As the roster continues to build, it's the time of year when we're forced to sit and wait to see who'll be back in the fall. Of course, we all have our favorites. Thinking back to last season, we ask:

Which Tampa Bay Lightning player from 2010-11 do you want to see return next season and why?

Below the jump are answers from the staff at Raw Charge (I said I'd give them a prize if they answered, but that was actually a lie). See our answers below, and tell us what you think! (Though sorry, no prizes for you either.)

Cassie McClellan:

I would like to see the Lightning re-sign Mike Lundin. Besides the fact that he typifies the exact sort of defenseman that head coach Guy Boucher wants in his 1-3-1 system, he's just a solid, all-around player. He's constantly put against top offensive lines and has quietly proven himself a great defenseman time and again. I think that the team would be far better off with him than without him.

Clark Brooks:

Like many, I became a big fan of Sean Bergenheim this season. He made key contribuiions to the team's great season, but more importantly, he did it the way we'd all like to see happen more often. After struggling to get his career off the ground, he came in with nothing more than a league minimum contract and an opportunity to show what he could do. In response, he worked hard and turned it around. Now he deserves to cash in. I just hope they figure out a way to make it happen in Tampa Bay.

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Lightning

• Lightning close to signing Brett Connolly. Close as in the deal is "done," just not signed. [Bolts Prospects & @LightningTimes] 
• Brad Richards on the Tampa Bay Lightning: "If they're going to talk to me, I'd definitely be interested."
• Jeff Vinik and Guy Boucher attended Tampa's inaugural Sneaker Soiree (video). [Tampa Bay Lightning]
• Tampa mourns former sports writer Tom McEwen, who was, among many things, a major advocate of bringing hockey to Tampa. [tampabay.com]
• Mike Vernace was re-signed by the club yesterday [Tampabay.com]
• Final depth rankings of the Tampa Bay Lightning system for the 2010-11 season [Bolt Prospects]
• More outreach into the Orlando market for the Bolts? [@victorialim via Twitter]
• None of the seating at the St. Pete Times Forum that is being replaced will be made available to the public [@victorialim]

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The season's over. Now what? (The question we are all asking...) 

While the fact that the season is finished sinks in, there is quite a lot to think about - including the real impact of the 2010 - 11 season [Tampa Tribune], or on a less uplifting note, where all of the UFAs / RFAs will end up. While Steven Stamkos hopes to stay with the Lightning [St. Petersburg Times] (and Simon Gagne as well [espn1040.com]), we all know that the roster won't be the same the next time around.  

But still! With the Lightning officially packed up and out of town, there are still so many things ahead. As for hockey, there are the Stanley Cup Finals, and if you need to mix it up, there are books to read, tans to get, exercise to be had (perhaps yoga?). If you aren't feeling any of my list items for summer, feel free to start with the list of links below & after the jump. 

Lightning

• Steven Stamkos called this year's team "the best [group of guys] I have ever played with in my career." [St. Petersburg Times]
• If you missed it from Saturday, on their return home, Guy Boucher shook every single hand. [Raw Charge]
• Scott Burnside's evaluation of the Lightning's 2010-11 turnaround and Game 7 locker room recap. [ESPN.com]
• Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune is calling it "the new ice age." [Tampa Tribune]
• Montreal native Magalie Lafreniere recapped her Lightning hockey experience from Eastern Conference Final games 3 and 4... including meeting 14-year-old Amanda, who wrote the names of all the Lightning players on her Converse shoes. [Tampa Bay Lightning]
• I loved every moment of Ben Montgomery falling on the Lightning bandwagon. His latest column includes talk of his playoff beard and EPA regulations. He's also on twitter. [St. Petersburg Times]

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Goodbyes are never easy. There are the sentimental goodbyes, like the last day of high school, in which you lay everything out there like it's the last time you'll ever meet again, perhaps tearfully. Then there are the ones where you hold it in, despite knowing that everything's about to change.

I'm sure you'd be shocked to find that I'm the sentimental type.

Every locker room has its own kind of closeness, but to anyone who watched the Lightning come together as a unit this season knows that this team has a different level of brotherhood. One thing was clear during exit interviews this morning at the St. Pete Times Forum: no one was ready to let that go.

"I'm sure if you ask the greatest majority of these players they'll say 'I'd love to stay,'" said Guy Boucher. "And that'll be a true statement."

Boucher, who said he's looking forward to taking a summer break for the first time in a few years, said that the hardest thing is not knowing who's going to be back.

From Steven Stamkos to Simon Gagne to Dwayne Roloson, all uncertain of where they will be next year, the consensus was that they'd love to return to Tampa Bay.

"I'd love to come back," said Roli. "Since I've been down here it's been a great organization from top to bottom, from the ownership down to the coaching staff down to the players."

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The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Boston Bruins 5-4 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to tie the series at 3-3.

"It was a fast game - you have to manage your ice time, and manage your speed, stay structured and stay poised," said Victor Hedman afterwards. "Even though it's a fast game you have to stay cool."

If you were hoping for the Lightning to score in the first period to start the game off right, they did. Teddy Purcell opened the scoring within 36 seconds on a pass from Vincent Lecavalier from the right faceoff circle. But despite taking the lead, the Bolts but were too eager following the goal, resulting in poor passes and several turnovers in the neutral zone.

The momentum passed quickly as the Bruins regained their edge, tying the score at 7:09 when Milan Lucic took the puck down the slot to score against Dwayne Roloson. The Bolts were successful on two penalty kills, but only totaled four shots in the period.

With 3:30 left in the period and little accomplished after the 36 second mark, things looked lost for the Bolts with David Krejci's goal, shot north of Roli's glove to put the Bruins in the lead, and finish the period at 2-1.

"We didn't panic. We don't panic when we're down," Hedman said afterwards of managing emotions between periods.

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The Tampa Bay Lighting came back from a three goal deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 5-3 in game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Among other things, this win puts the Lightning among only three other teams in NHL playoff history who have come back to win after trailing by three goals.

The Lightning opened with the energy that was lacking in game three, but had considerable trouble managing the puck. That, matched with defensive issues early in the first period, gave the Bruins the opportunity to jump out to a 3-0 lead.

Patrice Bergeron opened the scoring at 11:47, taking the puck from behind the net to score against Dwayne Roloson. Two more goals within 84 seconds, one shorthanded, gave the Bruins the 3-0 lead by the end of the first.

Really, it looked like things were over for them. But if you thought this was the team that was going to give up and let the Bruins walk all over them, again, you were wrong.

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Claude Julien said afterwards that tonight's game resembled the style of game everyone was expecting going into the series. Guy Boucher agreed.

The Bruins maintained a disciplined system to keep the Lightning scoreless through three periods, giving the Boston Bruins 2-0 win. 

"It was down to who was gonna make that one lethal mistake," said Boucher, "and we made it early."

David Krejci scored an early goal for to open the scoring at 1:09. Boston maintained the 1-0 lead through the third period, when Andrew Ference scored again to finish at 2-0.

The Lightning didn't fall apart, they didn't give up, but they were unable to recover from the early defensive mistake that paved the way for the Boston win.

The return of faceoff superstar Patrice Bergeron in the Bruin's lineup proved efficient, winning 18 of 28 faceoffs to give Boston the edge to finish. But despite P. Bergeron, the Lightning regained a share of faceoff success, improving through the second and third periods to end with a middling 43% faceoff win percentage.

Tim Thomas stopped 31 shots on Boston's net to shut out the Bolts, but even those "weren't quality chances," according to Martin St. Louis. "We've got to make Thomas's job a little tougher."

Dwayne Roloson made 23 saves for the Lightning to solidify the resistance against the Bruins. As for scoring opportunities, though hard to come by, Teddy Purcell led shots for the Bolts with 6, followed by Vincent Lecavalier with 5, and Steven Stamkos with 4.

With tonight's tight effort from the two teams - a complete contrast to games one and two - it's looking like this series is going to be a long one.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning battled through to win the third game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals 4-3 against the Washington Capitals.

The Bolts opened up the scoring in the first period, but fell behind after two MIke Knuble and John Carlson scored in the second period. After the setback in the second, the Bolts regained composure in the third period, scoring two final goals within 24 seconds to seal the win.

It's the same story we've heard all year, sticking to the system and keeping your head on straight. "It goes back to structure," said Steven Stamkos, "and everyone paying attention to details and not being afraid to lose.

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But if the period-by-period play of the Lightning is any indicator of something bigger - the inability to regain the lead after getting behind - the hardest thing to swallow is how difficult, how slim, the chances are of regaining stamina against Pittsburgh's 3-1 series lead.

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As you've all been waiting to figure out whatt to plan your weekend around, now you know. Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal match-up between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning is set for noon on Saturday.  The contest will be aired locally in the Tampa Bay viewing area on Sun Sports.

Game 5 will be played in Pittsburgh at CONSOL Energy Center.

Read the official press release below.

LIGHTNING, PENGUINS GAME 5 SET FOR NOON ON SATURDAY 

 

TAMPA BAY – The Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game 5 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and 

Pittsburgh Penguins has been scheduled for noon EST on Saturday, April 23 at the CONSOL Energy 

Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the National Hockey League announced today.  The game time 

had previously been listed as TBD. 

 

The game will air live locally on Sun Sports with the pre-game show, Lightning LIVE!, starting at 11:30 

a.m. followed by the puck drop at noon.   

 

The teams have alternated wins through the first three games, splitting the first two at CONSOL last 

week and the Penguins taking the first game at the St. Pete Times Forum Monday night.  The teams 

will face-off again Wednesday night at the Times Forum before returning to Pittsburgh for Game 5. 

 

~ALL IN~

The Tampa Bay Lightning fell 3-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins after a shaky start. Following the trend of the regular season, all of the money is in the first period; getting behind only has sub par results.

Martin St. Louis wasn't surprised by the Penguin's early surge. "We knew they were gonna come hard, knew the first ten minutes was important, and didn't manage it really well."

After falling behind 2-0 in the first six minutes of play, St. Louis turned the game around for the Bolts, rebounding off of Simon Gagne's shot to open the scoring. St. Louis' goal solved some of the earlier composure issues the Lightning struggled with, but despite the effort the Bolts couldn't beat the uphill battle.

St. Louis scored a second Lightning goal two minutes into the third period, but the tying goal was overshadowed by another from Tyler Kennedy 31 seconds later.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1, not only winning the game, but clinching the playoff berth.

The Lightning knew what they had to do, and showed up with the will and the desire to do so.

Victor Hedman summed it up earlier today. "It's obviously a huge night for us, to set the tone, to play well, to put a statement out there are really play the way we can play."

With the recent addition of Steve Downie, and tonight's addition of Ryan Malone, things came together to find the opportunities needed to start and finish.

The Bolts took the lead in the first period, but when the Bolts fell back and lost some of their momentum in the second period, Dwayne Roloson became a major force, with 36 saves to keep the Lightning in the lead.

"They played a smart hockey game," said Roloson, "and fortunately for us we were able to capitalize on some chances early."

It was clear afterwards that the focus wasn't on defeating Pittsburgh, but on doing what needed to happen in order to clinch the playoff spot.

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

A comeback? Maybe. With two straight wins, it's easy to get excited about the Lightning again. Comeback or not, the reality is that when the Lightning leaders show up, this team figures out how to win.

"The top guys who are supposed to produce are producing," said Boucher afterwards.

With two goals from Martin St. Louis, and an empty netted goal from Steven Stamkos (and totaling 8 shots on goal), tonight's win was clearly driven by the leaders.

Dominic Moore, who had the other two goals, said the strength in tonight's game was a return to the usual work ethic. "That's the way we've won all season long--battling, and playing with a fighting mentality."

We had hoped that tonight would be the clincher, but the Carolina Hurricane's shootout win against the Washington Capitals means that the Lightning are still in need of two more points in order to make it into the playoffs.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning took another loss tonight, falling 4-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Despite everything Boucher has tried to get this team back in the groove, it seems like nothing is working.

The Lightning came out strong in the first period, opening the scoring, but completely fell apart in the second period. The game seemed like a lost effort through the third, until Lecavalier's goal, with only 7 minutes left in the game, created the game's first sign of momentum -  momentum which nearly brought a tie-breaker.

The reality of the challenge is setting in for the team. "It you play like this in the playoffs, it's gonna be a quick hit," Simon Gagne said afterwards. With every loss, it seems there are fewer answers for why they can't seem to win it.

The Lightning couldn't get any action until the closing minutes of the game, but by then it was too late. "We have to be a lot stronger mentally," said Boucher, "and a lot more mature than this."

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The Raw Charge "Question of the Week" is a weekly feature that poses a question to Raw Charge writers and sometimes other writers within the Boltosphere, discussing the ins and outs of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The loss to the Islanders on Tuesday night made it rather clear that the Lightning are in a funk - they're stuck on a losing streak that they just can't break.

But it's not just the last three, it's the 9 out of 11 losses in March: 5 losses in regulation, 2 in overtime, and 2 in shootout. Wins were a rarity, and only came against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. After the home stand success of February, no one was excepting the Bolts to jump off the winning train so quickly.

So what has the playoff push proven? Besides a dismal performance against adversity, it's proven some of the skepticism of the season's beginning right. Sorry to spread the bad karma, but you've got to ask:

What is the single biggest weakness the Bolts have faced this season (you know, the Achilles' heel), and what, if anything, can be done to overcome it?

What have you seen this season? The staff answers are below the jump, but we'd love to hear what you think it boils down to.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning continued the losing streak to three in tonight's game against the New York Islanders, falling 5-2.

Against the Islanders, who entered the game seated second to last in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning fell apart in another night of losing to a team they should have beat. It's the same story as before, but it's getting worse. It's the one we weren't hoping to repeat, and certainly the story we weren't wanting to bring home.

Martin St. Louis called it a lack of energy, saying that overall the team was unable to execute, that they were waiting. The absence of both mental and physical energy led to another dismal night of play. 

And in a night where the most memorable event was adding to the pile of shorthanded goals, the league-leading 15 short-handed goals against for the season, it's becoming difficult to maintain faith in the team who at the beginning of the season, was able to fight their way to the top of the Conference.

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Following two days of headshot and concussion talk, the final day of meetings for the NHL General Manager's covered nothing other than a wrap up of the weeks discussion, and a minor discussion of shootouts and the spin-o-rama.

Lightning GM Steve Yzerman called the discussion "low profile," and emphasized that despite the different interests fairness is the central issue.

"We all have instances where a goal is allowed or disallowed, or a play happens that's not reviewable, that is reviewable," Yzerman noted. "Ultimately we want the right decisions, the right call, whether it works against us or for us, it's in everybody's interest to get the correct call."

Spin-o-ramas were also a discussion point, but the talk there emphasized looking at the move and questioning whether or not it is in compliance with shootout regulations.

NHL Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell said that overall, the week's discussions have been "a step in the right direction." Despite all of the talks this week, there is a lot of work ahead for any changes down the road.

So, in light of the league's recent hits and concussions, did the GM's discussions prove as historic as hoped? Maybe so.

Then again, perhaps whatever happens in Boca stays in Boca.

The second day of the General Manager's Meeting in Boca Raton took another look at working to resolve some of the player safety issues facing the league. 

The bottom line? After the impact of the yesterday's Concussion Study, seeing concussion-causing hit after hit, the questions surfaces if the rules themselves need to be adapted to protect players on the ice, or if the issues should be dismissed as simply the nature of the game?

Members of the new committee spoke for a bit today concerning these questions. As announced yesterday, the committee includes Brendan Shanahan, Rob Blake, Dallas Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk, and Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, and is designed to function as mediator between the general managers and competition committee. 

The answer falls both ways. There are cases in which rules may need to be created in order to provide better protection. Steve Yzerman cited Rule 48, which despite being new, seems to be have had a positive impact, driven by the lowered percentage of man games lost due to illegal hits. The NHL Concussion Study data released yesterday found that only 17% of all man games lost due to concussions are from illegal hits, down from 41% last year.

Referring to Rule 48, Yzerman said, "I think it's shown to have some effect, have an impact on the players that are going to deliver a hit to be more careful and in some cases to avoid that hit. I think it's fine and we're still in the infancy stages of it."

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In Boca Raton at the NHL General Manager's meeting, today's topic is concussions. Despite the lovely weather, the talk is anything but relaxed. Be it accidental, incidental, illegal, or legal, the question is two-fold: how concussions are caused, and what to do about it. Though the official dialogue unfolds in the aftermath of the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty, the truth is that the discussion surrounding concussion has been long been under the NHL radar.

The morning's agenda included a presentation of the NHL Concussion Study, a comparison of the concussions that have occurred over the past two years (through March 1), emphasizing the hockey perspective as key in deciphering and deciding how to go forward. A central feature of the data is the evaluation of Rule 48 (blindside hits to the head) in determining how effective the rule has been in aiding player safety.

From the Concussion Study, the data dissects the 80 concussions suffered this year (the 2010-11 season, through March 1) in terms how how they were received.

• Accidental, 26%. This includes hits from teammates, pucks, tripping, and most significantly, inadvertent collisions between opponents. Notably, the accidental concussion is what Sidney Crosby suffered during the Winter Classic. At 26% for 2010-11, this number has doubled from accidental hits suffered in 2009-10. 
• Fighting, 8%. 
• Legal, 44%. This includes hits to the body and hits to the head that do not warrant penalties.
• Illegal, 17%. Primarily blindside hits to the head, but also includes other prohibited hits to the head and body. Clearly, illegal hits are distinguished from legal hits in that the are punishable, either by penalty or supplemental discipline.

(You'll note too, that the concussion percentages only add up to 95%; four concussions that occurred this season were unaccounted for, because they were discovered after the fact and were not caught on video.)

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The Tampa Bay Lightning fell 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators, in what was perhaps the worst game of the year.

And this isn't the first time. We saw this less than a week ago. Against Montreal, the Lightning failed to come out in the start of the game, and weren't able to shake it. Tonight, the Lightning missed the boat completely.

The tragedy was the complete lack of effort. The warning signs were there, including the Senators winning six of the past nine games, but the Lightning had little stamina against a team at the bottom of the league who had a greater desire to win.

Boucher was shocked with the lack of effort--with the lack of competition. "We're not as mature of a team as I thought. Period. That's it."

There was an irony too, watching former Lightning goaltender Curtis McElhinney play such a strong game against this team. McElhinney made 34 saves overall, compared to Dwayne Roloson's 20.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning won 4-3 in shootout against the Chicago Blackhawks.

There was a lot of goodness from tonight's game, including a resurgence from Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis, who each scored in regulation, in addition to St. Louis' shootout win.The Bolts did what they needed to in order to keep the pace against the Hawks and break the losing slump.

The mindset was different, but the effort was the same. After fighting for the last four games, the Lightning channeled the same effort, but were determined to win this one.

The motto: "If the door wasn't gonna open, we're gonna break it down."

Boucher prefaced the Blackhawks as having mobility, vision, flare--the hardest team to defend. "I don't think anybody's got that." And with a roster that includes skaters Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, and Patrick Kane, it's an honest assessment.

But regardless of the matchup, the Bolts went in to tonight's game with the decision not to lose the fight.

"We're really persevering right now." said Stamkos. "We're learning about what it takes to win in those tight games, and for the most part we've been on the winning side of those."

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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost 2-1 to the Washington Capitals in shootout. Tonight's loss finished the season series between the Bolts and Caps, totaling a 2-3-1 record against the Caps this season.

There were too many good reasons to win. There's the uncomfortable Southeast division ranking, Bruce Boudreau's ridiculous pre-game comments, February's embarrassing 5-2 loss to Washington; and outside of the Capitals, the Bolts are grappling with a losing streak during the most important stretch of the year.

But worse than the loss is having almost won. Vincent Lecavalier's disallowed goal in the third period would have been the game changer; it would have given the Lightning the 2-0 lead. But disallowed, the goal was scratched after an interference from Martin St. Louis.

It was a pretty ridiculous failure on the part of the on-ice officials, who missed the tripping completely. "I don't know," said Marty afterwards. "I got tripped. I didn't feel like I was going at the goalie. I got tripped and I ended up in the crease."

Disappointing for one, it was a goal, as Boucher noticed afterwards. The set up, the shot, everything was right. The Lightning scored. But because of an oversight, the Lightning missed the goal that could have saved the game. 

Disappointing, too, is the four-game losing streak, despite all the positives of the Bolt's recent play. The Bolts have played complete hockey time and time again, aided with excellent goaltending, but regardless are settling into the second space in the Division, having also fallen to fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Follow the jump for the full recap.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning continued their losing streak against the Montreal Canadiens, finishing 4-2.

Though the games against New Jersey and Boston lost despite a fair effort, tonight's loss was driven by a late start to the game, and a general lack of urgency.

Boucher's reaction? Shock.

With 17 games left in the season, it's no mystery that every game is important and needs to be won--or at least come close. But last night, the Lightning failed to arrive until the second period, but by then it was too late.

Vincent Lecavalier, who played despite lingering energy injury, noted the contrast between Tampa Bay and Montreal. "They came out flying. They came out ready to play."

Read more after the jump.

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"They were the unbeatable team," Guy Boucher said of the New Jersey Devils after the Lightning won 2-1 this evening.

The Bolts finally overcame the Devils in the third match between the teams this season, killing the Devils eight game winning streak, a follow-up to Wednesday's win against the Phoenix Coyotes.

The game was characterized by a consistent defensive effort that fought hard against the Devils, especially Ilya Kovalchuk, who totaled 27 minutes of ice time by the end of the game.

"We knew it was gonna be a patient, defensive game," said Randy Jones afterwards, who was titled player of the game, along with Dominic Moore.

Jones, with two shots on goal, one hit, and two blocked shots, was a major contributor to the force against New Jersey.

Moore spoke of Jones afterwards, saying, "Randy Jones just seems to be everywhere. He's such a smart player and reads the angles, the shot length so well. That's why he seems to be always in the way when they want to shoot."

Read more after the jump.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning earned two more points tonight, beating the Phoenix Coyotes 8-3.

Wins are obviously welcome, but coming following last week's losses to Philadelphia, Detroit, and Florida, tonight's win was crucial.

The Bolts had a clear advantage, playing for the first time since Saturday, versus Phoenix, who arrived in Tampa after playing in Philly last night. The Coyotes, facing injuries and in the middle of a road trip, were tired and spent, a byproduct of having won the last eight games.

The Lightning's fresh legs were aided by Monday's trip to Naples, which included golfing and yoga, a welcome break from the epic 12-game home stand.

"Obviously we appreciate as players everything they're doing for us," said Vincent Lecavalier afterwards. "I'm just kind of in awe about how the whole organization is right now, so we want to do well for them."

Returning to the ice tonight, saying that the Lightning did well is an understatement. The Bolts played a complete game against Phoenix, and were rewarded.

Read more after the jump.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning fell to the Florida Panthers 3-2 in shootout.

Again.

In four games against the Panthers this season, the Lightning have both lost and finished in shootout three of the four times.

Gagne said afterwards, "We knew it was gonna be a tight game."

Whether it was overconfidence, or just exhaustion after a long week, taking a loss to Florida never sits well with the Bolts.

Despite the slow start to the game on Saturday, the Lightning opened the scoring early in the period from Marc-Andre Bergeron's goal from the right circle, set up by Randy Jones and Martin St. Louis.

Steven Stamkos also took a nasty hit from Mike Weaver--Weaver plowed Stamkos into the boards. Boucher talked afterwards about the hit, saying, "That was scary, and we're real lucky on this one."

Read more after the jump.

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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke to the media last night before the game against the Detroit Red Wings.

Bettman opened boldly: "I am not here to make any grand announcements."

Instead, Bettman's presence was part of a yearly effort to visit every team. Also, nearing the anniversary of Jeff Vinik's purchase of the Lightning, Bettman opened with a load of praise for Vinik and the progress he has made with the Lightning.

"Vinik has been extraordinarily effective."

And there's nothing new here--every Lightning fan, and probably every hockey fan, is equally impressed with the hiring of Steve Yzerman and Tod Leiweke, with the changes to the arena, and everything else Vinik has done (with the exception of the jerseys).

Bettman expressed that he "had no doubt" Vinik would do the things he promised, which included the small task of turning the team around completely.

Other than Vinik, following the jump is a brief run down of what was said late yesterday afternoon.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning fell to the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 last night.

The message was clear after the game last night. From Boucher:

"That's the best team we've played all year long, no questions asked."

The Lightning worked hard, and gave it all they had, but Detroit, now totaling 76 points this season, was a faster, fiercer competitor.

"We gave everything we had. Period. We got beat by a better team than us. This is best team in the league."

And for an arena filled with red jerseys, the Red Wings put on a show that didn't disappoint.

Despite the pleasing show of Lightning fans over the past month, which included a packed house on Super Bowl Sunday, Vincent Lecavalier wasn't shocked by the sea of red.

"We're Florida," he said. "First of all there's a lot of people from Michigan that live here now, and there's a lot of people who come down. Especially when it's Florida, and there's great weather, they seem to always come down."

Such good fans that not only do they travel, but they also bring their octopi. 

Read more after the jump.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning batted through an onslaught of of penalties to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime. 

Marc-Andre Bergeron sealed the win for the Bolts, scoring a minute and a half into over time, his first with the Lightning. 

In the context of injuries, including Nate Thompson, Mike Lundin, and Ryan Malone, Boucher called the game "a real team effort," with special praise to Vincent Lecavalier:

"He's incredible. Just unreal, a horse out there, from the first minute until the end."

According to Boucher, Vinny was key in inspiring the team, the fans, and even Boucher himself. 

But in a game with strange momentum--penalty after penalty after penalty--it was good to see the Lightning clinch the win in the last second. The ability to overcome the volume of penalties showed an improvement in regaining composure, the main issue with Tuesday's game against Buffalo.

Read more after the jump.

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The Buffalo Sabres surged in the third period to take home a 7-4 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Through the first two periods, everything looked normal. The Lightning were leading in scoring and shots, and had control of the game.

But Thomas Vanek's goal, bringing the score to 3-2 at the end of the second, started the beginning of the game's turnaround. Buffalo came back into the third period to score five more goals--making it six straight, including a hat trick for Drew Stafford--finishing with a Buffalo win. The Lightning fell apart after the third Lightning goal, and Buffalo took advantage of the opportunity to turn the game around.

But to recap, the game was initially positive for the Bolts. 

Six minutes in, Brett Clark made a good pass to Vincent Lecavalier at right to bring the puck into the Sabres' zone. Vinny passed it across the ice to Sean Bergenheim at left to open the scoring against Buffalo.

The Lightning played hard, but with four minutes left in the first period, Drew Stafford tied the game, shooting through Victor Hedman and Dwayne Roloson from the left circle.

Read more after the jump.

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