SB Nation - David Hale

Lightning defenseman Lukas Krajicek on waivers

John Fontana — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:37:56 -0000

More photos » by Graham Hughes - AP

Defenseman Lukas Krajicek has been placed on waivers by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Krajicek, who is making just less than $1.5 million this season, is exposed to all 29 NHL teams and anyone can claim him.

It's unknown right now if the Lightning will send Krajicek to the AHL if he passes through waivers. Recall last year that the Bolts tried to "light a fire" under forward Jussi Jokinen by exposing him to waivers. Krajicek has one point this season for the Lightning in 21 games and is an even plus / minus.

Krajicek is a member of an over-stocked Tampa Bay blueline, where the team has carried nine defensemen. The Lightning are still carrying nine, with defenseman Matt Smaby only having played in one NHL game this season with thanks to Krajicek, David Hale and Kurtis Foster in front of him in the eyes of head coach Rick Tocchet. The Lightning also have defenseman Paul Ranger, but Ranger has not been with the team for several weeks after leaving to deal with personal issues.

NHL gets Jovanovski suspension right

zyllyx — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:46:07 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

7 days ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Ed Jovanovski (55) checks Minnesota Wild's Andrew Ebbett, bottom, as Coyotes' Robert Lang, right, of the Czech Republic, tries to avoid the collision in the third period during an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes defeated the Wild 2-0. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Browse more photos »

Don't skate with your head down. Bad things will happen.

If you've ever played a single shift of competitive contact ice hockey, that is one of the first lessons you are taught. You either learn that lesson from your coaches... or from the little birdies that circle your head after you get destroyed by an opponent with better situational awareness than you have.

That's why some Phoenix Coyotes fans are peeved today that Ed Jovanovski will be missing the next two NHL games for the team.

But with all due respect to my fellow fans, I think they need to do what Jovo himself has to do - suck it up and take it like a man. (Even the women.)

In Monday night's game against the Minnesota Wild, Jovanovski caught Wild forward Andrew Ebbett skating into the offensive zone with his head down. As Ebbett swept towards the right half-boards, Jovo skated to intercept. The big Coyotes blueliner caught Ebbett with his forearm and left glove hand smack in the head, and Ebbett crumpled to the ice with blood flowing from a glove-induced cut. Ebbett would get back to his feet but stumble around the ice until the referee's whistle about twenty seconds later.

If you haven't seen the hit itself, here it is:

Now, it's pretty clear that Ebbett had his head down and was more concerned about his skating than the rather large Coyote curling on a collision course with him. There should be no question about what Ebbett deserved for his inattention - the euphemism is "getting rubbed out," but it really means being suitably destroyed by a hard check.

It's pretty obvious that Jovanovski got the job done. What's at issue is the tools he used and how he used them.

Jovo apologists naturally believe that the smaller Ebbett's size was the reason why Big Ed's forearm connected with the Minnesota forward's face (the argument being that Jovo would have to be on his knees to deliver a body check on a guy that small). There's enough gray area in the height differential, they say, to make the hit at least questionable instead of the cheap shot that it obviously was.

The referees apparently agreed, because Jovanovski didn't get penalized at all for the play. Some Coyotes fans believed that the non-call proved that the hit wasn't dirty (although the idea that a non-call should indicate that a hit is clean is an ironic one, considering the hue and cry over hits like Patrick Kaleta's destruction of Petr Prucha which led to no penalties or suspensions for Kaleta but drew an instigator and misconduct for Martin Hanzal, who fought Kaleta after the hit).

But, for once, Colin Campbell and the League of Extraordinarily Subjective Gentlemen that make up the NHL disciplinary office got the post-game call right. The suspension was the right call because head shots like Jovo's are a completely unnecessary and hazardous part of the game of hockey and should be punished quickly and decisively. The idea that head shots are unavoidable is ridiculous and hockey players know it - they simply take advantage of the erroneous fan sentiment to the contrary and the historic subjectivity of the league to get away with them (see: Mike Richards and David Booth).

This is not to say that the league should take physicality out of the game. A head-shot-free NHL would simply require players to modify their aim a bit. And that's the truth, no matter what the hysterical traditionalist lobby would have you believe. More truth? Head-shotting is the lazy player's way of body checking. It is a cheap facsimilie of a hockey play that once was the prime method of separating a player from the puck. A head shot is as lazy and reprehensible for players who want to play the game right as it would be for a skater to skate with his head down or admire a pass crossing the offensive blue line.

If there is a reason for Coyotes fans to be outraged at the NHL for Jovanovski's suspension, it should be because the league still applies arbitrary and subjective criteria to head shots instead of a consistent and serious penalty for the offense - in other words, that Jovo should (rightly) be penalized and others are (wrongly) left untouched. The fact that the NHL does not take decisive unilateral action only serves to make the problem worse - leading fringe players to try and get their names out on ESPN, TSN, and YouTube by head-shotting an opponent and thereby raising their profile, or more "mainstream" players to do so to create a reputation of toughness in the league that will help them when contract negotiations are up. In other words, as long as there is no concrete and devastating penalty for head-shotting, it will remain a viable (and, in some cases, unpunished) course of action for players.

Fortunately for the Coyotes, they can play and win with Jovanovski out of the lineup. So fans shouldn't worry too much about the effects of Big Ed's suspension. But even if we had to roll with someone like, say, David Hale or Matt Jones on the blueline as a result, I would think that the bigger issue would be what we would have to live with if Jovo got away with a cheap shot. The Coyotes are already under the gun because of the NHL's ownership and the attitude towards our market - adding "cheap-shotting" to the list of our perceived crimes against hockey is something we could live without.

New Jersey Devils Win with Late Tip-in Goal over Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2

John Fischer — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:27:09 -0000

More photos » by Rich Schultz - AP

Tampa Bay Lightning's goalie Antero Niittymaki is seen here actually having to do something. Zach Parise looks on as part of a Devils offense that really wasn't much of a threat tonight. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Browse more photos »

I am ardent believer that a not-so-good-looking win is superior to a "good" loss. I don't have the pretension of "playing beautifully" or that it is better to be "attacking" and lose rather than "hold back" and win. This is a results-oriented business and on that alone, I'm glad the New Jersey Devils defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2. It is the first regulation win over Tampa Bay this season and makes the season series 3-0-0 in the Devils' favor. All thanks to a Jamie Langenbrunner tip on a shot by Andy Greene with 38 seconds left to play. Don't tell me there's no drama with the Devils. In any case, the win is especially nice to have with a more intriguing opponent coming to the Rock tomorrow in the Detroit Red Wings.

That all said, this was definitely not a great win for the Devils. I felt their performance could have and should have been better, especially on offense. I'll explain further after the jump. NHL.com has their recap up with links to the boxscore, highlights, and more stats. For the Lightning perspective, check out Raw Charge later (tomorrow morning?) for a recap. Needless to say, given that the game was won with a

On a quick, pre-jump note, Tom Gulitti reports some potentially bad news. I didn't notice during the game, but Colin White wasn't available for the last 8 minutes of the game. According to Gulitti he left due to "lower body soreness," and he is questionable for tomorrow. I honestly felt he had an OK game, a few hits, a few takeaways, and good positioning. He's been part of the "big 4" since the loss of Johnny Oduya and Paul Martin, and his presence will be missed if he is significantly injured.

Let's cut right to what I found most frustrating about the game: the offense. It wasn't exactly a great game for Tampa Bay either. Both teams struggled to put shots on net, with Tampa Bay coming up ahead 24-19. But extra attention should be pointed to the home team first. The Devils' offense was particularly frustrating to watch. Tepid would be the nicest way I could describe their effort. In the first period, their forecheck was looking good, the Devils maintained more possession, and I felt they were just a bit off in their shooting. No problem there; but in the second period, they basically fell flat. I think they went 14-15 minutes with only one shot on net in the second before registering a few near the end. That's simply unacceptable.

After 40 minutes of hockey, the Devils had a whopping 11 shots on net and were down 1-0. Thankfully, the Devils' defense and Martin Brodeur held up well after Vincent Lecavalier's wraparound goal in the second. Yet, New Jersey completely forgot about concepts such as "aiming shots at the net," "taking the puck in yourself on an odd man rush," and "setting up in the opponent's zone" throughout the second. Antero Niittymaki had to stand on his head in the last Devils-Lightning game; but tonight, he just had to wait until the Devils actually threatened with a shot!

Thankfully, the offense was gifted three straight power plays by the Lightning to in the first half of the third, and even they took advantage. Brian Rolston let loose with a bomb right after Rob Niedermayer won the faceoff, which proved two things. First, winning faceoffs in your opponent's zone is very beneficial. Second, Brian Rolston's slapshot is a legitimate threat. While the Devils didn't do much with the second power play, Nicklas Bergfors was the target of a Tampa Bay giveaway to the slot by David Hale (good work by Vladimir Zharkov for forcing that play). While he was gifted the scoring chance, Bergfors did well for taking full advantage and putting the puck through Antero Niittymaki's goal. Despite 40 minutes of "not much," the Devils went up 2-1.

Yet after that, Tampa Bay decided that they should respond with some aggressive offense and got the Devils into a dooming cycle of clear-line change-clear from their own zone. So the Devils contributed next to no offense after their second goal and the Lightning were attempting to do the same with mixed results. Sometimes, this works for New Jersey. Tonight, it didn't. Eventually, Tampa Bay got the benefit of a power play of their own (Mark Fraser with a hook) and they, get this, set up a play. It was a beautiful quick series of passes that left Steve Downie all alone on Brodeur's flank for the easiest goal he'll score for a while and the game's equalizer. Of course only then did the Devils wake up and try to make some plays happen (most notably Matt Halischuk nearly putting in his own rebound, but was denied by a desparate Bolt defender).

Then the tip from Langenbrunner came in and that was the game. Yet as a final piece of evidence of how poor the Devils' attack was tonight, the Devils could have scored on the empty net but Patrik Elias missed. Need more proof? Check this out. Not one Devil had more than 2 shots on net. Not Parise, not Zajac, not Elias, not anyone. 2 was the max for any one player across the team. Here's another ugly stat: the Devils had 19 shots on net, 9 shots blocked, and 14 miss the net entirely in tonight's game. That's right, the Devils didn't even put half of their attempted shots on net. That's really unacceptable against any team, in my view.

I'm writing all this now and even I'm wondering how in the world they pulled off this win. I'm looking at this highlight video and I'm still amazed the Devils pulled this one out. I can't complain too much about the defense or Martin Brodeur; but the offense was really a sore spot tonight. I almost want to say that they won in spite of the lack of shots on net.

I do have to give credit to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Not that they should categorize their effort as great, or feel that they were "robbed." They didn't build on much of anything after the Vincent Lecavalier goal and outside of Steve Downie's goal, their power play was easily snuffed by the Devils' PK. Taking three straight penalties in the third period - one about a minute in, one right after Rolston scored, and one after the second penalty was killed - is definitely worthy of criticism. The awful, awful give away by David Hale definitely sticks out like a sore thumb. And despite Tampa Bay relying heavily on the their top two lines, they put up only 24 shots on Martin Brodeur.

But after a poor Boston game, their defense held up fairly well. They were very poised in their own zone, and especially on their blueline. It was very noticible that the Devils had to dump the puck a lot tonight, especially in the second period, because a Tampa Bay player was always on a Devil attempting to enter the zone. A few of them made big plays that saved some goals (I believe it was Krajicek who ensured Matt Halischuk's late drive didn't result in a goal off the rebound?). After reading about how poor they were, I felt they did pretty good tonight. And while he didn't get a lot of work, it's not like the three goals against were Antero Niittymaki's fault. He had no real chance on Rolston's blast or Langenbrunner's tip in; and while the Bergfors goal went between his legs, he was really hung out to dry on that one. I felt he was OK.

On the Devils side, I do have to give some credit to the call-ups from Lowell. Vladimir Zharkov and Matt Halischuk were flying out there, looking to leave a lasting impression on the Devils coaches. If not to convince them to stay up in New Jersey, then to convince management that they will be ready for the NHL very, very soon. Halischuk came close to scoring and he looked poised out there. Zharkov was good on the forecheck and forced a turnover that led to Bergfors' goal, earning his first assist in the NHL. And I do mean earn, you could easily tell that he was giving his all out there on the rink. We'll definitely see him in Devils red sooner rather than later. Rod Pelley got back into the lineup and threw 5 hits in 10 minutes to show that he can handle playing on an "energy" fourth line, as well as try to keep his job. On defense, Mark Fraser was steady in the 11:17 he played, but he took a dumb hooking call late in the game. Matthew Corrente looked solid but only got 6:17 because he was in the box twice for fighting - he wanted to show he can be "tough" when necessary. Corrente has been OK in limited minutes so far in his call up, you can get a sense that he can develop into a very strong defenseman in the future. They all stood out in my eyes tonight in one way or another. It'll be a tough decision to see who goes down as Jay Pandolfo and Johnny Oduya come back.

Again, this was not a great win, but it was a win and that's the important thing. No rest for the weary, though; as Detroit comes to the Rock tomorrow night. Thanks to all the readers and commenters out there. I'll have to comment a bit less as using my phone sometimes makes me miss some of the action as I frantically tap at the keys during breaks in the action. Still, I appreciate those who read and participated. Please leave all your comments about tonight's game in the, well, comments.

Smaby and Smitty to play; Bolts at Boston Bruins preview

John Fontana — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:36:13 -0000

WHERE: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
WHEN: 7:00 PM EST
MEDIA: Sun Sports (Cable), 620 WDAE (radio)

It only took 25 games.

It's certainly not the biggest news for the Tampa Bay sports world, nor is it anywhere near relevant to the general NHL populace, but defenseman Matt Smaby will finally lace them up tonight. It's been three months in the ~~making~~ waiting as Smaby has spent time on the bench, on conditioning stints and recovering from injuries so far this season -- but never had he been penciled intot he lineup.

The story goes that the Smaby had to wait his turn... David Hale, Kurtis Foster and Lukas Krajicek were all in front of him on a roster overstocked with defensive depth. Even with Mattias Ohlund's seven-game absence due to injury, Smaby didn't get any minutes.

That changes tonight. David Hale will be scratched to accommodate for Smaby in the lineup.

Mike Smith will be in net for the Lightning. Smith is 2-1-3 in his last five games between the pipes with a .913 save percentage and a 2.60 GAA over that span as well.

While the local beat has only just picked up on the lack-of-consistency story on the Lightning, Boston is at the other end of the conversation. The Bruins boast 9 players with double-digit point totals this season. The downside of this is that no one on the team has broken the double-digital goal scoring plateau yet this season. Patrice Bergeron (7 goals, 11 assists), Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder each have seven goals a piece.

With a steady offense and a steady hand in net (Tim Thomas -2.32 GAA and a .915 save percentage - and Tuukka Rask - 2.02 GAA and .929 save percentage), the B's find themselves in 2nd place in the Northeast division with 31 points in 26 games.

The Bruins boast a rather strong penalty kill unit (84.5% kill rate) and rather dismal power play (16.5% conversion rate). The team is averaging above 30 shots on goal a night (and then again, seeing they are playing the Lightning, who wouldn't expect that tonight?) and are allowing a little more than 28 shots a game.

This is the first of four meetings between the two teams. And while Zeke Konopka is a fearless fighter, I hope he knows better than to square off against Zdeno Chara.... Just a little bit of a weight, height and reach disadvantage there...

Other Previews

Tampa Bay Lightning official team preview

TSN.ca

Lightning Examiner

Game 28 Preview: Avalanche at Lightning

David Driscoll-Carignan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:00:13 -0000


Colorado Avalanche	5:30 MT / 7:30 ET / 12:30 GMT	Tampa Bay Lightning
14-8-5	November 30th, 2009	10-6-8
33 pts	St Pete Times Forum	28 pts
4th in West	Tampa, FL	8th in East

The Colorado Avalanche suffered a huge blow on Saturday when they lost David Jones to a torn ACL, but there's no time to dwell on the disappointing turn of events. The Avs begin a key 5-game road trip tonight in Tampa. Colorado slipped out of the top spot in the NW and dropped from 3rd to 4th in the Western Conference standings this week. They need to stop that slide quickly; seven teams are behind the Avs by just 5 points or less and Colorado needs points to stay ahead of them. Obviously, a few of those elusive 60-minute efforts would really come in handy this week...

Although the Avalanche don't face the Lightning all that often, there are a lot of familiar faces on the Lightning. Besides old friend Alex Tanguay, there are 5 other former players who've played for a NW division team: Mathias Ohlund (Vancouver), David Hale (Calgary) and Kurtis Foster, Stephane "That Ass" Veilleux, Todd Fedoruk (Minnesota). The Lightning also have notable players in Steve Stamkos, Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St Louis and some Victor Hedman fellow. Add in Jeff Halpern, who always seems to do well against the Avalanche, and you've got a lot of familiarity for a team

As you can see by the tale of the tape below, the Lightning, like the Avalanche, are relatively unspectacular on paper. Probably the most notable stats for the Lightning would be that they are 27th in the league in penalty killing and 29th in penalties taken. Not a great combination. The 17 penalty minutes per game is a bit misleading, however, as they include a lot of misconducts and coincidental fighting majors (forward Zenon Konopka has 9 majors and 3 misconducts and leads the league with 93 penalty minutes). In actuality, both teams average 4.2 times shorthanded per game.

A depressing stat to help your Monday get off on the correct foot: the Lightning are averaging about 600 more people per game this year in attendance.

Colorado			Tampa Bay
7th	33	Points	19th	28
10th	2.96	GF/G	18th	2.75
21st	2.93	GA/G	15th	2.79
20th	19.4	PP%	16th	20.2
16th	79.6	PK%	27th	76.2
30th	25.9	S/G	26th	27.8
26th	32.7	SA/G	23rd	31.8
29th	46.6	FO%	11th	51.3
12th	13.1	PIM/G	29th	17.0
Stastny	25 pts	Top Scorer	Stamkos	29 pts

Raw Charge

Avalanche vs Lightning coverage

Today in Colorado Avalanche History: 2007. Subbing for an injured Joe Sakic, TJ Hensick makes his NHL debut in San Jose.

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 21: at the Atlanta Thrashers

Cassie McClellan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:43:06 -0000

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Atlanta Thrashers in overtime 4-3.

Sorry for not posting a game recap for last night's game. It completely slipped my mind. Probably because I was thinking about this game since it was an earlier start than usual.

This game was not televised in either Atlanta or in Tampa. It was radio only for everyone. Which was unfortunate, since over the radio it sounded like a great game.

The Lightning came out with energy and outplayed the Thrashers for most of the game. In fact, they were ahead for most of the game right up until the last two and a half minutes of the third period. That's when Atlanta tied things up to send it into overtime.

A good part of the problem is that the Lightning don't know how to play with a lead. Many teams don't, so that's not too surprising. And a team that has placed at or near the bottom of the league needs to re-learn how to do that. If they can figure that out, then they'll win more of those games that would instead head into overtime and perhaps a shootout.

The story of this game were the three posts and one crossbar that was hit by Tampa Bay. Vincent Lecavalier hit two posts and Jeff Halpern hit it once, while Ryan Malone hit the cross bar. Four shots that could've potentially been four goals. Those shots, by the way, do not count as shots on goal because even if the goaltender had not been in net, they wouldn't have gone in anyways.

Faceoffs weren't that great for the Bolts. In fact, Atlanta's second goal that was scored was apparently right off of the faceoff. The Lightning won 46% of all of their faceoffs, which isn't awful. But they had been doing significantly better earlier this season. The best faceoff percentage on the night for the team went to Zenon Konopka (4-3, 57%), while the worse was Steven Stamkos (8-13, 38%).

Stamkos did finish with seven shots on goal with two assists, however, and had the game winner in overtime.

Malone had a great game. He had a goal, six shots on goal, a cross bar, and four hits. Oh, and he was a +2. The only other player on the Lightning that was a +2 was David Hale. Lecavalier sounded like he had a great game as well with five shots and 50% in the faceoff circle.

Antero Niittymaki had yet another solid game. Isn't it about time that the team officially name him their starting goaltender? He came up with some key saves and allowed the team to stay in the game. And he keeps his personal undefeated streak against the Thrashers alive.

Tampa Bay's next game is at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, 25 November. Start time is 7:00 pm ET.

The one who's yet to play

John Fontana — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:05:52 -0000

Have you seen this person? Missing since September 2009 from Tampa Bay Lightning lineup. (Photograph via cache3.asset-cache.net)

View full size photo »

Carrying extra defensemen has worked out well for the Bolts. It's allowed David Hale to impress Rick Tocchet, it's allowed the team to absorb the loss of Paul Ranger without any noticeable issues... It's still a consistent chance to rotate d-men who need a rest or need to recover (namely rookie Victor Hedman after Thursday night's hit by Chris Neil).

And yet, it's kept defenseman Matt Smaby out of games.

You do remember Matt Smaby, don't you? Averaged 19:05 minutes a game last season, was one of the bright spots in an otherwise abysmal revolving door on defense? Signed to a one-way contract in the offseason? Yeah, him.

What's the deal here?

On October 7th, Matt was sent down to Norfolk on a two-week conditioning stint. That went in the wrong direction, however, after Smaby sustained the ambiguous upper-body injury during an Admirals/Albany River Rats game ...

But was cleared to play again weeks ago....?

If Matt sustained a concussion, then concerns are moot and "get well soon" is the appropriate answer... We all know that concussions are not as easily recovered from as other injuries sustained on the rink -- and seldom do they do more permanent harm.

But that's not the case, as Smaby is skating with the team in practices and participating with drills. What exactly is the deal here? Is he somehow in Rick Tocchet's dog house? Hard to imagine he's accomplished this with absolutely zero playing time this season in teh NHL, but Tocchet didn't exactly heap praise on Smaby early last month:

As for Smaby, "His camp was just okay, and right now there are people ahead of him. That's just the lay of the land. It has nothing to do with him being a bad defenseman; it's just we have a lot of depth at that position."

In other words, Tocchet said, "He just has to wait his turn."

Some may say that Lukas Krajicek is being showcased in order to move him in the near future... But does that excuse the Bolts from letting Smaby sit and rust on the bench? Maybe it's playing the veterans because they provide the best chance to win? Doesn't exactly hold water as the defense hasn't been a rock this season so far.

With Victor Hedman not skating in practices at Bell Centre Friday, Saturday looked like it may have been Smaby's first chance at playing time this season... It could be his turn...

But alas, it's not. Kurtis Foster is due to return to action after being scratched the last few games.

So Smaby sits.

Again.

For whatever reason that is...

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 13: at the Toronto Maple Leafs

Cassie McClellan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:03:37 -0000

More photos » by NATHAN DENETTE - AP

Browse more photos »

The Tampa Bay Lightning won their first road game of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs – in overtime, no less – 2-1.

It was difficult to tell if this game was better for the Lightning or not. It’s no secret that the Leafs are struggling, so it may have been a game between two equal teams in the midst of their struggles as opposed to anybody actually playing better. But whatever the case, Tampa Bay pulled out the win.

Vincent Lecavalier scored his second goal of the season (as one person said on the game thread last night, he’s finally caught up to Todd Fedoruk). He also had six shots on goal as well as two hits. However, don’t be fooled by his seemingly better play. The Detroit Red Wings’ Steve Yzerman, the Hockey Canada Olympic team general manager, was in the crowd scouting. Interestingly enough, Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis were rather quiet, despite that. St. Louis did have four steals on the night, though.

It was an opportunity for Vinny to show Yzerman how he can play in person. Which isn’t to say that Lecavalier isn’t on the start of something good, and perhaps I’m being a bit cynical about this, but only time will tell if Vinny’s starting to work out of his mental slump or not. Still, any little bit helps – and you just never know what it might take to snap Lecavalier out of his funk. Hopefully, Yzerman’s presence did that.

Ryan Malone netted the game winner on a questionable play. He really should’ve gotten called for goaltender interference on the goal he scored in overtime. I’m not sure why they allowed that goal to stand, quite frankly – but I’ll take it. He had six shots on goal, as well as five hits. Jeff Halpern also had a pretty good night. But, again, that’s not so surprising when you consider that USA Hockey’s Olympic team general manager – and head coach – were in the building. Toronto’s Brian Burke and Ron Wilson are still deciding on Team USA’s roster as well.

In my opinion, the other stars of the night – besides Lecavalier – were Antero Niittymaki and Mattias Ohlund. I don’t think anyone can question that Niittymaki has quietly stolen the number one job away from Mike Smith. It’s just a matter of time before the coaching staff accepts that. Again, he was the best player on the ice for the Lightning. He made very few mistakes, was calm and competent, and was always where he needed to be.

And THAT was the Ohlund that I remember from the Vancouver Canucks. That’s how Mattias plays during playoffs, though. He’s not quite so intense, physical, and edgy during the regular season, so don’t expect that every game from him. But that’s how Ohlund can play while at the top of his game. I’ve been expecting a more toned down version of that all along, so it’s nice to see that from him.

The constant parade to the penalty box by the Lightning defensemen was not good to see. (Andrej Meszaros and David Hale were the only defensemen to not have a penalty called on them.) But even the Maple Leafs fans that I encountered afterward agreed that some of those calls against the Lightning weren’t necessary. Even though they lost the game, they were complaining about the officiating against Tampa Bay – and the fact that they only converted on one of the eight power plays that they were awarded (as compared to the three that the Lightning had).

So everyone knew and agreed that the officiating was definitely questionable. However, you shouldn’t have to depend on officiating to win a game. Thankfully, the Lightning figured that part out this time.

The Lightning were still outshot 32-41, but at least they managed more shots than they have been recently. Faceoffs were very poor agains the Leafs, with the team only winning a total of 39% all game. However, Zenon Konopka still won 71% of the ones he took (5-2). The team had 24 blocked shots, with Ohlund, Meszaros, and Matt Walker each blocking five. The Lightning also had 30 hits (as compared to the Leafs 13) with Malone and Ohlund each with five.

The next game is at the Ottawa Senators Thursday at 7:30 pm ET, and it will be televised in the Tampa area.

Today in Colorado Avalanche History

David Driscoll-Carignan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:46:41 -0000

November 3rd, 1999 - Claude Lemieux was traded to the New Jersey Devils. The Avalanche sent Lemieux, a 1st round pick (David Hale) and a 2nd round pick (Matt DeMarchi) to the Devils for Brian Rolston and a 1st round pick (Martin Samuelsson). Lemieux was just 13 games into his 5th season with the Avalanche.

Rolston would not spend much time in Denver. He and that first round pick (and Martin Grenier and Sammy Pahlsson) were traded to Boston just 4 months later for Ray Bourque and Dave Andreychuk.

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 10: versus the Ottawa Senators

Cassie McClellan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:15:21 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

Browse more photos »

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators at home 5-2.

Have you ever gone to a game with friends and afterwards started talking about what happened only to find out that the game you saw was nothing like the game everyone else saw? My sister and I would do that all the time. It finally got to the point where we’d ask each other how the game she went to was on the drive home.

That’s how this game was for me. On the game thread last night, everyone else all saw something completely different from what I saw. (Which, by the way, anyone is always welcome to join in on.) So if you don’t agree with my assessment, that’s alright since no one else seemed to, either.

I thought that they came out flat. Both teams. There wasn’t a lot of energy, and everyone – particularly the Lightning – looked tired. There was a lot of skating, but not a lot of jump. Vincent Lecavalier was one of the worst in not looking like he was physically ready to play. Mentally he was there, but physically, he did a lot of standing around looking pretty. And Martin St. Louis wasn’t that much better, either.

St. Louis had a penalty shot early in this game. I think that strip shootout game really lowered his self-confidence when it comes to skating one-on-one with a goalie. He didn't score - he shot high and wide - but he didn't look very comfortable doing it from the outset, either.

Steven Stamkos was on, tho. He had a fantastic game – the guy was everywhere. He had six shots on goal, was 11-5 in the faceoff circle (winning 69% of his faceoffs), and ended the night with two goals scored and an assist. Ryan Malone had a good night, too, with one goal (his eight on the season) and his first assists, if you can believe that. He also won both of the faceoffs that he ended up taking.

Alex Tanguay finally scored his first goal of the season, and it was a very nice one. He had had a breakaway chance earlier in the game that was stopped by a good Ottawa goaltender. David Hale and Kurtis Foster also had pretty solid efforts

And Mike Smith had a great night as well. Don’t let those two goals that Ottawa score at the end of the night fool you. Smith stood on his head when necessary. He looked very comfortable and very confident in net. And that’s definitely a good thing.

The best line of the night, tho, was the Todd Fedoruk, Zenon Konopka, and Steve Downie line. It’s not often that you can say that about a fourth line, but those guys together have been consistently the best line for the Lightning so far this season. Unlike the other three lines, they’ve really clicked. They’re tough, very disciplined, and can actually score. And Konopka is just amazing at faceoffs – which, really, who knew? I hope Tocchet and company keeps them together for a good long while.

Finally, let’s all welcome James Wright to the NHL. He’s played his 10 NHL game, which means he can’t be sent back to his major junior team, the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. So he is now an official NHLer. Enjoy the start of a sooner-than-expected, shiny new NHL career.

As a side note, the Tampa Bay Lightning have reached 11 points in the standings with this win. Last season, they'd made it to 10 points in 13 games. This season, it only took 10 games. So that is definitely an improvement. Though, it could've been done sooner with some of those shootout losses from earlier this season.

SB Nation - David Hale

Lightning defenseman Lukas Krajicek on waivers

NHL gets Jovanovski suspension right

New Jersey Devils Win with Late Tip-in Goal over Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2

Smaby and Smitty to play; Bolts at Boston Bruins preview

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines

Forward Lines:

Defense:

Other Previews

Game 28 Preview: Avalanche at Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 21: at the Atlanta Thrashers

The one who's yet to play

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 13: at the Toronto Maple Leafs

Today in Colorado Avalanche History

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 10: versus the Ottawa Senators