SB Nation - Stephane Veilleux

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 32: at the Chicago Blackhawks

Cassie McClellan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:00:30 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0.

Despite the score, it wasn’t a bad game by the Lightning. And when I say "bad", I mean "awful". They did some good things, but weren’t lucky enough to convert anything.

Of course, they were out-shot – 29-18 in this instance. And the overall team faceoff winning percentage wasn’t that great at 44%. But they did get some scoring chances early on. And their penalty killing looked very good, especially with the two back-to-back five-on-threes that they had to kill off.

But the power play was ineffective, they took far too many undisciplined penalties, and the defense could play well everywhere but right in front of Antero Niittymaki.

And then there’s the lack of scoring.

The players were making the effort to score, however. Kurtis Foster had five shots, Martin St. Louis and Stephane Veilleux each had three shots, and Steven Stamkos with his bum wrist had two shots on goal. On the scorer’s sheet, the official tally for Vincent Lecavalier was only one shot on goal, but that doesn’t count the three attempted but blocked shots he had, and the two missed shots he took as well.

The problem with scoring is that they’re a perimeter team. The only player willing to consistently put himself in front of the net is Ryan Malone – which is why he has so many goals this season. No one else is willing to take the abuse required to camp out in front of the other team’s goalie. Everyone else is more than happy to stay to the outside and take those long shots that most goalies see coming from a mile away.

The problem with the defense is that the defensemen are jumping into plays and leaving the back end exposed to breakaways, while the forwards are playing too deep. No one’s setting up plays – they all just dive in and hope for the best. You can’t have that. You have to have some kind of on-ice structure spelled out and executed. Guys have got to play their positions at all times, not try to force scoring and therefore giving up their defensive positioning. Scoring is just half of the game.

The next game is at the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, 15 December, at 8 pm Eastern.

Lightning vs Blackhawks coverage [SB Nation]

Second City Hockey [SB Nation Chicago Blackhawk's site]

Lightning vs Blackhawks recap [TSN]

Lightning vs Blackhawks boxscore [TSN]

Poll

Should head coach Rick Tocchet be considered on the hot seat?

Yes

68 votes

No

43 votes

Don't know.

7 votes

118 votes | Poll has closed

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 18: at the Phoenix Coyotes

Cassie McClellan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:16 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Browse more photos »

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1.

Because of the time difference – and having to wake up for work this morning – I was only able to watch the first two periods of this game. The three guys who have had problems scoring this season scored all of the goals on the night, and the guy that’s been struggling in net won the game. And, most importantly, they did all of this in regulation time.

Vincent Lecavalier opened and ended the scoring, breaking his eight-game goalless streak, and scoring his third and fourth goals of the season. Martin St. Louis broke his 13-game goalless streak with his fourth goal of the season. And Alex Tanguay also scored his fourth goal of the season.

Seem to be a lot of fourth goals being scored there. Strange. Mike Smith bucks that number four-trend with getting his third win of the season in a solid game for him.

Statistically, however, the Lightning lagged behind Phoenix in most categories. They were outshot 31-19. They only won 46% of their faceoffs – Steven Stamkos being the worst winning 2-11 (15%), while Zenon Konopka being the best winning 8-5 (62%). I would guess that the wrist that Stamkos jammed in practice last week is bothering him more than he’s been admitting.

They were out-hit 27-24. The usual suspects were throwing themselves around for the Lightning: birthday boy Stephane Veilleux and Andrej Meszaros both had three hits. Stamkos, a bit surprisingly, also had three hits as well.

Another surprising stat on the night was blocked shots. With Mattias Ohlund out with one of those ambiguous "lower body" injuries (he was reportedly wearing a supportive boot, however), some other players took up his slack. Interestingly enough, those two players were Ryan Malone and Lecavalier (two blocked shots each). That’s not exactly what you want from those guys, especially since blocking shots puts a player in a more likely position to get injured. But it is admirable that they were willing to sacrifice their bodies to help the defense and Smith out.

One more statistic of interest – the team is only carrying 21 players on this Western road trip. And one of those players, and previously mentioned, is the injured Ohlund. They’re allowed to have a 23-man roster. However, Matt Smaby and Ryan Craig were sent down to the AHL team in Norfolk on conditioning assignments – presumably because Tocchet and his staff didn’t anticipate that they’d be played these two games.

Overall, this was a great team effort. It was a solid game by everyone, and the big names were contributing like people have expected them to. It was an easy and confident win for a team that really needed one. Let’s hope that this is the beginning of something good for them.

The next game is against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, 19 November. Since it’s in SoCal (Southern California, for you non-West Coasters), it will be a 10 pm ET start. Ugh.

Let’s all take a moment and be thankful that most of the Lightning’s games are in the Eastern Time zone, okay?

Highlights (from NHL.TV)

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 15: at the Montréal Canadiens

Cassie McClellan — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:00:31 -0000

More photos » by Graham Hughes - AP

Browse more photos »

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montréal Canadiens 3-1 in Montréal.

Yes - it was a win on the road. Not only that, but in regulation. What will this crazy team think of next, huh?

Even though they won, it wasn't all sunshine and light. Martin St. Louis is still without a goal in ten games now. (Funny how it's okay to Tocchet that Marty doesn't have a goal in ten games, but it's completely unacceptable when Vinny does that - nice double-standard there.) Victor Hedman was out due to a mild concussion. And Antero Niittymaki had four turnovers, despite his great performance in net.

It was widely agreed upon that Vincent Lecavalier had a great game. He did only have one shot on goal, however. His two hits came in the first period, and then nothing after that. He assisted on the first two goals, so while he was playing well, he wasn't playing quite as well as people think. He was also only 50-50 in the faceoff circle - which was the best of anyone on Tampa Bay, sadly.

Attitude and moving your feet are everything, I guess. Which is why people thought Alex Tanguay also had a good game - and, admittedly, it was on of the better ones he's had this season. Tanguay did have a goal, after all. James Wright scored the third goal for the Lightning.

Ryan Malone also had a great first period, but then he sort of fell off as the game went along. He's one of the few Lightning forwards who aren't afraid to camp out in front of the opposing goaltender's net, which is probably where he's gotten most of his goals this season. It's certainly where he got his goal against the Canadiens. Both he and Stephane Veilleux had four hits each on the night.

Steven Stamkos was almost invisible. As was Jeff Halpern. And the fourth line was very quiet as well. So when the top line stepped things up, the rest of the team faded into obscurity.

Every game has its silver lining; but then, every game also has its share of rain. The Lightning did improve as their road trip wore on, but they still have a lot of work ahead of them. Their greatest challenge at the moment is to not let all of that momentum go to waste. They have a four-day layoff between games and they'll need to really work to stay sharp during that time. Otherwise, they'll end up starting again where they did before.

The Lightning's next game is Thursday, November 12^th, at 7:30 pm ET against the Western Conference's Minnesota Wild.

Tampa Bay Lightning Game 12: at the Philadelphia Flyers

Cassie McClellan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:20:32 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Browse more photos »

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 6-2.

I think that moving Vincent Lecavalier to the third line seriously backfired. Not on him specifically, though. Vinny had five shots on goal and was trying to play more physical, though he was a -3 on the night. And frankly, I thought that, so far, he's had the most chemistry with Stephane Veilleux and Drew Miller. No, moving Lecavalier to the third line backfired on the rest of the team.

The first rule of trying to manipulate your team is you've got to really know your team. And while Martin St. Louis might be the heart and soul of the Lightning, Lecavalier is their identity. He's their top guy, their star, their captain. And if he's not on their top line in that role, no matter how poorly he may or may not be playing, then suddenly they're not who they think they are anymore.

(Sports psychology should really be referred to as sports sociology when it comes to team sports - but I guess that's an entirely different story.)

The bottom line is that Lecavalier was moved to the third line, and the team crumbled like a bunch of stale cookies. St. Louis played particularly poorly - for him. He was still better than half the league, though. He did snap his 11-game point scoring streak, however.

Jeff Halpern seemed to be one of the few exceptions. He thrived with James Wright and Alex Tanguay. And Tanguay seemed to have played a bit better as well. Halpern scored his first goal of the season, which was a long time in coming.

The forward lines, while looking very insecure, are in a good configuration. As they stand right now, how they were tonight was the best so far this season in terms of chemistry. And yes, I can say that with a straight face even after watching the entire game.

The real problem, besides confidence, is the defense. I'm not sure what's going on with that. And I don't think the defensemen themselves know, either. I used to watch Mattias Ohlund very regularly when I lived in Washington State, so I'm very familiar with how he plays, and he's playing very poorly as compared to his time with the Vancouver Canucks.

And the rest of the defense doesn't look much better. They're good players, but they seem to lack direction and focus. Many of the mistakes that have led to goals so far this season have been made by the defense. And quite a few of the penalties that have been taken have also mostly been made by the defense.

And I think that's the problem for Mike Smith. The defense is inconsistent, so he's inconsistent - and lacking in confidence as well. Antero Niittymaki's steady and no-nonsense play probably doesn't help him much, either. At this point, the most consistent player for the Lightning has been Niittymaki.

The next game is against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre tomorrow at 7:30 pm ET.

Game Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at the Tampa Bay Lightning

Cassie McClellan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:30:22 -0000

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

Browse more photos »

WHERE: St. Petersburg Time Forum, Tampa, Florida
WHEN: 7:30 PM EDT
MEDIA: Sun Sports TV (Cable), 620 WDAE (Radio)

The Tampa Bay Lightning have a record of 0-1-2 going into this match, while the Southeast Division Carolina Hurricanes are 2-2-0.

The Lightning started out slowly in their last game with the New Jersey Devils, but managed to pick it up for the second and third period. A freak goal with one second left in the game tied it up for the Devils, sending the game into overtime - and then on to a shootout. The Lightning's shootout problems continue, and while they were able to pick up the point, they were unable to walk away with a win.

Kurtis Foster is still out, and now David Hale is out with the flu. Lukas Krajicek will be in the lineup to fill out the defense tandems. Otherwise, the lineup remains the same as the previous game with Stephane Veilleux staying on the top line with Vincent Lecavalier and Alex Tanguay.

Niittymaki will get his first start of the season.

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines

(updated October 10, 2009, by Raw Charge and is subject to change)

FORWARDS:

DEFENSE:

Mattias Ohlund | Victor Hedman
Paul Ranger | Matt Walker
Lukas Krajicek | Andrej Meszaros

GOALTENDERS:

Antero Niittymaki (Starter) | Mike Smith

Related previews from other sites:

Tampa Bay Lightning [Official team site]

Erik Erlendsson, Bolts Report [Tampa Tribune ]

Damian Cristodero, Lightning Strikes [St. Petersburg Times]

NHL.com

Yahoo! Sports

Check out the latest on tonight's opponent, the Carolina Hurricanes, at Canes Country.

Game Preview: New Jersey Devils at the Tampa Bay Lightning

Cassie McClellan — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:37:19 -0000

WHERE: St. Petersburg Time Forum, Tampa, Florida
WHEN: 7:30 PM EDT
MEDIA: Sun Sports TV (Cable), 620 WDAE (Radio)

The Tampa Bay Lightning go into this game with a 0-1 -1 record, while the New Jersey Devils are 0-2-0 to start the season.

In the previous game vs. Carolina http://www.rawcharge.com/2009/10/7/1074553/tampa-bay-lightning-game-2-at-the, the Lightning had great energy and were very aggressive. Expect to see some more of that tonight. Opening night festivities will heighten that, so the problem shouldn't be coming out flat but coming out too excited. Hopefully, that won't translate into making too many mistakes.

Kurtis Foster is still out, but at this time he is expected to make his return to the lineup on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes at home. Still no word on why Mattias Ohlund left the last game, but he is expected to play tonight as well. Matt Smaby was sent down to the Norfolk Admirals on a two-week conditioning assignment, so he is not with the team at this time. With Smaby's temporary departure, the team has only 22 players currently on the roster: 12 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goaltenders.

Veilleux was moved up to the top line with Vincent Lecavalier and Alex Tanguay against Carolina, and he's expected to start there tonight as well. As the second and third lines are set as they are, the only place for Steve Downie is the fourth line. Victor Hedman will now be playing with Ohlund, Hale with Meszaros, and the tandem of Ranger and Walker will stay the same.

Smith should be the starter.

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines

(updated October 8, 2009, by Raw Charge and is subject to change)

FORWARDS:

DEFENSE:

Mattias Ohlund | Victor Hedman
Paul Ranger | Matt Walker
David Hale | Andrej Meszaros

GOALTENDERS:

Mike Smith (Starter)
Antero Niittymaki

Related previews from other sites:

Tampa Bay Lighting [Official team site]

Erik Erlendsson, Bolts Report [Tampa Tribune ]

Damian Cristodero, Lightning Strikes [St. Petersburg Times]

NHL.com

Yahoo! Sports

Check out the latest on tonight's opponent, the New Jersey Devils, at In Lou We Trust.

2009-10 Tampa Bay Lightning season preview

John Fontana — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:00:17 -0000

SB Nation's NHL sites have been showcasing season previews for each of the 30 NHL clubs the past few weeks, leading up to the start of the new NHL season. James Mirtle has also reviewed each team over at From the Rink. Today it's the Tampa Bay Lightning in the spotlight.

Overview:

Upheaval and volatility are the first two words that come to mind when trying to summarize what Tampa Bay Lightning fans witnessed last season. The upheaval started in the forging of the 2008-2009 team by firing John Tortorella and replacing him with Barry Melrose – who hadn’t coached a professional hockey game in well over a decade. Add to it all the additions and subtractions during the 2008 off season, plus the laissez faire preseason and too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen management of the team, and the Bolts were set up to either defy the odds or sink to the bottom of the league.

…And sink they did.

52 players suited up for the Bolts last season in a constant revolving door. Melrose was fired after 16 games and Rick Tocchet was named Interim head coach for the remainder of the season. From that point on, things only got worse as the injury bug was rampant in Tampa as a poorly conditioned squad, due to Melrose’s preseason expectations, was required to play a more physical game under Tocchet. One by one, players dropped like flies, and the only thing that was left was to wonder which of the top three picks they would receive in the June entry draft.

Looking ahead instead of behind, the Lightning’s 2009-2010 campaign is as heavy in promise as it is with caution. Optimism can be had from any number of aspects with this team, but it’s a very cautious optimism as the scars and issues that dogged the franchise last season are still present in one form or another.

Who's In?

The off-season movement for the club started at the NHL Entry Draft where the Bolts selected Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman with the #2 overall pick. To compliment and tutor Hedman, the Lightning have also added fellow Swede and NHL veteran Mattias Ohlund to the defense. Continuing the defense revamp, the Lightning also signed free agents Matt Walker (Chicago) and Kurtis Foster (Minnesota) to further bolster the blueline.

On Offense, the big prize addition is left wing Alex Tanguay (Montreal), who will be paired with Vincent Lecavalier this season. Other offensive additions include Stephane Veilleux (Minnesota), Drew Miller (via trade with Anaheim), and Todd Fedoruk and David Hale (via trade with Phoenix). As of this writing, Brett McLean (Florida) is on the roster as a camp invitee and may be signed with the club.

In the crease, the Lightning added former Flyer goaltender Antero Niittymaki to serve as backup to Mike Smith. Niittymaki certainly brings an interesting dynamic to the Bolts: his indominable record against Southeast Division opponents (record of all clubs, last one is Atlanta). Third in the depth chart at goal is Dustin Tokarski, formerly of the WHL Spokane Chiefs. If any injuries should happen to either goaltender, he would most likely be the first option out of AHL Norfolk.

Of course the fun and games don't stop there! The Lightning hired fromer Dallas Stars associate coach Rick Wilson to their coaching staff in hopes offurther bolstering the defense from the top down.

Who's Out?

Who isn't out? After suiting up 52 different players last season, the Lightning were not going to bring everyone back for this go around. Some of the names that are gone include Evgeny Aryukhin (via trade with Anaheim), Radim Vrbata (not that he played much with the Bolts anyway -- via trade with Phoenix), Matt Pettinger (UFA), Jason Ward (Philadelphia), David Koci (Colorado), Marek Malik (UFA), Josef Melichar (overseas), Cory Murphy (New Jersey), Richard Petiot (Chicago), Mike McKenna (New Jersey) and Noah Welch (Atlanta).

One of the more controversial subtractions from the roster was the departure of left wing and fan favorite Vaclav Prospal, who was bought out by the club in order to clear budget space for the addition of Tanguay. Meanwhile, another loss was goalie Karri Ramo, who joined the KHL. The Lightning still retain his rights in the National Hockey League, however.

Behind the bench, assistant coach Mike Sullivan departed the team and joined the staff of the New York Rangers as well.

Team Strengths:

It's really hard not to look at the Lightning's top lines and be wonderstruck at the possibilities offensively. Team captain Vincent Lecavalier paired with fellow QMJHL alumnus Alex Tanguay leaves one excited. The trio of Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis will be paired again on the second line and is equally, if not more, formidable than the Tanguay/Lecavalier line (as of this writing, the role of right wing on the top line was still in question). To round this out, they have a solid 3rd line in Stephane Veilleux, Jeff Halpern and Drew Miller. So now it’s an offense that is capable of hitting you on three of its four lines. That's an aspect the Lightning have been suspect with for the past four seasons, as the Bolts have remained top heavy. Too top heavy, in fact.

Meanwhile, a new found strength is potentially the Lightning defense. With a versed crew of veterans and youngsters rounded out by defensive specialist Rick Wilson on the bench, the Lightning blueline looks to rebound from the troubles it had in 2008-2009 into something much more formidable this time around. The team's depth on the blueline is also an asset – especially for a position that is normally subjected to the bumps and bruises of the season. The Bolts plan on carrying eight defensemen and employing a regular rotation between starters and reserves, with the intention of keeping the lineup fresh.

Between the pipes, goaltender Mike Smith is back, healthy, and now backed up by the very capable Antero Niittymaki. While this may seem pretty ho-hum to many, Smith’s stats (2.68 GAA and a 0.916 save percentage) were great behind a porous defense decimated by trades and injury. Meanwhile Niitymaki’s record versus the Southeast Division (27-6-4 lifetime, including a 13 game winning streak against Atlanta) is quite formidable to say the least. The addition of Niittymaki could prove to be the most overlooked signing in the division this year, particularly if he can keep up his dominance against divisional foes Washington, Carolina, Florida and Atlanta.

For all of the sideshow antics of the ownership fight, General Manager Brian Lawton getting sole say in calling most of the shots for the makeup of the team is paying off. Lawton has shown this off-season that he may be an executive who knows what he is doing. And as long as he continues to be unhindered by too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen ownership meddling, the Bolts are likely to appear to be a much more stable and sane team regarding player personnel moves than they have in the immediate past.

Lastly, let me quote a former Tampa Bay athlete with thus: "I plan to become great, but how can you become great without experiencing the worst?" He’s got a point there, and those still with the club from last two seasons, the nucleus of this club, are well versed in the worst right now. The adversity of the recent past hasn’t killed or ruined talent on the Lightning’s roster, and odds are it could likely prove to be a motivating factor in the season ahead.

Team Weaknesses

The ownership circus is far from being settled. And, in fact, it has transitioned into a new phase as two potential billionaire investors – backed by separate bickering owners – are exploring the idea of buying into the club. What this means for the team when the dust settles is unclear, and should be looked at warily for a franchise that wants to return to respectability and competitiveness.

For all the talent that the Lightning have amassed on forward lines, there is a gaping hole at right wing that has not been sorted out so far this the preseason, and likely will not be settled by the start of the season. Add to the fact that none of the right wingers have really stood out during the preseason, and one has to wonder just how shallow the talent pool for the Lightning is past Martin St. Louis and Adam Hall? While Carter Ashton has stood out at times and impressed coaching, and while Dana Tyrell looks to be a future star – neither are ready to make the jump to the NHL at this time. In fact, Ashton was back to juniors on Friday night. And while Steve Downie had a very productive off-season while also maintaining some very good discipline thus far in the preseason, one has to wonder if he can keep it up all season long? Can he keep up with the likes of Vincent Lecavalier and Alex Tanguay on the top line, and not let his emotions and impulsiveness get the better of him?

Mike Smith has not played a regular season NHL game since January 30th, 2009, due to the lingering effects of post concussion syndrome. Antero Niittymaki also has had several hip surgeries in the past 41 months. Both players are said to be healthy and feeling fine at this point, but it’s still a point of concern as it’s a long NHL season. The Lightning’s most experienced netminder in the system, Riku Helenius, has all of 7 NHL minutes to his name. That’s not an inspiring statistic when questioning durability of the top two goalies with the Lightning. While Dustin Tokarski has done very well this preseason, he is still a prospect directly out of junior.

With all the positive additions on the defensive corps, negatives linger. Defenseman Paul Ranger did not play until Friday night in a scrimmage against their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. That makes one wonder if Ranger is too brittle to contribute to this Lightning team. Add to it that Andrej Meszaros is also recovering from a shoulder injury that ended his season prematurely, and you have two liabilities as integral parts of the blueline for the Bolts. And while defensive depth for the Bolts is something that can be crowed about, it’s also very easy to label it a liability as well. With so many warm bodies, there are still only so many roster spots. The team is likely to leave one talent or another off the NHL roster come the start of the season and not have the luxury of recalling said player with thanks to the likelihood someone would snatch him up through recall waivers. Mike Lundin was a victim of that midway through last season.

Then there’s the burden of proof regarding Head Coach Rick Tocchet in Tampa. Despite being more involved with his team and being well liked by his players, he produced a lower winning percentage than Barry Melrose in 66 games. This is his first Head Coaching job in the NHL, so it’s still open for speculation if Tocchet himself has the skill to coach and succeed – particularly with the implosion of the squad under his full control last season. In his favor is the fact he’s in charge of a healthy roster from the very beginning this time around, and instituted a conditioning program at the end of last season to prepare the players for this season. He was the one handing out conditioning assignments for the summer, was in charge of the training camp regimen, and is the one who will ultimately be making decisions regarding the opening night roster. He didn’t have that luxury when he came into the job last November. How much of a difference this makes, however, remains to be seen.

And in a round about way, one of the worst weaknesses that will follow the Lightning around this season is the Olympics. The hype leading up to the Games in Vancouver this February will become a distraction as the season progresses and national rosters are evened out. The Lightning have already had a good contingent of players attending their camps for their respective countries during the summer. Who does or doesn’t make Olympic rosters has all the makings of a grand distraction, especially with Vincent Lecavalier on the bubble to make Team Canada’s squad. Then there are the actual Olympics and the ceasing of league actions for two weeks that could ruin the momentum the Lightning might have going into the final stretch of the season. Which may be a blessing in disguise, depending on the injury situation at that point of the season due to a condensed NHL schedule.

Depth Chart (estimated):

FORWARDS

Alex Tanguay - Vincent Lecavalier - Steve Downie
Ryan Malone - Steven Stamkos - Martin St. Louis
Stephane Veilleux - Jeff Halpern - Drew Miller
Todd Fedoruk - Ryan Craig - Adam Hall
Zenon Konopka OR Brett McLean (reserve)

DEFENSE

Mattias Ohlund | Andrej Meszaros
Kurtis Foster | Victor Hedman
Paul Ranger | Matt Walker
Matt Smaby | Lukas Krajicek (reserves)

GOALTENDERS

Mike Smith
Antero Niittymaki

Predictions

Other Predictions and Previews:

After finishing 30th and 29th the past two seasons respectively, the Lightning should be in store for a rebound this upcoming season... Yet, there is a lingering wait-and-see approach with the team. Fans and media are skeptical because of the sideshow of ownership and the hype of the 2008 off-season was much like the hype of acquisitions from this very off-season.

But is it justified? Specifically the Bolts being looked at firstly for ownership drama when trying to gauge just what the team will do on ice. It’s may be a mistake to overlook the retrofit of this team and the difference from the beginning of last season and this season.

Assuming the injury bug does not decimate the roster (with a total of 305 man games lost), rising in the Southeast Division should be a given. While fairly certain that the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes will be the ones battling for the division title, this Lightning roster could very well be in the hunt for a playoff spot. Things need to jell and distractions need to take a hike... But the team is capable of rising in the East and contending.

(special thanks JD Weakland, who took the Victor Hedman photo used on this preview. View more of his team photography here.)

Poll

Where will the Lightning finish in the Eastern Conference?

15

2 votes

14

3 votes

13

5 votes

12

5 votes

11

1 votes

10

12 votes

9

17 votes

8

26 votes

7

25 votes

6

18 votes

5

7 votes

4

5 votes

3

7 votes

2

5 votes

1

10 votes

148 votes | Poll has closed

2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning

James Mirtle — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Ryan Remiorz - AP

Browse more photos »

Who's in: Todd Fedoruk, Kurtis Foster, David Hale, Victor Hedman, Drew Miller, Antero Niittymaki, Mattias Ohlund, Alex Tanguay, Stephane Veilleux, Matt Walker
Who's out: Evgeny Artyukhin, David Koci, Marek Malik, Josef Melichar, Cory Murphy, Matt Pettinger, Vinny Prospal, Radim Vrbata

Outlook: There's really no way around it: The Lightning's roster is in a bit of upheaval yet again this season.

Unlike last season, when the kooky brass acquired a boatload of forwards via free agency and didn't have room to play them all, this year's edition of the Bolts has too many NHL defencemen, as GM Brian Lawton added no fewer than five more bodies on the back end in the summer. Of the newcomers, Mattias Ohlund and 2009 second overall pick Victor Hedman are obviously welcome additions, but finding playing time for the rest of the gang could prove difficult.

Another solid addition is Antero Niittymaki in the backup role, and he could surprise by picking up quite a few starts should Mike Smith not be up to full speed.

Where there may be issues is up front, as there's a real drop off in depth after the top five forwards and injuries could expose that weakness. Bringing in Alex Tanguay on a bargain basement deal may be the only thing saving Tampa Bay from being one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, and his health and readiness will be a big factor in coach Rick Tocchet being able to ice two effective lines.

And you still look at this roster and wonder who will play the dirty minutes, at even strength and on the penalty kill.

I know this goes against the grain a little bit, but it's really not out of the question that the Lightning are picking in the top five for the third consecutive year come June. How ready Steve Stamkos and Victor Hedman are to be impact players will be the difference between another year as an also ran and joining the pack as a playoff contending bubble team.

X-factor: Victor Hedman

For a more in-depth Bolts preview, visit Raw Charge
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Bolts finish in the Eastern Conference this season?

1

8 votes

2

1 votes

3

0 votes

4

0 votes

5

1 votes

6

6 votes

7

17 votes

8

20 votes

9

20 votes

10

19 votes

11

14 votes

12

33 votes

13

29 votes

14

25 votes

15

16 votes

209 votes | Poll has closed

2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Minnesota Wild

James Mirtle — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:00:17 -0000

More photos » by Kyndell Harkness - AP

Browse more photos »

Who's in: Kyle Brodziak, Martin Havlat, Shane Hnidy, Petr Sykora, Greg Zanon
Who's out: Marc-Andre Bergeron, Kurtis Foster, Dan Fritsche, Marian Gaborik, Martin Skoula, Stephane Veilleux

Outlook: The fallout from the playoff miss wasn't pretty, and it started only a few days after the season ended with Jacques "Trap" Lemaire stepping down and GM Doug Risebrough walking the plank. Coming into the fold are two relatively lesser knowns, Chuck Fletcher as GM and Todd Richards as coach, and both will be charged with ridding the Wild of their boring ways.

The only question is: Do they have the cast to pull it off?

The biggest change in terms of personnel will see brittle sniper Marty Havlat take over for Marian Gaborik, and a healthy season from him would go a long way toward improving the Wild's goal-scoring abilities. Other than Gaborik, who was a relative non-factor for much of the season, the personnel changes were limited to losing a trio of depth defencemen, with the replacements coming in the form of Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy.

Even with such a solid defensive cast and Niklas Backstrom in goal, however, it's highly likely Richards opts for a far more aggressive style than we've seen out of Minnesota previously, so expect the goals for and against totals to rise. That's good news for the likes of Mikko Koivu, a rising two-way star, and bounce back seasons should be expected for Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Brent Burns, too, given their previous performance and potential.

That could very well all add up to a playoff reappearance, although this remains a team light on goal scorers, and the Wild could be on the outside looking in should Havlat, Koivu or a key blueliner go down.

X-factor: Petr Sykora

For a more in-depth Wild preview, visit Hockey Wilderness
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Wild finish in the Western Conference this season?

1

7 votes

2

2 votes

3

5 votes

4

4 votes

5

4 votes

6

15 votes

7

28 votes

8

24 votes

9

20 votes

10

30 votes

11

15 votes

12

7 votes

13

6 votes

14

3 votes

15

5 votes

175 votes | Poll has closed

2009-10 Minnesota Wild Season Preview

nathaneide — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:00:16 -0000

In conjunction with the rest of SBNation Hockey, and James Mirtle's From the Rink, today we bring you Hockey Wilderness' season preview for the 2009-2010 edition of your Minnesota Wild

Editor note: This is entire based upon the roster as of 9/23/09

2008/2009 Recap

The 2008-2009 season for the Minnesota Wild was one of massive ups and downs. What started in October and November as one of the most successful starts to a season in team history, suddenly devolved in December to an unmitigated disaster.

December was the worst month in the short history of the Minnesota Wild, and paired with the increased expectations based upon the start to the season, and the continued injuries to Marian Gaborik, set in motion the beginning of the end for Doug Risebrough and Jacques Lemaire.

2008-2009 was supposed to be the season where the Wild host a first round playoff series, get into the second round, and potentially ride a hot Niklas Backstrom further than that.

What instead happened was a season of a coach losing his players, a general manager losing his fanbase and a franchise in transition.

Who's In

Martin Havlat

#14 / Right Wing / Minnesota Wild

Height: 6-2

Weight: 217

Born: Apr 19, 1981

Some say that the Wild are simply trading one oft-injured, scoring phenom for another, but if the last two seasons are any indication, Martin Havlat will have a major impact on the Minnesota Wild. He is already ingratiating himself to the home crowd, and the scoring touch was evident from the 84 second mark of his first appearance in the Iron Range Red. If Havlat stays healthy, he will single-handedly replace the scoring lost from the departure of Marian Gaborik.

Petr Sykora

#17 / Right Wing / Minnesota Wild

Height: 6-0

Weight: 190

Born: Nov 19, 1976

Yes, hes a 32 (soon to be 33) year old veteran, but he has 10 consecutive seasons of 20+ goals. On a team with a history of offensive anemia, Sykora will be a godsend. He gives the Wild a third man to get the goals down low, and is what the Wild have sorely lacked for a while, a true finisher.

Kyle Brodziak

#21 / Center / Minnesota Wild

Height: 6-2

Weight: 209

Born: May 25, 1984

The centerman came over from Edmonton, and gave the Wild a solid player to center the second or third line, depending upon the play of James Sheppard. Brodziak provides skill at the faceoff dot, and has proven himself thus far to be able to make plays happen and finish on occasion.

Greg Zanon

#6 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild

Height: 5-11

Weight: 211

Born: Jun 05, 1980

The University of Nebraska-Omaha product was a stalwart on the blue line for the Nashville Predators, and will provide defensive stability, shot blocking and positional play that the Wild have missed for a while. He and Nick Schultz are now the two guys who should be noticed by going unnoticed.

Shane Hnidy

#34 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild

Height: 6-2

Weight: 204

Born: Nov 08, 1975

The Sheriff will be a stand-up defenseman. He'll play the physical game, taking out onrushing forwards, play dirty in the corners and clear out the low slot, something the Wild have been needing for a while. Boston Bruins fans, however, have not been enamored with his play, so he'll have something to prove.

Jaime Sifers

#26 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild

Height: 5-11

Weight: 210

Born: Jan 18, 1983

Not much is known about the AHL-heavy Sifers. Frankly, we have no idea if he'll actually make the team, though it seems a good possibility that even if he doesn't, he'll be on the shortlist from Houston. Sifers will be the kind of guy to play solid defense and make the breakout pass from time to time. His job, however, will be to play down low and clear traffic.

Who's Out

Marian Gaborik
Marc-Andre Bergeron
Stephane Veilleux
Martin Skoula
Dan Fritsche

Outlook for 2009-2010

Umm, frankly, we have no idea what to expect. As I stated previously, this new leadership will have some latitude to establish a new presence and identity. There will likely be growing pains and the cupboard is still relatively bare. That being said, this is still a hockey town, and if things aren't going well early on, there will be complaints. Pair the transitional season with a weak economy and there's a good chance the sellout streak will end this year.

Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton all got better. The Wild ... well only time will tell. If Owen Nolan has the same season he had last year, Havlat and Sykora perform up to their proven capabilities and Sheppard, Gillies, Koivu and Bouchard pick up their performance from last year, the forwards should score more goals than last season.

Will the defensive additions (and those additions by subtraction) help in quelling the inevitable tide of onrushing forwards as the Wild change their strategy to two forecheckers and less emphasis on defensive coverage? Who knows? But, what we do know is that if we start seeing a lot of 5-2 or 5-3 losses and 24 million dollar man, Niklas Backstrom sees his GAA rise toward 3.00 and above, the Xcel Energy Center fans may not give Richards and Fletcher the time they need to build a new team before letting everyone know how they feel.

Prediction

4th in the Northwest
10th in the conference
40-35-7 for 87 points

X-Factor

I'm sure a lot of you are expecting Martin Havlat to be the x-factor for the Wild this season. I, however, do not. I think he'll perform to expectations, and likely beyond. However, the team will live and die by the scoring of guys not named Havlat, Sykora, Koivu, Nolan or Brunette. The guy who has been on the "breakout" list every season, yet can't seem to find his rhythm is our own Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Butch makes $4.25M, $4.25M, $4.25M, $ 4.3M over the next four seasons, and needs to finally perform to that contract. He's a guy built for the "new" NHL, and with Richards' proclivity to set his lines, will need to find a connection with his linemates and decide whether he's a playmaker or a finisher. Bouchard can make passes nobody else on this team can make, and his vision is second to none. If it were me, I'd put him between Owen Nolan and Colton Gillies. That line would give size, grit and speed. Bouchard would be able to take the puck down the half-wall, spin away from the corner and center it to Nolan in the slot. Bouchard's problem thus far is that he hasn't had a finisher on his line. With a guy like Nolan, and a physical presence like Gillies, Bouchard could be the one to give the Wild a great chance to make the playoffs.