.

The shame is the fiasco has taken away from a pretty solid run by the Lightning, who now have gone 7-4-1 in their last 12.

After a scoreless first, Philadelphia's Joffrey Lupul opened the scoring on the power play at the 5:21 mark of the second. Tampa Bay tied it at the 14:48 mark on a beautiful blast from Martin St. Louis. The goal would start a rare Lightning eruption of offense with three goals in two minutes and three seconds, Andrej Meszaros on the Power Play and Ryan Craig a minute later.

The victory was cemented by Lecavalier who had his stick snapped during a breakaway, setting up a penalty shot at the 12:34 mark of the third. Lecavalier slowed on his approach, deked, and put the puck between Martin Biron's legs for the goal, giving the Bolts an insurmountable 4-1 advantage. Tampa Bay outshot the Flyers 44-34.

"They're a pretty good hockey team with a lot of pride," Philadelphia coach John Stevens said to the St. Pete Times, "They're getting better all the time. They had a lot of desperation in their game tonight."

Still the focus was on the circus surrounding Lecavalier.

"The last four or five days, especially the first two or three days ... I want to say I wasn't distracted, but I was, I think anybody would because these were rumors that had a lot of legs," Lecavalier told the Tampa Tribune, "But it was nice to go out there and play, when you're on the ice, you don't think about what goes on outside the rink."

Even the Lightning's players find the talk of Lecavalier being traded hard to stomach.

"We're all teammates here," Ryan Craig told the St. Petersburg Times, "We don't want to see anyone from our group go, especially our leader and captain."

"To even think about trading a guy like that, I don't know," added Goalie Mike Smith, ""You don't like to hear rumors that go on, and obviously it's going to happen. The good teams don't worry about what's going on in the media, and try just to play hockey."

"Vinny is a professional," Martin St. Louis told the AP, "I thought he was great out there. It's just the nature of the business. We've just got to be strong mentally."

Tampa Bay is 14-20-10, good for 4th in the Southeast Division and twelfth in the Eastern Conference. Believe it or not, Tampa Bay is now only 9 points out of a playoff spot.

Memo to Lightning Brass - Trade Vinny and They'll Be Hell to Pay...

By JC De La Torre

Trade winds are blowing in Tampa Bay and I don't like it one bit. The Canadian press is buzzing about the possibility of Vincent Lecavalier being pried out of Tampa Bay and into the sweater of the most revered franchise in hockey, the Montreal Canadiens. Lecavalier to the Habs is nothing new. Every year there are rumors about Lecavalier and Montreal simply because the fans and media of the Canadiens have a long distance love affair with the French Canadian. Montreal hasn't had a French Canadian superstar in quite some time and has lusting over Lecavalier since former Lightning Owner Art Williams called him "The Michael Jordan of Hockey". Most of the rumors were unsubstantiated B.S....but for some reason, this time feels a bit different.

TSN's Darren Dreger stated in his January 13th column, "The discussions have taken place (between Lightning Ownership and the Canadiens); however what Tampa owners are wrestling with is the short term financial impact of such a bold move versus the long-term hockey benefits expected in the return."

Considering this is the same group that signed Dan Boyle to a mega-deal during the 2007 season only to trade him the next off-season and who traded Brad Richards even after they said they wouldn't, its difficult not to believe the chatter. Rumors are also rampant that the ownership group, OK Hockey, is struggling to meet the financial demands of owning a sports franchise and this may be some money making venture.

"These questions and rumors, I've been getting them my whole career," Lecavalier told the St. Pete Times, "I've been getting a lot of phone calls from friends back home, people wondering what's going on. I tell them they're rumors. That's about it."

Oren and Len...don't do it or they'll be hell to pay. Its not about Lecavalier, players come and go - its about trust. Its about loyalty. Its about having your fans believe in what you are doing because bottom line - if there's no fans, none of you make money. If there are no fans, you won't get TV or radio deals. If there's no fans, there's no franchise. The Tampa Bay fans came into your ownership with an open mind. We were tested when you traded Brad Richards, but allowed it to pass because it meant we'd keep Dan Boyle and received a decent goalie in Mike Smith. We were tested again when Stanley Cup winning head coach John Tortorella was fired for-of all people-Barry Melrose. We were tested once more when Boyle was dealt away for -of all people- Matt Carle. We were tested yet another time when management went crazy, signing every forward with a pulse. We were tested for the final time when Melrose was canned and Rick Tocchet was elevated. There are so many tests one fanbase can take.

The St. Pete Times' Columnist Gary Shelton said it best, "If the team trades away Vinny Lecavalier, it is also trading away one of the last reasons to believe in it. " Vincent Lecavalier is one of the last remaining shreds of dignity this franchise has. He is still one of the elite players in the league and at 28 is entering his prime. The fans know Vinny, they identify with Vinny, he is without question the face of the franchise - its greatest player in its history. When you think of the Lightning, you think of Lecavalier. If he is gone, what is left to believe in? I could take Richards. I didn't like it but I understood the god awful salary cap situation the hockey team was in. I could even take Boyle - I thought it was a horrible deal for Tampa Bay, San Jose fleeced them, but it was pure and simply a salary dump to make up for the spending frenzy during free agency. I hated the firing over Tortorella - it was an awful decision made worse by the hiring of the scumbag Barry Melrose. I totally agreed with the firing of Melrose and understood that Tocchet was the only one of the staff qualified to take over for the interim. But not Vinny.

I could take the team trading away Malone, Smith, Martin St. Louis, Prospal (again), pretty much anyone on the roster - but not Vinny. Trade our 1st round pick...our next five first round picks - but not Vinny.

I pledge to you one thing - if Vincent Lecavalier is traded from the Lightning - I WILL NOT PURCHASE ANOTHER TICKET FOR A LIGHTNING GAME AS LONG AS OK HOCKEY REMAINS IN OWNERSHIP. If Lecavalier is dealt, I won't watch the team on TV, I won't buy their merchandise, and I damn sure won't blog about them until OK Hockey sells. The Lightning will be dead to me. Its not about "being a fan of the jersey, not the players". Its the principle of the thing. The jersey is not treating me, the fan, right and I'd rather devote my hard earned income to a franchise that is - be it the Rays or the Buccaneers (but that's another gripe for another post). If the franchise only cares about making money, has no interest on the on-ice product or its image around the league or its integrity among the fanbase, why should I waste my time on them? At this rate, the franchise will be in Quebec City or Hollywood or Vegas or somewhere other than here. Maybe that's the end game for these guys, maybe they want to ruin this hockey club, destroy the fan base and relocate it somewhere closer to the next SAW movie.

Oren or Len...I don't know if you're reading this or if you even care but I implore you to show this fanbase that you care. Do not trade Lecavalier. If you need to cut costs, find other avenues other than trading our best player. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Listen to the sports radio shows or read the newspapers comments sections online or other bloggers like myself. You've had a series of bad mistakes, we know - it happens. You guys are new at this and you're bound to foul up a few times in the early going. But this goes well beyond a mistake. This would be the death knell for the franchise, something it may take a decade to recover from. Sure, the automatic cop-out was "Gretzky got traded, anyone can be..." but this is different than Gretzky. As much as he meant to the Oilers franchise, it was still going to be supported after he was gone. The league wanted it to happen because they wanted the NHL to succeed in the second largest market in America. He wanted to leave to be closer to his new wife, Janet Jones. The Oilers still had Messier, Fuhr, and the dynasty of four Stanley Cups. The Oilers lived on past Gretzky.

Lecavalier is the franchise in Tampa Bay, without him - we have nothing. There's nothing left to make us believe in YOU the ownership or who you've hired to run the team or the collection of players you've assembled.

We have reached a crossroads. For you as owners, we as fans, for the Lightning as a viable franchise. Not Vinny, Len and Oren. Not Vinny.

VICTORY! Tampa Bay gets Tocchet His First Victory

By JC De La Torre

The Tampa Bay Lightning got two goals from Vincent Lecavalier, 3 assists from Ryan Malone, and 34 saves from Mike Smith as they pounded the Nashville Predators 4-1 to give interim Head Coach Rick Tocchet his first coaching victory.

The Lightning wasted little time jumping on Preds goalie Dan Ellis as at the 4:57 mark of the first, Lecavalier connected on an open net rebound for a power play goal. A couple minutes later, Lecavalier was back on the ice, found a loose puck and ripped a slapper past Ellis to stake Tampa Bay to a 2-0 advantage. Jordin Tootoo got the Preds on the board at the 10:40 mark of the first with his 3rd goal of the season, a seeing-eye blast from the glass. Two minutes later, Recchi would reestablish Tampa Bay's two goal lead with a tip in off a scrum, his 4th of the season. It was 3-1 Bolts after one period.

In the second period, Prospal found a rebound after a scrum, depositing it for his 4th of the season to stake Tampa Bay to a 4-1 advantage. The Lightning defense killed 7 Nashville power plays as Mike Smith continued his sensational play, especially in the second period where he made 15 of his 34 saves.

The Lightning improve to 6-7-6, 18 pts, snapping a 5 game winless streak. The Lightning move into third place in the Southeast division and 11th in the conference (3 points out of a playoff spot).

Rally Falls Short, But Bolts Are Turning it Around

By JC De La Torre

Under former Head Coach Barry Melrose, the Tampa Bay Lightning looked like dead men skating. Under new interim Head Coach Rick Tocchet, the team showed passion, guts, and determination in blistering a Lightning team record 52 shots on goal and rallying from a 3 goal deficit before finally falling to their hated rival Florida Panthers in their albatross - the shootout.

Tampa Bay outshot their opponent in each of the 3 periods for the first time this season, but in the 1st it got them little, as the Panthers Bryan McCabe and David Booth found the back the net for a 2-0 lead. McCabe scored again in the 2nd period on the power play to stake Florida to a 3-0 advantage and seemingly insurmountable lead with stellar Panthers Goalie Tomas Vokoun between the pipes but midway through the 2nd, the game turned. Steven Stamkos, who played a career high 17:55 alternating between the top two lines and leading all Lightning players with 9 shots on the night, drove toward the net, setting up a scoring chance for the snakebit Radim Vrbata. Vrbata finally broke through, depositing the puck to cut the Panthers advantage to 3-1.

The goal energized the Lightning, who dominated the game from that point on. Tampa Bay drew within one on a Gretzky-esque play behind the net, feeding a charging Evgeny Artyukhin who jammed it in to cut the Panthers lead to 1. Defenseman Steve Eminger, acquired in the Matt Carle Philly deal, completed a 3 point night with his first goal as a member of the Tampa Bay Lighting and ended a goal drought of 63 games, tying the game at 3 with a blast from the point with only 2:51 left in the game.

That goal got the Bolts a point in the standings after being blown out (at least on the scoreboard) through the first half of the game. Tomas Vokoun may have been the only reason the Panthers emerged from this one victorious for Florida. Vokoun was outstanding, making 49 saves, including a stick check of Vaclav Prospal who was charging to the net, stopping a last second shot by Mark Recchi wide with a stick. Vokoun also benefited from a little luck, as with three second left in overtime, Paul Ranger's slapper went off the glove of a spralling Panthers defenseman and trickled wide.

Many of Steven Stamkos' minutes were spent alternating between Center and Right Wing on the number one line with Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis.

"I felt like I was in the game," Stamkos told the St. Petersburg Times, "I had a ton of shots and felt great. We dominated them tonight, outshot them and outplayed them in their end. When you're not winning, these games slip by you."

Tocchet agreed but still believed there was a lot to work on, "There were so many good things," Tocchet said, "(On the penalty kill that failed twice against the league's worst power play) We have to start boxing out a little better, The defense has to start taking sticks."

As for their sixth shootout loss, Vokoun was again the difference. After Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier and Jussi Jokinen and Florida's Stephen Weiss failed, Nathan Horton - Lightning Killer extraordinare, deked and found the back of the net past Lightning goalie Mike Smith. Martin St. Louis was stoned on his last chance, giving the Panthers the victory.

Tocchet took responsibility for another failed shootout for the Bolts, telling the Times, "It's probably our fault, we have not practiced penalty shots much this year. It's on my list, trust me, on the top."

"Tocch", as he's called by his players, better hurry as the shootout right now is the difference between Tampa Bay being near the bottom of the Eastern Conference and contending for a playoff spot. If Tampa Bay had just taken 3 of the 6 shootouts they have lost, they would be 8th in the Eastern Conference right now instead of 13th.

Signs of Life but still a Loss for Bolts, Melrose whines to HNIC

By JC De La Torre

While former head coach Barry Melrose whined to Hockey Night in Canada, the Tampa Bay Lightning definitely looked feisty and more passionate in the debut of new interim Head Coach Rick Tocchet, unfortunately, the results were the same as Tampa Bay fell to the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in a shootout. Tocchet's shorter shifts and reuniting of the MVP (Marty, Vinny, Prospal) line allowed for more scoring chances and kept the Bolts fresh for the 3rd period where they outshot Carolina 8-1, a dramatic turnaround from previous third period performances.

Tampa Bay's scorers were frustrated with their inability to convert on their scoring chances. Three Lightning shots hit goalposts and they were 1-for-6 on the power play including a 4-on-3 power play in overtime in which they had a man advantage for nearly two minutes.

"You get a 4-on-3, you need to score a goal, because then it can to a shootout, and then who knows," Martin St. Louis told the Associated Press, "I take full responsibility. I'm the guy that's out there, and I've got to get the job done, and I didn't."

Tampa Bay jumped to a 2-0 with a goal in the 1st by St. Louis and a power play goal in the 2nd period by Vincent Lecavalier. Carolina came to life in the second half of the 2nd period, getting goals from Wade Brookbank and Rod Brind'Amour. After a scoreless third period and overtime - the game went to a shoot out where Carolina shooters Tuomo Ruutu and Rod Brind'Amour scored on their attempts but Vincent Lecavalier was stoned and Jussi Jokinen hit the post to end it in favor of the Hurricanes.

"It's a step in the right direction," Tocchet said, "I thought the guys played well, I think they're really starting to get what we're trying to do here."

Meanwhile, former Head Coach Barry Melrose did the whine and cheese circuit over the weekend, getting interviewed by Hockey Night in Canada where he complained about the Lightning players not wanting to play for him and controlling the power in the organization.


According to an article in the St. Petersburg Times, Melrose told HNIC, "I think the players didn't want to play for me. I'm not a guy who sings Kumbaya around the fire. I'll let you know if I'm not happy with you.

"And obviously, a lot of guys didn't like to be held accountable with this team, and obviously, they went to (owners) Oren (Koules) and Len (Barrie) and said they don't like this style of coaching and 'would you get rid of him.' I don't think there was any secret about that."

True enough, there are rumors to that effect, which we discussed last week when we covered the dismissal of Melrose. But Melrose took it to the extreme, stating "the players have the power in the organization" and that they "exercised that power" with his firing.

"Now they can play who they want and how much they want and when they want and (not) demand a lot of them," he said. "Everybody's happy in Tampa right now."

This has not been mentioned in the rumors behind the termination of Melrose. While the players, it appears, definitely went to management asking for Melrose's head - its ultimately the owners Koules and Barry as well as Brian Lawton who ultimately made that call. I don't think there's any doubt who's in charge of the hockey organization and its not the players - as evidenced by the revolving door at the St. Pete Times forum.

For the record, Koules texted the St. Pete Times stating that Melrose comments were "absolutely not true".

So while one overmatched coach whines on National Television, there were glimmers of hope that the Lightning in the Tocchet era could be much more passionate and competitive than they were under Melrose. Now if only they'd stop hitting goalposts...

Bolts Finally Find First Victory for Melrose

By JC De La Torre

After three straight losses in overtime, Tampa Bay finally won one in OT, defeating the Atlanta Thrashers 3-2 to give new Head Coach Barry Melrose his first victory as Lightning head coach and the first coaching win for Melrose since April 6, 1995. Amazingly, despite the slow start, with the win over the Thrashers, the Lightning moved out of the cellar in the Southeast division and are only 2 points out of first place.

The formula appeared similar for Tampa Bay. The Bolts raced to a 2-0 lead going into the third period on goals from Mark Recci and Vinny Prospal, then watched in horror as they blew the two goal lead. At 6:37 of the third period, Colby Armstrong pulled the Thrashers within 1 goal from Todd White. Then with only 0:36 seconds left in the game, Todd White broke Tampa Bay's heart with a goal, tying it at 2 and sending it back to overtime.

The Lightning would get a break in the extra session. Thrashers Center Bryan Little would get called for tripping Marty St. Louis, giving Tampa Bay a 4-3 man advantage. The Bolts would take advantage, as St. Louis snuck around a a defenseman and charge the net drawing the D to him, he then set a nice drop pass to stick of Vincent Lecavalier who blasted it in for the game winning goal.

It was one of the better performances of the season for Tampa Bay, as they outshot the Thrashers, 36-33, and had their lowest penalty minute total of the season, just 6, all of which occurred in the second period.