December 27, 2011, examination of the Tampa Bay Lightning for HockeyPrimeTime.com

Falling fast: how the Lightning slipped

Columns

Written by Denis Gorman

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 20:19

The Tampa Bay Lightning were one game away from playing for the Stanley Cup. Over the summer, they stood pat and in the first half of the regular season, they are finding that many of their opponents are passing them by. It took Guy Boucher a mere 64 words to compare his team’s macro failings to its micro success on the night of December 8. “It’s been since the beginning of the year: Heartache after heartache. We’re being kicked, hacked and jinxed and everything you can imagine since the beginning,” Boucher said after the Tampa Bay Lightning topped the New York Rangers, 3-2, in a shootout at Madison Square Garden. “It’s got to come back but it only comes back with perseverance, and we always tell the players winning is not a habit. It is habits. The most important habit is perseverance and that’s what the players did today.” A smart-money choice to win the Cup before the season, the Lightning enter Wednesday’s game in San Jose 13th in the Eastern Conference and 26th out of the NHL’s 30 teams, ahead of only the Islanders, Hurricanes, Ducks and Blue Jackets. The Lightning, 14-16-2 overall, have lost 11 of their last 20 games. How has it gone so wrong, so fast? “We’re a fragile team right now,” was Martin St. Louis’ assessment after a 5-1 embarrassment on Long Island on December 6. The Lightning actually led 1-0 before the Islanders exploded for five goals over 43:26 spanning the three periods. Tampa’s mental frailty became physical the morning of December 8 when St. Louis, who does not wear a visor, was struck by an errant shot off the stick of teammate Dominic Moore close to the end of the Lightning’s early skate. When word began to spread about what had happened to St. Louis, there was a concern that the right wing would be out for an extended period of time. Before that night’s match against the Rangers, the Lightning released a statement regarding St. Louis’ condition. The 100-word statement did not alleviate the concerns; instead, it reinforced what was suspected: “... St. Louis will not play tonight’s game at the New York Rangers and he is out indefinitely after suffering facial and nasal fractures at the team’s morning skate today at Madison Square Garden." St. Louis ranked third on the Lightning with nine goals and 13 assists. His 22 points were second on the team at the time of the injury. Thirteen days later, St. Louis is still third on the team in goals and assists and is tied for second with Vinny Lecavalier and Marc-Andre Bergeron in points. As in life, in sports, if an organization stands pat, they tend to be passed by opponents. That is what has happened with the Lightning. Tampa finished one point behind Southeast Division champion Washington last year. As the Eastern Conference’s fifth seed, the Lightning reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last spring before losing a 1-0 classic to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. Instead of bolstering a team that has snipers St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, a veteran center in Lecavalier, an improving defenseman named Victor Hedman along with an experienced blueliner in Eric Brewer, the Lightning added to their periphery, bringing in right wing Ryan Shannon, center Tom Pyatt and defenseman Matt Gilroy. Then there is the tale of defenseman Evan Oberg. Obtained in a four-player deal with Florida on December 2, Oberg has been called up from AHL Norfolk four times in a 17-day span, the latest promotion coming Monday. Despite the call-ups, Oberg has not played in a NHL game this season. He has three assists and is plus-5 in six games with the Norfolk Admirals (the Lightning’s AHL affiliate). Before the trade, Oberg had two assists and 14 penalty minutes in 12 games with the Panthers’ AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, and was minus-2. In sports (as in life), whn an organization stands pat it tends to get passed up by opponents. That is what has happened with the Lightning. The goaltending tandem of Dwayne Roloson and Mathieu Garon has a goals against average of 3.28, 28th in the NHL. The back end is a collection of fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth defensemen after Hedman, Brewer, Pavel Kubina and Marc-Andre Bergeron – a quartet that would be no higher than second-pair on strong teams. The forward corps is mostly third and fourth-liners outside of St. Louis, Stamkos, Lecavalier and Ryan Malone. For all of the Lightning’s flaws, they are five points out of the eighth slot in the East with 50 games remaining and have $2.74 million in cap space. The Lightning have won two in a row, have five games remaining this month, and play in a fairly weak Southeast Division. So it would be incredibly foolish to eliminate Tampa from playoff discussions. But it is imperative that fragile Tampa rediscovers and implements the macro and micro potency that defined its 2010-11 season before this campaign flashes by like a Lightning bolt. On Twitter: @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman

Last Updated on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 04:16

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