John Tortorella went so far as to say the Lightning need to retool which is addressing the obvious. Any team that fails to make it all the way certainly need to be ready to change things around a tad or more in order to find the ideal circumstances.

The problem with the rest of the TSN article addressing the Lightning’s off-season needs is that it goes right around a major problem for the Lightning that was exploited during the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals:

The abysmal state of special teams and suspect defense.

Oh, I am not going to try to make excuses for Burke or Grahame and play them up like they are ideal netminders. Nor am I going to talk down about the other key issue that TSN addressed: Brad Richards restricted free agency.

But the questions on defense and also on special teams have loomed over the Lightning since the pre-season. John Tortorella was not satisfied with a 6th defensiveman until later in the year as Paul Ranger stepped up during his rookie season. That doesn’t even begin to account for the loses on ice with the subtraction of Jassen Cullimore and Brad Lukowich on the blue line.

Both goalies were hung out to dry at times by the defense, and lapses lead to breakdowns on special teams over and over again.

Do the Lightning plan to look for a netminder this offseason? undoubtedly. Is it their priority when retooling? I don’t believe it is as much as on defense (where Pavel Kubina and Cory Sarich could both jump ship).

Sean Burke started. Not much changed in front of the net though… Or in the net, as the Senators again proved they had the machismo, the swagger and the downright hunger that the Lightning have lacked for a majority of the 2005-06 campaign.

There was a plethora of points to talk about… But honestly, there’s nothing left to talk about. The 2003-04 Stanley Cup Champions have been bounced from Cup contention. It’s no surprise to the Lightning faithful, nor were the comments from John Grahame or John Tortorella surprising in the latter days.

It’s another disappointing end to this disappointing season (the regular season’s ending was terrible as well).

Congratulations to the Ottawa Senators, Chris at Hockey Country and the fans. Martin Havlat has got to be the leading Conn Smythe candidate at current. I also greatly admire Wade Redden for his play through such a trying time. Hopefully, he’ll be able to pay ample tribute to his mother while playing for (or raising) Lord Stanley’s Cup.

3-2 — the Ottawa Senators advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. A foresee a very bitter ordeal with Les Habitants in the next round. We’ll know soon enough.

As for me? Well, I gotta take a few days off from Boltsmag… Probably less if there is player movement right out of the gate here in Tampa (the hot stove is my favorite time of year). After the 2004 campaign, the lockout and this season — I’m beat. Of course, the sports world waits for no one so I’m not likely to keep my vow very long.

There isn’t more to go on, as this story has been told.

The floor is yours.

Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Weekly has an article and interview up today about Lightning prospect Mark Tobin (who is another alum of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic).

Not the greatest piece — you can see most of Mark’s answers summarized in a lead-up to his responses — but worth a look if you interested in Lightning prospects.

For a period and a few minutes, the Lightning and Senators were going toe to toe. For a period and a few minutes, this looked like an epic in the making.

But emotions started running high on ice and instead of letting the game progress uninterrupted, there was somewhat of a rare occurrence:

The officials stepped in.

And after a few failed power play attempts by both teams, the Senators notched one, then another, then another, then another. In the span of a period and a half, the Senators scored 4 unanswered goals and the Lightning were shell shocked. They were flat-out schooled (again) by the Senators.

This time, you weren’t distracted by the sideshow of emotions running high out there. This time, you actually saw a hockey game with one team playing with more skill, determination, machismo and chaputz while the other played absent-mindedly and lackluster. This time, the game wasn’t ruled by “let’em play and the chips will fall where they may” bullshit from Kerry Fraser and crew.

It was an NHL playoff game and a resounding defeat at the hands of the Ottawa Senators. That’s all there is to it.

In the final minutes of what may very likely be the final home game of the 2005-06 Lightning season, the once-rocking home crowd were aloof and the silence was deafening. While the hunger of rookie Paul Ranger was clearly evident, it was also clearly evident the fire was out for the majority of the Lightning roster. The camera panned the Lightning bench during a stoppage in the games waning moments and you could see the roster tuckered out and searching for something, anything, to rally around.

…just as it’s been the case more times than not since the Olympic Break concluded.

5-2 the final at Times Palace. Ottawa hosts game five on Saturday at 6:30 PM. The Lightning’s goals were scored by Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards (both of whom owe huge credit to the aforementioned Ranger). Both goals can be argued up and down — did Marty interfer with Emery? Should Richards have been sent to the box along with Eaves? — but matter little in the end.

Anyone remember Delmon Young demanding money from reporters who wished to interview him?

Oh wait, it gets better as Delmon is looking at a suspension for throwing his bat at an umpire. (view the video in the upper right hand corner of the page)

Someone needs to send this kid a message he’s gotta get himself under control.

Lots of people are expressing doubt after the drubbing Tuesday night… One of those people is not former Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk:

“I know the guys,” he said.

Dave Andreychuk stopped wearing the Bolt in early January, when he was placed on waivers by the Lightning. He’s still being paid his contract, and he’ll eventually work for the club in another capacity.

Tuesday he was a fan. And a symbol.

“We can come back,” he said.

Martin Fennelly’s piece goes on… Speaking of how Dave’s influence still reigns over the Lightning — he talks to players regularly, though Tuesday’s game was his first at Times Palace since the end of his tenure on the Lightning roster.

Sens lead the series 2-1. Lightning’s backs are to the wall.. Which team shows up tonight? The Stanley Cup Champs or the 2005-06 “Close but not quite” Lightning?

And how infractions (from members of both teams folks, I’m not a raging homer) does the officiating crew chose not to call tonight?

The floor is yours.

As always — keep it civil.

For the second straight game, the National Hockey League has decided to throw rule enforcement out. For the second straight game, Gary Bettman’s threat of rule enforcement rang hollow.

Hey, at least I’m consistent in talking about the problem plaguing the Conference Quarterfinals. You can’t get something like that (consistency) from NHL officials.

I know I should be talking about the game downright slaughter on ice tonight. I’m bitter though. Not just bitter at the loss, but bitter at the sham of first period, where referees had no control of the game and seemed grudgingly to try to get control when chaos and anarchy ensued.

Oh wait, it gets better!

Kerry and the boys got bored in the 2nd period and decide to start messing with things some more by not doing anything. Lets start with Ryan Craig taking a puck in the face from an errant pass. A player goes down after a puck in the face — you have the potential of a devastating injury and what is the deal? Play continues.

That’s right, play continues. No whistle. No nothing. Watch the replays and you see Zedeno Chara standing behind Craig as if the play is dead… It’s after a moment things haven’t been stopped that he finally gets going again.

And then there is the case of Ruslan Fedotenko and Chris Neil. Rusty play the puck close to Ray Emery, there is a good bit of traffic in front of the net and some contact because of it. Typical defense of your goaltender by the Senators players in front of the net… Well, except Chris Neil.

Neil isn’t exactly in front of the net. He’s close by and when he sees contact, he charges in on Fedotenko, shoving Fedotenko into Ray Emery. All hell breaks loose from that point on…

With Neil only pulling in 2 minutes for the charge. This is after he threatened Sean Burke with retaliation for Ruslan “running” Emery. This comes after Neil flicks off fans.

I’m bitter that the Lightning lost, that we got downright schooled by the Senators… But I’m sick and f’n tired of the antics of the “officials” who are supposed to maintain order on ice. Kerry Fraser and his team aren’t maintaining shit. They’re making the crew from game 2 look like sticklers for the rules — and that’s saying something!

Look, the outcome of the game would be different if the rules were actually followed. It’d be a hockey game and not this farce that was supposed to resemble hockey.

The Sens might kill us worse in a regulation game where order was maintained by the officials… I really wouldn’t mind that (that’s right, I wouldn’t mind it) in part because the game would have proper enforcement of the rules. The better team would truly win and assclowns like Chris Neil wouldn’t be a factor. The skill of Martin Havlat would be the focus and further accentuated, or Dany Heatly’s machismo, Martin St. Louis’ deftness or Brad Richards total game. In other words – the players and their performance would be the focus, as it’s supposed to be.

Instead, the officials are doing what they always do and grabbing the spotlight by trying not to do anything.

Game 4 is Thursday. Don’t be surprised when Kerry makes sure more of the same bullshit is the norm for that one.

We’re all tied up… Let the action re-commence

Fans of both teams are welcome to comment, but keep it civil. Flaming, trolling or other disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.

I really wish I could provide placecards for the fans like the major media sources around Tampa Bay will be… Alas, I cannot.

What I can give you is something you can print out at home: Safe is DEATH. It’s saved in PDF format for easy printing.

If you’re like me, you’re a general sports fan. If you’re also like me — you’ve basically let the upcoming NFL draft fall to the wayside because you’ve been focused on playoff hockey coverage.

Here’s a hat-tip to my buddy Ski over at Best Bucs Blog. He’s been running updates on the NFL’s upcoming draft with plenty thoughts and ponderings in different posts. Check it out…

When does Lightning show up best? In the dark…

Here’s a request for all fans attending the Ottawa series at Times Palace: wear black. That’s right, black (or something extra dark that is close to black).

It’s a show of pride, a show of support and a show of solidarity. Wear the Lightning’s home colors to the game. You don’t need the Lightning to hand out a t-shirt for you to show support.

Usually it’s the Lightning telling fans what to do… But the franchise itself can’t start every tradition. It’s up to the fans.

Just in case you’re coming to town or already in town from Ottawa for the next 2 games, here’s Witty Librarian’s Skeward Visitors Guide.

Ron Wilson gives another example of the dysfunctional rule enforcement in the NHL Playoffs. This quote was coming off San Jose’s win versus Nashville last night (hat tip to Eric at Off Wing):

“Hey, they’re calling penalties as advertised,” San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. “Everyone’s still shocked, `Why are they calling penalties in the playoffs?’ They’re supposed to because they want to work, and Gary Bettman was here so, hello!

“I mean it doesn’t take a rocket scientist or even a sports writer to figure that one out.”

So why does the crew calling the Ottawa/Tampa Bay game still have jobs?

If anything can be said about Sunday Evening’s matchup between the Senators and the Lightning, the word to use is electric.

You got the same antics that you’ve seen all season from the Senators — Martin Havlat, Jason Spezza, Dany Heatly and co. jumping around and giving you fits… But there was an element that was out on ice that cannot be denied:

The 2003-04 Stanley Cup Champions.

After a long, tiring and disappointing season — after a single playoff game where the Lightning looked nothing of what they were capable of… A switch was flipped. You’ve heard all about the Lightning needing to heighten their game, and for one evening they did in unmistakable fashion.

The game went back and forth, but the contributions by Martin St. Louis and Dan Boyle cannot be denied. St. Louis scored the Lightning’s first goal late in the 1st period, but his second goal — the game winner — was absolute electricity. Dmitry Afanasenkov rushed into the Ottawa zone and put a shot on Ray Emery. St. Louis had also been rushing into the zone at the same time at the top boards… He swooped in front of Emery and shot in the rebound. The play was pure electric and seemed a fitting followup to Dan Boyle’s all-leverage-left shot-while-diving goal that had been scored less than a minute previously.

John Grahame faced 24 shots, stopped 21 of them — often unbelievably.

But — and this goes out to both Senator fans and Lightning fans alike — I had a huge problem with this game. It’s a problem I’ve had with playoff hockey in general for years and I feel the need to rant about it because both teams were robbed with thanks to indolence and incompetence by the NHL and these “referees” that they employ.

Now, despite what the traditionalist will hearken — that refs shouldn’t be the deciding factor in games — rules are made to be enforced. This is both for the good of the game and for the safety of the players involved. This afternoon was a demonstration of officiating at it’s worst — because there were no rules enforced whatsoever. Players were not being held accountable for their actions (and I want to make this clear — it’s both teams. This is not a sore-winner or sore-loser complaint going on) and what ensued was anarchy on ice. Continuity? Yes. But anarchic? Undoubtedly.

The playoffs are supposed to be a time where you draw in new fans through the glitz and glamour of the leagues best teams squaring off. Why is it that the National Hockey League allows for officials not to enforce the rules? This helps make it impossible to tell what is a rule to begin with and what isn’t. Any new fan (and those who had followed the game all season and saw various infractions over and over again) could not tell in the Tampa Bay/Ottawa matchup what was hooking, holding, interference, cross checking, roughing or anything else because the definition of these infractions were thrown out.

Is this “free reign hockey” allowed because of the idiotic “not trying to influence the outcome” crap? If players weren’t committing infractions to begin with — there would be no need to call them for penalties and “influence the outcome”. The players on ice are the ones influencing the outcome, by their actions or infractions. Rules are supposed to help maintain sanity and one shred of semblance of a game on ice.

The lack of calls this evening was a joke and an example of how Colin Campbell has been an out and out failure at his job. Tonights game was a grand example of how Gary Bettman’s threat of rule enforcement was empty, as hollow as his heart.

4-3 the final in Socitabank Place. The Lightning head home with the series all tied up at 1. Game 3 will be Tuesday at 7 PM.

No words left except for live discussion during pre game and the game itself.

Fans of both teams are welcome to comment, but keep it civil. Flaming, trolling or other disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.

The floor is yours.

I got used to this with Vincent Lecavalier on… oh, just about every road trip the Tampa Bay Lightning took to Canada during the regular season from 1998 until 2004. Someone would kick shit up and the trade rumors would fly.

But having Brad Richards have to deflect off-season speculation now is a drag on the roster. It goes beyond Richards… Brad may re-iterate quotes from Jay Feaster, vowwing his re-signing, and other UFA’s and RFA’s-to-be have to wonder if the Lightning will have the same kind of urgency to re-sign them.

Do you want Ruslan Fedotenko thinking about contract negotiations during the playoffs? How about Freddie Modin? Cory Sarich? Pavel Kubina? Dmitry Afanasenkov? John Grahame?

Brad says it best:

“I have no idea,” he said. “(That’s the) furthest thing from my mind right now. I don’t think it’s fair to my teammates or this organization to start commenting on anything like that. That’s way too far out.”

It’s a rare event you get something as grisely as this in the playoffs. It was a clean hit — and another lesson why you do not skate with your head down. Both Eric Lindros and Scott Stevens should have given this nickel’s worth of free advice to R.J. Umberger…

It’s tough to find words for this…

Wade Redden — defenceman for the Ottawa Senators — has left the Senators to be with his family after the passing of his mother, Pat Redden.

If I could put off game 2 until Wade returns, I would. Best wishes go out to Wade and his extended family during this trying time.

2 periods do not a game make.

Two periods of solid play, 29 shots and one goal does not a game make.

Two periods of swagger does not justify a team to get complacent, and yet the Lightning didn’t believe this to be true.

Four unanswered goals in the third period by the Senators seal another collapse of the Lightning… And even the Lightning’s sole offense is reason to worry — it was a goal scored on a Five-On-Three Power Play.

For two periods, you were led to believe the Lightning could heighten their game — because they did. They played sound defense, they threatened on offense and they looked like a team worthy of being in the playoffs…

One power play goal by the Senators early in the third undid that, and you’d think that the Bolts were made up of rookies — not Stanley Cup winners. One goal leads to another, which leads to a defensive lapse on the power play and a short handed goal to make that hole three… Add the customary empty-net (during a six-on-four power play, no less!) and the Lightning went from looking like contenders to pretenders in less than 18 minutes.

4-1 the final from Scotiabank Place. Vincent Lecavalier has the lone goal for the Lightning while Havlat, Spezza, Fischer and Alfredsson score for the Senators.

Game 2 is Sunday at 6.

Ski does what he can to inform the Football craving masses of the start of the NHL playoffs tonight:

And apparently the postseason for this odd sport starts today, with our “local” boys facing off against a Canuck team called the Ottawa Senators. Which seems like an odd name for a team from Ottawa since everyone knows the capital of Canada is Toronto.

…and all this time I thought Canada was the 51st state. j/k

The Defense starts now.

Fans of both teams are welcome to comment, but keep it civil. Flaming, trolling or other disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.

I’m looking to report local and national (even international) watch parties for the Lightning this playoff season. Where can Lightning fans congregate if they aren’t going to the game, to watch the Bolts square off against their advesaries?

If you want to hold a party, if you know of a sports bar that will be holding parties, or if you have other items to report — post it in comments and I will update this post accordingly.

UPDATE #1: Direct for the Lightning:

Lightning Welcome Back Fans For Playoff Road Games
Playoff Road Parties Return To St. Pete Times Forum For 2006 Playoffs
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Bud Light will again welcome fans back to the St. Pete Times Forum for all road contests as the team hits the ice in the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs presented by Sweetbay Supermarket. Fans will be welcomed with drink specials, prizes and giveaways while they watch the Lightning take on the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals.

Thousands of fans packed the Chrysler-Jeep Plaza during the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs as the Lightning marched towards their first Stanley Cup Championship. Fans can expect an enhanced experience this post season with food and drink specials at Shots at Channelside, fan interaction with games and prizes, the Gold and Diamond Source Lightning Girls and free parking at both the VIP East and West lots presented by Bud Light. Bud Light will offer $2 Bud Light drafts at all watch parties at the St. Pete Times Forum for the duration of the playoffs.

The first party kicks off tomorrow, Friday, April 21 when the Lightning begin their title defense against the Ottawa Senators at 7 p.m. The party will open to the public at 5 p.m. The festivities continue on Sunday as puck drops for Game 2 at 6 p.m. with Shots opening at 4 p.m.