Thrashers won today…

I’m game-threading on the forum. Consider registering and joining in.

I’m wagering that tonights game in Raleigh will be the make-or-break game of the Lightning’s 2006-07 season. With a loss, you can register John Tortorella’s guarantee as bullshit through and through (no offense to John. It won’t be your mistakes or miscues that result in a loss). The race in the east is too tight to figure the Lightning will slink into the playoffs someway, and somehow.

With a win, though…. With a win….?

On a personal note, I apologize once again for being MIA so much. There have been several stories that should have been blogged but my focus has been elsewhere.

On ANOTHER personal note, if Boltsmag suffers downtime — please do not mistake it for me shutting down this site. It’s only hosting/server issues.

OK, someone tell me directly that I shoved my foot in my mouth… Or better yet, the Lightning shoved my foot in my mouth.

In a quick reversal of fortune — that can quickly change again if the Lightning let up — they go into tonights home game versus the Ottawa Senators with a shot at first place in the Southeast Division and the #3 seed in the east. The Thrashers hath fallen to the Pittsburgh Penguins this afternoon (2-1 final) and that puts pressure on the Lightning to perform.

Packed house at the arena expected tonight, as the Lightning box office was selling standing room only tickets as of this morning. Times Palace will be rocking if not for playoff calibre hockey (or so we hope) but also with people wanting to see Vincenzo tally #50 on his scoring belt for the year.

March Madness ain’t shit compared to playoff push hockey.

Better late than never…

Speaking of which… Hellooooooo Eric Perrin!

The Lightning are plummeting in the standings (with the Washington Massacre being the latest evidence) and I think it’s time to face some very hard, difficult to swallow in some lights, and debatable facts.

The team is on the cusp of being shunned from the playoffs in a tight eastern conference race. Forget the Southeast title — the playoffs themselves are in question unless the Lightning starts playing at another level. To play better, the entire roster needs to contribute offensively and yet the only offensive output lately seems to be Vincent Lecavalier.

This is a one line team. Vinny and Marty, Marty and Vinny and whoever is on their wing. That’s not going to cut it.

We shouldn’t be shocked at the Lightning falling back to earth. They have been habitually on-and-off all season. They started ice cold, for instance, with Ryan Craig as the key cog on offense. They heated up and put themselves in the playoff hunt when it mattered the most (January) and Jay Feaster did the fans and the franchise a favor by trading for long term help instead of a final big-name for the playoff push.

One big name was never going to put the Lightning over the top, and yet gutting the roster (as Feaster threatened) wasn’t something that needed to be done either. The core is still there, but there does need to be changes to those around that core.

Those changes start with Vaclav Prospal and Cory Sarich leaving town. Maybe another team will enjoy seeing them on ice whenever an opponent scores?

Can the Lightning still make the playoffs? If the team finishes like last season - no way. It’s far too tight in the Eastern Conference for a half-hearted effort. Yet, even if they do turn things around and make the playoffs (and convincingly) the Bolts are still in trouble with opposing defenses attuned to Lecavalier as the Lightning’s offensive threat. Shut down Vinny and you shut down the Bolts… Oh, and the Lightning don’t have the shoot-out to help them along like they did during the regular season.

While I’m doom-and-gloom on the Lightning’s chances for the remainder of 2006-07 at this point, I’m not pessimistic about the Lightning’s chances in the future. They didn’t rob Peter to pay Paul at the deadline… They didn’t sell off their defensive prospects, or purge salary as was threatened. I want to see Mike Egener, Matt Smaby and Andy Rogers getting face time in Tampa next year (instead of Jay Feaster going out and spending on FA defensivemen to take the place of Sarich and others). But that’s next year — and the Lightning still have a shot at this year…

…or do they?

1-13 and manager Joe Maddon doesn’t see a problem.

1-13 and Maddon is shooting for the Rays off day and how the team responds to it and plays after it…

“I’m looking around March 20, the day after the off day, I really want to see us turning this thing around,” he said. “We’ll be playing mostly a solid, set lineup and at that point I want to see things starting to change. … That’s the moment I want to see us play our in-season kind of game.”

1-13 and Maddon’s keeping an even keel while the team lacks leadership. They are looking for it from within and I don’t think they will find it. With a team of cast offs and prospects who have never been there (anywhere over 70 wins), the leadership they seek isn’t part of the Rays franchise right now… Unless you count Fred McGriff who has a coaching job with the franchise.

You can see the Rays as potential dark horses in the AL East with their young talent (Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, pre-season ROY favorite Delmon Young, Scott Kazmir). The core is promising on this team but it’s disenchanting that the Rays have not rounded out this crew with a veteran leader or two on the bench or in the bullpen with “been there” experience to help the young guys along.

1-13 this spring… Of course, the games don’t count but when they start counting, what’s going to happen? Will the Rays put Maddon out to pasture if his Zen managerial style continues to not accomplish anything?

Bolt Prospects has touched on the rumors up north that the Lightning and Springfield Falcons may terminate their affiliation deal.

The Norfolk Admirals were named within the rumors as becoming the Lightning’s new AHL affiliate. Lets keep our ears open on this one.

Marc Denis is likely to start in goal again for the Lightning. I’m not expecting any major lineup changes from Saturday’s game versus the Leafs (no defensivemen will be rotated out so Shane-Oh can play).

The question really is, once again, which team we will see tonight? The Lightning from this western conference sojourn or the Dolts who got smacked around by the Kitties at the start of this trek?

Oh well, a game night open thread shouldn’t be all doom and gloom… I’ll let The Instigator send us off to comments:

As if I needed to show the masses another reason to rib the St. Pete Times and their (online, this time) coverage of the Lightning, check out the featured photo they used to summarize both Saturday night’s game and this morning’s story about Vincent Lecavalier:

(click on the image to view the full size)

Now, maybe I am being a little anal for making a thing about the Lightning using a stock photo from 2004, but with the Lightning fresh out of Calgary and Lecavalier fresh off his 46th goal of the season… Wasn’t it a little more relevant to have a recent photo (from this season) in place on the Lightning’s page at the Times?

Saturday nights game versus the Flames was highlighted by several factors. First meeting between the Flames and the Bolts since a little get together in June 2004 was the most notable one. Filip Kuba’s return to the lineup after his benching in Edmonton was second among them. Vincent Lecavalier scratching #46 of course was notable…

But what about the trade-deadline acquisition and NHL rookie Shane O’Brien getting ice time with the Dan Boyle (meaning as a member of the Lightning’s top 4 defensive corp)? O’Brien was all over the ice, logging almost 25 minutes of ice time and taking 30 shifts. Only Martin St. Louis, Boyle and Brad Richards logged more ice time and only Boyle took more shifts.

To see O’Brien be vaulted like that is exceptional — especially while his acquisition has left some puzzled. The problem is, it’s also risky. O’Brien is a competent player and a force to be renowned with but he is still a rookie. He is still new to the system. While pinching in and potentially chipping in on offense is said to appeal to him — he’s not fully assimilated into the system John Tortorella has in place. Though, it can and should be argued that Shane is more familiar with the Flames, having been on a western conference team, than most members of the Lightning roster. Jason Ward also seemed to benefit from this familiarity.

I personally think O’Brien will be a contributor on the Lightning defense for some years to come… It’s nice to see him being trusted enough to take on such a difficult role so early in his tenure here. I just hope to hell it doesn’t backfire…