Tampa Bay will certainly look to improve the goaltending and defense first, while adding to a solid nucleus of forwards.

Here is a thumbnail look at the Lightning roster today.

For a full look at the team depth chart, click here.

Click on the players name for full salary capsule.

Forwards

Lightning forwards are a solid group

Ten forwards under contract:  Vincent Lecavalier ($7,727,273), Steven Stamkos ($7,500,000), Martin St. Louis ($5,625,000), Ryan Malone ($4,500,000), Teddy Purcell ($2,362,500), Brett Connolly ($1,633,333), JT Brown ($1,350,000), Nate Thompson ($900,000), Dana Tyrell ($600,000) and Tom Pyatt ($600,000). Buyout Vaclav Prospal ($1.166.667)

Forward UFA’s. (Unrestricted Free Agent-Players whose contracts have expired):  Tim Wallace, Ryan Shannon, Adam Hall and JT Wyman.

Defensemen

Four defensemen under contract:  Eric Brewer ($3,850,000), Mattias Ohlund ($3,607,143), Victor Hedman ($4,000,000) and Marc-Andre Bergeron ($1,000,000).

Defensemen UFA’s:  Brett Clark, Mike Commodore and Bruno Gervais.

Defensemen RFA’s:  (Restricted Free Agent-Players who are no longer considered ”entry-level” but do not qualify as unrestricted free agents become restricted free agents when their contracts expire):  Brian Lee, Keith Aulie and Brendan Mikkelson.

Goalies

One goalie under contract:  Mathieu Garon ($1,300,000)

Goalie UFA’s:  Dwayne Roloson and Sebastien Caron.

Salary committed for 2012-13: $48.095 million

2012-13 Salary Cap:  $64,300,000

For the full Lightning salary chart, click here.

Is the Kings Bernier a candidate?

General Manager, Steve Yzerman will be looking for a number one goalie this summer and he is armed with two first -round draft choices in the June draft and up to four second round picks. After all, the Bolts had the worst goals-against average (3.34) and save percentage (.889) in the NHL for the second straight season. Vancouver’s Cory Schneider is most often mentioned as the top candidate, but he is a future RFA and the Bolts could only acquire him through a trade involving a top Lightning prospect. Also, Vancouver may decide to let Roberto Luongo and his huge contract go before trading Scnneider. There are many other interesting options out there including trading for the Kings Jonathan Bernier, but the goalie free agent market is weak. Yzerman’s only real option is to trade for a young number one.

Here is a list of free agent goalies:

UFA Goalies:  Martin Brodeur-New Jersey, Antero Niittymaki-San Jose, Tomas Vokoun-Washington, Jonas Gustavsson-Toronto, Johan Hedberg-New Jersey, Scott Clemmensen-Florida, Alex Auld-Ottawa, Martin Biron-New York Rangers, Josh Harding-Minnesota, Al Montoya-New York Islanders, Ray Emery-Chicago, Curtis Sanford-Columbus, Dwayne Roloson-Tampa Bay and Sebastien Caron-Tampa Bay.

For a complete list of goalie UFA’s, click here.

RFA Goalies:  Carey Price-Montreal, Tukka Rask-Boston, Ondrej Pavelec-Winnipeg, Cory Schneider-Vancouver, Anders Lindback-Nashville, Devan Dubnyk-Edmonton, Leland Irving-Calgary, Ben Scrivens-Toronto, Richard Bachman-Dallas, Justin Peters-Carolina, Cedrick Desjardins-Colorado and Jaroslav Janus-Tampa Bay.

For a complete list of goalie RFA’s, click here.

Photographs courtesy of Linda Hamilton.

Salary numbers courtesy of capgeek.com

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The Bolts are in fifth (last) place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by twelve points. Tampa Bay is in 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, seven points out of a playoff spot and two points from the conference cellar. Only the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens trail the Bolts.

After 71 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 50. He leads the Bolts and is second in the league in points with 84. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 41. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +9.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -24. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 23 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Goalie Dustin Tokarski is 1-2-1 with a 2.79 goals against average and an .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:21 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 251.

The Lightning have scored 199 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 240 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts power play and the penalty kill remain sub-par. The power play success rate is 15.5% (23rd in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 78.6% (26th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.4% and the average NHL team kills off 82.6% of their penalties successfully.

The Bolts have allowed eleven shorthanded goals, second most in the NHL.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 48.8% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 69 – Tampa Bay Lightning 6 – Boston Bruins 1

Game 70 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Toronto Maple Leafs 3

Game 71 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1– St. Louis Blues 3

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Two goals.

Martin St. Louis – One goal and one assist.

Brian Lee - Two assists.

Transactions

The Lightning announced the signing of 2011 first-round pick Vladislav Namestnikov to a three year, entry level contract.

The Lightning recalled forward Trevor Smith from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning have signed German League goaltender Sebastien Caron.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after having major knee surgery.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron has chosen to undergo back surgery that may end his season.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier is out indefinitely with a broken hand. The Bolts are hoping to have him back in three to five days.

Goalie Mathieu Garon has a torn groin muscle and is out 3-4 weeks.

Defenseman Bruno Gervais is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.

Forward Nate Thompson is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Lightning’s slide into oblivion continues. Tampa Bay has now lost five of its last six games and is proving to be one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference and the NHL. Although, still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, Tampa Bay is done.

Steven Stamkos became just the sixth player in NHL history to record multiple 50-goal seasons before the age of 23. The impressive list includes Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Joe Nieuwendyk and Alex Ovechkin.

Sports Club Stats has the Lightning’s playoffs chances at 2.1%.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Buffalo on Monday, Edmonton on Thursday and the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eight points. Tampa Bay is in 11th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, seven points out of a playoff spot.

After 68 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 48. He leads the Bolts and leads the league in points with 82. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 40. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +8.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -26. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 23 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Goalie Dustin Tokarski is 0-1-1 with a 2.93 goals against average and an .895 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:27 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 239.

The Lightning have scored 184 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 221 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts power play and the penalty kill suffered this week. The power play success rate is 15.84% (24th in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 78.48% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.45% and the average NHL team kills off 82.55% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 21st in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 49.1% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 66 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Ottawa Senators 7

Game 67 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Washington Capitals 3 OT

Game 68 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Carolina Hurricanes 4

Three Stars of the Week

Ryan Malone – Two goals and an assist.

Teddy Purcell – One goal and two assists.

Tom Pyatt - Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled goalie Dustin Tokarski from Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after having major knee surgery.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron has chosen to undergo back surgery that may end his season.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier is out indefinitely with a broken hand. The Bolts are hoping to have him back in three to five days.

Goalie Mathieu Garon has a torn groin muscle and is out 3-4 weeks.

Defenseman Bruno Gervais is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.

Bolt Notes

While Dustin Tokarski may not yet be the Bolts goalie of the future, he is certainly the goalie of the present. Why not Dwayne Roloson?  Roli has given up 13 goals in his last two starts, while Tokarski has given up six in his only two NHL starts. Statistically, Roloson is dead last among NHL goalies with 20 starts this year. The organization has given up on the 42 year old netminder and given the net to the young, big game Tokarski. Coach Guy Boucher really has no other choice.

With just 14 games remaining, Sports Club Stats has the Lightning’s playoffs chances at 4.4%.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Boston on Tuesday, Toronto on Thursday and St. Louis on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

Friday night the Admirals kicked off a run of three games in as many nights. First up for Norfolk were Michael Leighton and the Adirondack Phantoms. Tyler Johnson and Alex Picard provided all the offense for the night in the first period. Norfolk opened up the game with a Tyler Johnson goal at the nine minute mark. Alex Picard would score a minute and a half later to make it 2-0 Admirals. Tyler Johnson scored his second of the night at 19:30 to close out the first period. Adirondack finally got on the board in the second period. Denis Hamel scored the lone goal of the night at 13:19 with Radko Gudas in the penalty box. Jaroslav Janus was stellar in the net stopping 23 of the 24 shots he faced. With the 2-1 win the Admirals extended their win streak to 13 in a row.

Saturday the Admirals were going up against the Connecticut Whale. With Dustin Tokarski up with the Lightning it was the Jaroslav Janus show once again in goal. The Whale struck first with an even strength goal at 8:11 of the first period. The Norfolk offense finally got on the board at 12:17. Alex Hutchings fed a pass to Mike Angelidis who one-timed the puck past Connecticut netminder, Chad Johnson. The Admirals took a 2-1 lead early in the third period. Tyler Johnson won the draw in the right circle back to Mike Kostka. Kostka sent a slap shot past Johnson and into the net.  Tyler Johnson sealed the victory with an empty net goal at 19:18. The Admirals won 3-1 and the streak continued at 14.

A Sunday afternoon in Bridgeportwas the scene for a matchup with the Sound Tigers. The Admirals were playing their third game in three nights. Call ups and injuries forced Jon Cooper to patch the holes with some ECHL players. Jaroslav Janus got the nod once more in net. Norfolkstruck first fifteen minutes into the first with Trevor Smith’s 22^nd goal of the season. Smith intercepted a Sound Tiger pass in the low slot. Smith then backhanded the puck into the net past Kevin Poulin. Bridgeport tied the game, with a shorthanded goal at 1:17 of the second period. Mark Barberio scored a power play goal at 17:16 with an assist going to Cory Conacher. Two minutes later Richard Panik increased the lead to two with another power play goal at 19:28. Bridgeport would tie the game at three goals each in the final frame. Norfolk turned up the heat and controlled the remainder of the game. Mark Barberio scored his second of the night with a slap shot goal at 13:12. Pierre-Cedric Labrie would feed a pass to Richard Panik who sent a one-timer into the net at 15:52. Tyler Johnson closed out the scoring at 17:32. Richard Panik fed a long pass to Johnson who fired a shot past Poulin for the 6-3 Admiral victory. The winning streak is now at 15.

Cory Conacher (31G 37A 68Pts +6), Trevor Smith (22G 38A 60Pts +25), and Mark Barberio (11G 42A 53Pts +19) find themselves atop the team in scoring. Dustin Tokarski (27-11-0 2.34GAA) was recalled to Tampa Bay. Jaroslav Janus (15-8-2 2.75GAA) went 3-0. Pat Nagle (0-0-0) did not play.

For the Season the Admirals are 42-18-1-2 with 87 points. They are currently holding the top position in the AHL.Norfolkis currently on a 15-0-0-0 streak and is 10-0-0-0 in their last ten games.Norfolk’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 7.

Three Stars of the Week

Janus is the Admirals first star of the week

Jaroslav Janus – Three wins in three nights.

Tyler Johnson – Four goals.

The Admirals team – Riding a 15 game winning streak.

Transactions

Dustin Tokarski – Recalled by theTampaBayLightning (NHL).

Alex Hutchings – Recalled from theFloridaEverblades (ECHL).

Bryan Brutlag – Signed to PTO from the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL).

Casey Haines – Signed to PTO from theReading Royals (ECHL).

Pat Nagle – Recalled from theFloridaEverblades (ECHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Knee – Out for the season.

An Observation from the Stands

What a week it was for the Admirals and their fans. There has been rumor and speculation that Tampa Baywill be moving the team toSyracusenext season. Even though nothing has been officially announced, the stories out of Syracusehave done nothing but feed the rumor mill. While this is probably more of a distraction for the fans, I still wonder if and how it will affect the players. Obviously it did not affect the team this week. With the winning streak now at 15 the Admirals are looking forward to their lone home game against the Penguins on Wednesday. I would like to see Conacher step up and get out of his scoring slump. The offense is rolling and Janus has stepped up to fill the void left by Tokarski in net. As Tyler Johnson would say, “Let’s go boys!..Fifteen is a fluke, sixteen is a streak!

The Week Ahead

Norfolk returns to Scope for a Wednesday night game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Admirals then get back on the bus for a Friday and Sunday matchup against the Charlotte Checkers down in Charlotte, NC.

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The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by six points. Tampa Bay is in 10th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, two points out of a playoff spot.

After 65 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 47. He leads the Bolts and leads the league in points with 80. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 39. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +10.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -23. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 23 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:30 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 230.

The Lightning have scored 182 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 216 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts power play improved this week, while the penalty kill suffered. The power play success rate is 15.02% (26th in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 79.22% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.57% and the average NHL team kills off 82.43% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 22nd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 49.0% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 63 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Montreal Canadiens 1

Game 64 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – New York Rangers 3 OT

Game 65 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Carolina Hurricanes 3 OT

Three Stars of the Week

Teddy Purcell – Two goals and four assists.

Steven Stamkos - Four goals and an assist.

Martin St. Louis – Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning acquired  defenseman Mike Commodore from Detroit for a conditional seventh round pick.

The Lightning acquired defenseman Keith Aulie from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Carter Ashton.

The Lightning acquired defenseman Brian Lee from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenseman Matt Gilroy.

The Lightning recalled forward Brandon Segal from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning reassigned defenseman Evan Oberg and forwards Mike Angelidis and Trevor Smith to Norfolk (AHL), recalled the trio and then reassigned them again.

The Lightning recalled forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning signed Cory Conacher (AHL) to a two-year, two-way contract.

The Lightning signed forward Danick Gauthier (QMJHL) to a three-year contract.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after having major knee surgery.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury. He is contemplating season ending surgery.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier is out indefinitely with a broken hand. The Bolts are hoping to have him back in three to five days.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is day-to-day with an upper body injury but could return to practice on Monday.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts won three games this week, each one by one goal. The last two wins were both, two goal comebacks. Eight of Tampa Bay’s next nine games are at home.

Forward Teddy Purcell is riding a career best, nine game points streak. During that streak, Purcell has netted six goals and dished out 13 assists while playing on the Bolts top line.

Sports Club Stats has the Lightning’s playoffs chances at 20.2%.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Ottawa on Tuesday. They travel to Washington on Thursday and host Carolina on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Admirals went into action this past Wednesday night riding a nine game winning streak. The Hershey Bears were making their final appearance of the season at Scope and were looking to put an end to Norfolk’s winning ways. The first period was a defensive battle as neither team could figure the goalies out. Cory Conacher broke the stalemate early in the second with an Admiral power play goal. Hershey answered back midway into the third on a Boyd Kane shot into an open Admiral net before Jaroslav Janus could get back into position. It would only take Norfolk two minutes to regain the lead as Tyler Johnson picked up a Bear turnover and fed it to Ondrej Palat. Palat skated through two Bear defenseman and sent a wrist shot past Braden Holtby for the go ahead goal.Norfolk shut down the Bears offense and the Admirals kept the streak alive with a 2-1 win.

The Springfield Falcons provided the opposition on Friday and Saturday night. The Admirals opened the scoring midway into the first period:  Mike Kostka sent a shot towards the net that ended up behind the goaltender. Michel Ouellet swept the puck into the net before Paul Dainton could reach back and cover it. Ouellet would combine with Alex Picard and Mike Angelidis for the Admirals second goal at 4:15 of the second period. Ouellet picked off a Falcon pass and centered the puck to Picard. Picard fired the puck on net and Mike Angelidis collected the rebound and deposited the puck into the net. Nine minutes later Ouellet would score his second of the night on a nice pass from Richard Panik for a power play goal at 12:48. Radko Gudas made it 4-0 as he deflected a Scott Jackson shot past Dainton at 18:33 of the second period. Springfield put an end to Dustin Tokarski’s shutout bid on a Matt Calvert goal twelve minutes into the final frame. Norfolk continued to put the pressure on and capitalized on the power play with a goal from Philip-Michael Devos at 18:52 to seal a 5-2 victory.

Tension from Friday’s game carried over into the Saturday night match. Both teams were on the ice for warm-ups and the smack talking started. The Springfield Falcons Greg Amadio went to center ice trying to get Pierre-Cedric Labrie’s attention. Labrie was more than happy to discuss matters with him and proceeded to pound Amadio. With no officials or coaches on the ice, both teams gathered and players grabbed dancing partners. Mike Angelidis and the Falcon captain were able to get things under control as the teams finished warm ups.Norfolk was pumped up and it showed. The Admirals opened up the first period and grabbed an early 3-0 lead with goals for Cory Conacher, Michel Ouellet, and a shorthanded goal from Tyler Johnson. Both teams went scoreless in the second period.Springfield finally got on the board in the third with a goal from Brent Regner at 8:15. Richard Panik restored the Admirals three-goal lead two minutes later. Panik deflected a Cory Conacher shot past the Falcon net-minder at 10:19. Tyler Johnson closed out the scoring at 11:00 of the third to give the Admirals a 5-1 victory and extend the Norfolk win streak at 12 games.

Cory Conacher (31G 35A 66Pts +7), Trevor Smith (21G 36A 57Pts +26), and Mark Barberio (9G 42A 51Pts +20) find themselves at the top for scoring. Conacher was rewarded for his exceptional play with a two year deal with the Lightning. Dustin Tokarski (27-11-0 2.34GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (12-8-2 2.89GAA) went 1-0.

For the season the Admirals are 39-18-1-2 with 81 points. They are currently holding the top position in the AHL. Norfolk is currently on a 12-0-0-0 streak and is 10-0-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Normally I would have three individuals listed as the three stars. Michell Ouellet, and Cory Conacher have had great games this week, but the whole team deserves to be in this section. The last twelve games have been an outstanding team effort. The Admirals are playing the best hockey of the season, and the best hockey since Tampa Bay has been the parent club. This week they all get the number one star.

Transactions

Brandon Segal – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Mike Angelidis – Returned by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Evan Oberg – Returned by the Tampa BayLightning (NHL).

Trevor Smith – Returned by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Returned by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Knee – Out for the season.

An Observation from the Stands

A twelve game win streak is no easy task. I was not sure what type of team to expect this season. As the season progressed I saw glimpses of greatness followed up by questionable moves that resulted in losses. I thought it would be a long season. The Admirals have proven me wrong and pulled off a winning streak for the ages and are playing some of the best hockey I have seen here inNorfolk. I cannot wait to see this team in the playoffs. They have come together as a team and battled through injuries and call ups and they continue to win. Other teams have called our player “cocky”. There might be some truth to that, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is in the standings.Norfolkhas opened up some distance between themselves and division rivals Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. There are sixteen games remaining in the regular season and then the real fun begins. This is the team to watch…..Keep it going boys.

The Week Ahead

Norfolk is on the road this week. They will be making stops in Adirondack on Friday, Connecticut on Saturday and Bridgeporton Sunday. The Admirals return home on Wednesday, March 14 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

The Rumor Mill

Could the Admirals exit Norfolk? Read it here!

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The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eight points. Tampa Bay is in 11th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, six points out of a playoff spot.

After 62 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 43. He leads the Bolts and is second in the NHL in points with 75. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 36. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +9.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -24. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 20 wins, a 2.90 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:24 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 219.

The Lightning have scored 172 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 209 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts power play improved this week, while the penalty kill suffered. The power play success rate is 14.8% (25th in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 79.0% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.60% and the average NHL team kills off 82.40% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 20th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 49.2% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 59 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Anaheim Ducks 2

Game 60 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Winnipeg Jets 4

Game 61 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Pittsburgh Penguins 8

Game 62 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – New Jersey Devils 3

Three Stars of the Week

Purcell posts a ten point week

Teddy Purcell – Three goals and seven assists.

Steven Stamkos - Three goals and five assists.

Martin St. Louis – Four goals and two assists.

Transactions

The Lightning traded center Dominic Moore and a seventh round pick in 2012 to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a second round pick in 2012 (acquired by the Sharks from the Minnesota Wild).

The Lightning traded defenseman Pavel Kubina to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a second round pick in 2012 or 2013 (The Panthers hold the option on whether the second round pick can be used this year or in 2013), a fourth round pick in 2012 and minor league winger Jon Kalinski.

The Lightning recalled forward Trevor Smith from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning acquired a first-round pick in the 2012 draft and minor-league defenceman Sebastien Piche after exchanging forward Steve Downie for defenseman Kyle Quincey with the Colorado Avalanche. The Lightning then dealt Quincey to the Detroit Red Wings for a first-round pick and Piche.

The Lightning acquired forward Brandon Segal from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations.

The Lightning claimed forward Tim Wallace off waivers from the New York Islanders.

The Lightning recalled forward Mike Angelidis from Norfolk (AHL).

The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg from Norfolk (AHL) for the ninth time this season. He appeared in just his second game with Tampa Bay and finished with 11:25 of ice time and was a +2.

The Lightning acquired  defenseman Mike Commodore from Detroit for a conditional seventh round pick

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after having major knee surgery.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier is out indefinitely with a broken hand.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is day-to-day with an upper body injury, possibly a concussion.

Bolt Notes

Despite being depleted by injuries and trades, the Bolts have gone 11-5-2 in their last 18 games. In the past two weeks, Tampa Bay has traded three regular skaters for draft picks and prospects and lost forward Vincent Lecavalier and defenseman Victor Hedman to serious injuries.  Martin St. Louis has scored 20 or more goals in nine straight seasons. Teddy Purcell has points in six straight games and Steven Stamkos remains hot. The Bolts have scored five power play goals in the last four games.

GM Steve Yzerman’s to do list must start with getting a number one goalie. With Ottawa acquiring minor league backstop Ben Bishop from the Blues, the list of potentials grew shorter. Bishop was traded to the Senators for a 2013 second-round pick, a price the Lightning weren’t willing to pay according to Yzerman.  The Bolts GM said he spoke to the Blues about Bishop but was not willing to give up a second-round draft pick for him.

It is thought that Tampa Bay is interested in the Kings Jonathan Bernier and the Canucks Cory Schneider. A deal for these highly rated netminders won’t happen until the summer.

Yzerman said there has been some interest in potential unrestricted free agents, including defensemen Bruno Gervais, Brett Clark and Matt Gilroy, goaltender Dwayne Roloson, and forwards Adam Hall and Ryan Shannon. There has been no mention of Ryan Malone being dangled. Yzerman finds him an attractive keeper as his salary drops from $5.5 million to $3 million next season.

What to do with rookie forward Brett Connolly? The Lightning has until the end of Monday to send Connolly to Tri-City of the junior Western League making him eligible for their playoffs. ”There’s an argument for both sides,” Yzerman stated. “He plays the final games and gets a lot of ice time, obviously, the NHL is a better league than junior hockey. The tempo is higher, the players are stronger. He’s going to benefit on that if he plays.” The Bolts GM added, ”I don’t know that he really struggled. He hasn’t played a whole lot. The coaches were going with veteran guys, trying to win. It’s hard to have an impact when you play five minutes.”

The Bolts are on the lookout for a top four defenseman also. Preferably a right handed puck mover…the Holy Grail of NHL GM’s everywhere.

Steve Yzerman said yesterday, ”We’ve made our major moves here and we’ll see what is up over the next 27 hours or so. We’ll obviously work the phone and see what’s out there. As far as acquiring players, real impact players, that’s more likely to be done at the draft.”

Sports Club Stats has the Lightning’s playoffs chances at 5.4%.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Montreal on Tuesday and the New York Rangers on Friday.They travel to Carolina on Saturday.

*Teddy Purcell photograph courtesy of Linda Hamilton.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Admirals week started this past Friday for the first of three games in three nights on the road. Binghamton provided the opposition for game one. The Admirals were riding a six game winning streak and looking to add another win. The Senators struck at 1:34 of the first period and again five minutes later with a goal from former Admiral, Rob Klinkhammer. The potent Norfolk offense was absent for the first period. Brandon Segal who was recently acquired from the Rockford Ice Hogs opened the scoring for Norfolk, fifteen seconds into the second period. Both teams then shut each other down and the Senators went into the locker room holding a 2-1 lead. Evan Oberg would score on the power play to even the score at two apiece at the 6:27 mark of the third. With both teams going back and forth it looked like this game would go to overtime. Tyler Johnson took the puck into the offensive zone with less than a minute remaining. Johnson fired a shot in on Senators goalie Mike McKenna. McKenna knocked the puck aside, but Pierre-Cedric Labrie picked up the rebound and knocked it in for the Admirals third goal and sealed Norfolk’s seventh win in a row.

Saturday night the Admirals found themselves in the hometown of Hershey Chocolate and the Bears. Hershey is currently in third place behind the Admirals and was looking to pick up a key two points in the division race. All-Star defenseman Mark Barberio, got the ball rolling just two minutes and twenty-one seconds into the game. Barberio skated in on Braden Holtby and let a wrist shot go that trickled past two Bears and over the glove of Holtby for an Admiral goal. Michel Ouellet added another goal at 15:58. Hershey answered back a minute later to end the period at 2-1. Hershey evened the score sixteen seconds into the second period. Chris Bourque fired a shot thru the screen and beat Admirals net minder, Jaroslav Janus. Brandon Segal scored just over a minute later to put the Admirals ahead. Kyle Greentree of the Bears scored on the power play at 13:19 to even the score once more. Brandon Segal would get his second of the night in the final five minutes of the second period. The Admirals skated into the offensive zone on their third power play of the night; Segal deflected a shot by Barberio, through the legs of Holtby and into the net to give Norfolk the 4-3 lead at 16:35 of the second period. Neither team was able to score in the third.Norfolk got on the bus with their eighth win in a row.

Sunday the Admirals were in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for their third game in as many nights against their division rival Penguins. Ben Street opened the scoring midway through the second period, but Mark Barberio evened things up at the 17:02 mark of the second. Former Penguin J.P. Cote would put the Admirals ahead at 4:44 of the third. Alex Picard of the Penguins scored at 9:50, but it was Carter Ashton who put the Admirals ahead for good at 17:56. Ashton’s goal sealed the 3-2 victory and the Admirals record setting ninth win in a row.

Cory Conacher (29G 34A 63Pts +7), and Mark Barberio (9G 36A 48Pts +20) find themselves at the top of the Ad’s scoring list. Tyler Johnson (18G 21A 39Pts -2) has moved ahead of Carter Ashton (19G 16A 35Pts +8). Dustin Tokarski (25-11-0 2.39GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (11-8-2 2.98GAA) went 1-0.

For the Season the Admirals are 36-18-1-2 with 75 points. They are currently holding the top position in the East Division, and the Eastern Conference. The Admirals are also tied in points with the Oklahoma City Barons for the top position in the AHL. Norfolk is currently on a 9-0-0-0 streak and is 9-1-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Brandon Segal – Three goals and an assist.

Mark Barberio – Two goals and an assist.

Alexandre Picard –Three assists.

Transactions

Brandon Segal – Assigned by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Matt Fornataro – Traded to the Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL).

Mike Angelidis – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Evan Oberg – Recalled by the Tampa BayLightning (NHL).

Trevor Smith – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

With the trade deadline looming I was a bit worried that the Admirals might lose key players. The first trade that occurred was Matt Fornataro being traded to the Rockford Ice Hogs in exchange for Rockford’s captain, Brandon Segal. Segal is not an unfamiliar face to Norfolk. He was an Admiral from 2007 to 2009. I believe Norfolk got the better part of the deal as Segal has scored three goals in his first two games back with Norfolk. The Admirals look to be in playoff form and they keep moving forward. The last few weeks are going to be very important. Every point is important and the conference title is not out of the question. Hold on folks, we are in for a great ride.

The Week Ahead

The Hershey Bears return to Norfolk this Wednesday for their final appearance of the regular season.  The Springfield Falcons will be the opposition for Norfolk at Scope on Friday and Saturday.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by seven points. Tampa Bay is in 11th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, six points out of a playoff spot.

After 58 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 40. He leads the Bolts and is third in the NHL in points with 67. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 34. Forward Teddy Purcell leads the team in rating with a +8.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -20. Steve Downie has accumulated 121 penalty minutes (5th in the NHL). Goalie Mathieu Garon has 18 wins, a 2.84 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:19 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 205.

The Lightning have scored 161 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 192 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams remain bad. The power play success rate is 13.4% (29th in the 30 team NHL) and the penalty kill is at 80.3% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.36% and the average NHL team kills off 82.04% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49.2% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 56 – Tampa Bay Lightning 0 – Ottawa Senators 4

Game 57 – Tampa Bay Lightning 6 – San Jose Sharks 5 OT

Game 58 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Washington Capitals 1

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos - Three goals and two assists.

Teddy Purcell – One goal and two assists.

Victor Hedman - Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning traded center Dominic Moore and a seventh round pick in 2012 to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a second round pick in 2012 (acquired by the Sharks from the Minnesota Wild).

The Lightning traded defenseman Pavel Kubina to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a second round pick in 2012 or 2013 (The Panthers hold the option on whether the second round pick can be used this year or in 2013), a fourth round pick in 2012 and minor league winger Jon Kalinski.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR and will have major knee surgery on Thursday. The complicated surgery is a last gasp effort to save Ohlund’s career.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

Stamkos on fire!

Steven Stamkos is on a tear. Over the last 29 games, he has 24 goals, 13 assists, 37 points and seven game winning goals. The 22-year old center became the first Tampa Bay player to have three consecutive seasons of at least 40 goals. Stamkos had a career-high 51 goals in the 2009-10 season and scored 45 times last season. He has three goals and two assists in his last two games.

The Lightning are looking to their future by selling off Dominic Moore and Pavel Kubina for draft picks. According to ESPN.com’s Pierre Lebrun, “Moore’s agent, Larry Kelly, did have some talks about an extension with Yzerman over the past few weeks, but they never were able to bridge the gap. So Moore was dealt yet again — joining his ninth team since the lockout.”

A quick note on the Kubina trade:  The Bolts had asked the veteran defenseman to submit a list of teams that he would agree to be traded to. That list was never submitted as Yzerman approached Kubina about the Philadelphia offer and he accepted it.

GM Steve Yzerman and the Lightning may not be a seller yet. The Bolts next few games will determine that. Moore and Kubina were players that the Lightning were not going to sign for next year and were attractive to other teams. Trading them away in exchange for draft picks and potential assets was an intelligent move. The Bolts now have seven, first and second round draft picks over the next two years.

There are 24 games remaining to be played and the Bolts are six points out of the playoffs with three teams to jump over (Jets, Capitals and Maple Leafs). Two other teams (Islanders and Canadiens) are tied with them. Thirteen of those games are at home and ten are against teams the Bolts are tied with or need to jump in the standings, including the final five games.

According to Sports Club Stats, Tampa Bay has a 5.2% chance of making the playoffs.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Anaheim on Tuesday. travels to Winnipeg on Thursday, Pittsburgh on Saturday and New Jersey on Sunday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Admirals faced the division leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in their barn this past Wednesday night. The Penguins have always been a tough foe for the Admirals. Fortunately, this season the Admirals have won every road games versus the Penguins. The game went scoreless for the first period, but a couple of early fights set the tone for the rest of the game. Radko Gudas got the ball rolling, scoring shorthanded just 59 seconds into the second period. Ondrej Palat added another goal at 17:51. Both teams fought a back and forth battle in the third period, but Pierre-Cedric Labrie scored at the thirteen minute mark to put the Admirals up 3-0. Tyler Johnson hammered the nail in the coffin a minute and a half later to seal the 4-0 win. Dustin Tokarski went home with another shutout.

The Admirals were at home on Friday and Saturday night, facing former head coach Trent Yawney and the Syracuse Crunch. It was a special night for Admiral’s fans as Stanley Cup winner Aaron Downey (Detroit Red Wings) and Chris Phelps were inducted into the Admirals Hall of Fame. The game was a memorable team effort. Mike Kostka scored shorthanded at 2:43 of the first period. Syracuse would even things up at 5:07 of the second. The Crunch moved ahead at the 9:37 mark. Trevor Smith and Alex Picard each netted  power play goals to give the Admirals a 3-2 lead. Cory Conacher scored early in the third period, but the two goal buffer was erased on a Crunch goal just thirteen seconds later. Trevor Smith scored another Admiral power play goal at the twelve minute mark. Pierre-Cedric Labrie added the seventh and final Admiral goal a minute later. Syracuse managed to score one more goal on Tokarski, but Norfolk took the first game of the series, 7-4 over the Crunch.

Both teams were back in action Saturday Night. The Admiral Fans packed the house for Norfolk’s second sellout of the season. Syracuse provided the only scoring for the first two periods. This was definitely not the high scoring match that was expected. Syracuse added another goal halfway through the third. Mark Barberio scored a goal at 7:16 to cut the Admiral’s deficit to one. Ondrej Palat knocked in a power play goal to even things up at two each at 9:02. Both teams could not find the back of the net for the remainder of the period and the game went to overtime. After five minutes of scoreless overtime hockey, the game went to a shootout. After eight rounds of the shootout Jaroslav Janus made the save on Syracuse’s ninth round shooter. Michel Ouelette, who was recovering from an injury, put the puck into the back of the Syracuse net giving the Admirals a 3-2 win and sole possession of first place in the East Division.

Cory Conacher (29G 31A 60Pts +5), Trevor Smith (21G 36A 57Pts +26), and Mark Barberio (7G 38A 45Pts +19) find themselves at the top in scoring. Conacher now leads the AHL with 29 goals. Dustin Tokarski (23-11-0 2.41 GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (10-8-2 2.98 GAA) went 1-1.

For the season the Admirals are 33-18-1-2 with 69 points. They are currently holding the top position in the East Division. Norfolk is on a 6-0-0-0 streak and are 7-3-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Kostka is the Ad's first star of the week

Mike Kostka – One goal and three assists.

Tyler Johnson – Two goals and three assists.

Mark Barberio – One goal and three assists.

Transactions

Jon Kalinski – Assigned byTampaBayLightning (NHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

The Admirals had another great week that resulted in them claiming sole possession of first place in the division. Wednesday saw a match up of Norfolk’s Alex Picard versus the Penguins’ Alex Picard and a shutout victory for goalie Dustin Tokarski. Friday night’s matchup saw the special teams clicking and a great offensive performance. Saturday night Norfolk had the house rocking. Syracuse wanted payback for the beating they took the night before, but the Admirals were not going to give them that satisfaction. Dustin Tokarski is on a roll and looking better every day. Janus stood tall and took home the victory in the shootout. Mike Kostka had his best performance since arriving from San Antonio. Kostka definitely deserves this week’s number one star. The Admirals are looking better every day.

The Week Ahead

The Admirals find themselves on the road with three games in three nights this week. They will be in Binghamton on Friday night, followed by Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday and Sunday.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eleven points. Tampa Bay is in 12th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, eight points out of a playoff spot.

After 55 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 37. He leads the Bolts and is second in the NHL in points with 62. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 34. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +8.

Defenseman Brett Clark is last in rating with a -18. Steve Downie has accumulated 121 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 17 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:13 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 194.

The Lightning have scored 153 goals (9th in the NHL) and allowed 182 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams are far from average. The power play success rate is 13.5% (28th in the NHL) and the penalty kill is at 80.6% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.37% and the average NHL team kills off 82.63% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 20th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49.2% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 52 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Los Angeles Kings 3

Game 53 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – New York Rangers 4 OT

Game 54 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Buffalo Sabres 1

Game 55 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Pittsburgh Penguins 4

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos - Two goals and two assists.

Teddy Purcell – Five assists.

Steve Downie – Three goals.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled and reassigned defenseman Evan Oberg to Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund is most likely out for the year.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Ryan Malone is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Defenseman Matt Gilroy is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts have been playing well, losing just two of their last 11 games, but they were thoroughly embarrassed by the Penguins on Sunday. The 7-2-2 run is simply too little – too late for the Lightning. Tampa Bay is eight points out of a playoff spot and eleven points away from a division championship. 54 points are still out there to be won with 27 games left. The Bolts are still closer to the Eastern Conference cellar than they are to a playoff spot. It looks like the Lightning are sellers and not buyers.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Ottawa on Tuesday. San Jose on Thursday and Washington on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

First up for the Admirals this week was a Friday and Saturday night series against former Admiral Michael Leighton and the Adirondack Phantoms. This was a low scoring affair with only two penalties being called. The Admirals put pressure on the Phantoms all night, but Leighton did not let anything past him. Philip-Michael Devos finally beat Leighton with a nice shot over the glove of Leighton at 3:35 of the second period. This was Devos’ fourth goal since joining the Admirals from the ECHL Florida Everblades. Cory Conacher had the assist.  Both goalies, Dustin Tokarski and Leighton were brick walls the entire game. In the closing minutes the Phantoms pulled Leighton in favor of the extra attacker. Pierre-Cedric Labrie added the insurance with an empty net goal to seal the Admirals 2-0 shutout.

The same two teams went at it on Saturday night, but it wasn’t the same type of game. Pierre-Cedric Labrie started the night with a fight that would set the tone for the rest of the game.  Richard Panik got the scoring rolling with a goal at 2:48 of the first period. Mike Kostka scored on the power play at 5:07 as Mark Barberio picked up his first assist of the night. The Phantoms were called for elbowing Cory Conacher, who immediately made them pay with a goal at 5:07. Barberio got the assist. Three minutes later, Conacher added another goal. He picked up a rebound and buried it past Leighton at 8:20 for his league leading 27^th goal of the season. The Phantoms got on the board at 4:23 of the second period. Mike Angelidis would then pick up his 11^th goal of the season at 3:31 of the third period. The Phantoms answered back 31 seconds later to cut the lead to 5-2. Trevor Smith would score with less than six minutes remaining, but the Phantoms struck once more. The Admirals and Dustin Tokarski shut the Phantoms offense down and Tyler Johnson added one more goal at 17:36 for good measure.Norfolk won 7-3 and swept the 2 game series.

Sunday marked the Admirals third game in as many nights. This time the opponent was the Charlotte Checkers.  Jaroslav Janus would shine in this road tilt. Evan Oberg opened up the scoring in the final minute of the first period. There was a scramble in front of the net, the puck bounced out and Oberg skated in and shot it in the net. Less than two minutes later Cory Conacher made it 2-0 Admirals.Norfolk andCharlotte would remain scoreless for the second and most of the third period.Charlotte ruined Janus’ shutout bid in the final minute.Charlotte pulled their goalie looking for the chance to even things up, but Pierre-Cedric Labrie shot the puck from center ice to the net to seal a 3-1Norfolk win.

Cory Conacher (28G 29A 57Pts +6), Trevor Smith (19G 34A 53Pts +23), and Mark Barberio (6G 35A 41Pts +19) find themselves at op the Admirals scoring list. Conacher now leads the AHL with 28 goals. Dustin Tokarski (21-11-0 2.43GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (9-8-2 3.05GAA) went 1-1.

For the Season the Admirals are 30-18-1-2 with 63 points. They are currently 2 points behind the East Division leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.Norfolkis currently on a 3-0-0-0 streak and is 6-4-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Cory Conacher – Three goals and two assists.

Dustin Tokarski – A shutout, two wins and 39 saves on 42 shots.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Two goals and an assist.

Transactions

Evan Oberg – Recalled from and returned to the Norfolk Admirals (AHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Michel Ouellet – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

It was a great weekend for the Admirals. They picked up all six points and are closing in on the Penguins for the division lead. Goalie Dustin Tokarski played great in both of his games and his partner Jaroslav Janus did well down inCharlotte. Cory Conacher’s play was the highlight of the weekend. He just does not quit. The Phantoms were going after him physically, but he would not back down. After receiving a nasty elbow, which resulted in the offending Phantom being ejected, he came back and scored two in a row. The past two week we have seen some great performances from the team. If this is what the playoffs are going to look like the April playoffs should be interesting.

The Week Ahead

The Admirals open up the week Wednesday night in W-B/Scranton against the Penguins. They will then return to Scope for two games against the Syracuse Crunch.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eight points. Tampa Bay is in 11th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, eight points out of a playoff spot.

After 51 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 34. He leads the Bolts in and is third in the NHL in points with 57. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 33. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with a -16 and has accumulated 119 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 16 wins, a 2.88 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:19 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 181.

The Lightning have scored 145 goals (10th in the NHL) and allowed 170 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams are far from average. The power play success rate is 13.7% (26th in the NHL) and the penalty kill is at 80.6% (24th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.3% and the average NHL team kills off 82.7% of their penalties successfully.

Tampa Bay is 21st in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49.3% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 49 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Washington Capitals 3 OT

Game 50 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Winnipeg Jets 2 OT

Game 51 – Tampa Bay Lightning 6 – Florida Panthers 3

Three Stars of the Week

Martin St. Louis – Four goals and two assists.

Steven Stamkos – Two goals and three assists.

Vincent Lecavalier – One goal and three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled and then reassigned Pierre-Cedric Labrie to Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Forward Adam Hall is out with an upper body injury and may return next week.

Forward Dana Tyrell is out for the year after having successful knee surgery.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Ryan Malone is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts are eight points out of a playoff spot and eight points away from a division championship. 62 points are still out there to be won with 31 games left. For the Lightning to get into the postseason tournament, they will probably need to get 44 of those remaining 62 possible points. There are eight more games against divisional foes and the Bolts need to win all of those to have a chance. Realistically, Tampa Bay needs to win the division to make the playoffs. Possible? Yes. Probable? No.

The next handful of games will tell GM Steve Yzerman whether or not he  is a buyer or seller. If he is a seller, look for impending unrestricted free agents Dominic Moore, Ryan Shannon, Adam Hall, Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark, Matt Gilroy, Dwayne Roloson and Bruno Gervais to be offered up to the rest of the NHL.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Los Angeles on Tuesday. They travel to the New York Rangers on Thursday, Buffalo on Saturday and Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

After the All-Star break, Norfolk found itself in Adirondack for a Friday night game against former Admiral Michael Leighton and the Phantoms. The Phantoms claimed an early one goal lead as Leighton baffled the Admirals offense. Adirondack would score once more in the second. Norfolk’s Carter Ashton finally put the Admirals on the board midway through the second period. Unfortunately, Leighton and the Phantoms would shut down the Admirals offense for the rest of the night. The Phantoms would add another goal for insurance and send Norfolk on to Springfield with a 3-1 loss.

Saturday, Springfield goalie Manny Legace was hoping to celebrate his 40^th birthday with a win. Norfolk jumped out to a two goal lead with goals from Evan Oberg and Richard Panik. Springfield struck back with a goal five minutes into the second period. The Admirals Trevor Smith scored twice to make it 4-1. Manny Legace was pulled in favor of backup goalie, Paul Dainton. Dainton was put to the test and surrendered goals to Mark Barberio and Jeff DImmen. Norfolk and Springfield both went scoreless in the third and the Admirals retired for the night with the 6-1 win.

Super Bowl Sunday was not so super for the Admirals. After a goal filled game the previous night, the Admiral fans were hoping to see more of the same offensive power on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately they would be disappointed. Springfield grabbed the early lead, 1-0 after the first period. The Admirals owned the second period as Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Michel Ouelett each scored. Disaster struck in the third as the offense was shut down and the defense mailed the remainder of the game in.Springfield struck three times and took home a 4-2 win.

Cory Conacher (25G 26A 51Pts +4), Trevor Smith (18G 32A 50Pts +21) and Mark Barberio (6G 33A 39Pts +16) find themselves at the top of the Ad’s scoring list. Conacher was unusually quiet this weekend with just two assists. Goaltender Dustin Tokarski (19-11-0 2.50GAA) went 1-1 this week while Jaroslav Janus (8-8-2 3.16GAA) went 0-1.

For the Season the Admirals are 27-18-1-2 with 57 points. They are currently six points behind the East Division leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Norfolk is currently on a 0-1-0-0 streak and is 5-5-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Trevor Smith – Two goals and three assists.

Evan Oberg – One goal and three assists.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – One goal and two assists.

Transactions

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Returned to the Norfolk Admirals (AHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Alexandre Picard – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

The second half of the season is in full swing. Norfolk finds itself in fifth place in the division. The Admirals need every point that they can get. This road swing was brutal as they gave up four out of a possible six points and fell three more points behind the Penguins. It does not look like the Penguins or the Hershey Bears are going to make this any easier for Norfolk. Adirondack will be in town this weekend and the Admirals need to play every game like it’s a playoff game. They played like that at home against the Bears, but it seems that they play down to their competition. It is high time that the Admirals snap out of it and play each game like it is their last!

The Week Ahead

The Admirals play a weekend series at home against the Adirondack Phantoms this Friday and Saturday night.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by ten points. Tampa Bay is in 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, nine points out of a playoff spot.

After 47 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 32. He leads the Bolts in and is second in the NHL in points with 52. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 30. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with a -17 and has accumulated 111 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 13 wins, a 2.95 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:23 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 163.

The Lightning have scored 130 goals (11th in the NHL) and allowed 160 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts futile special teams got even worse this past week. The power play success rate is 13.3% (28th in the NHL) and the penalty kill is at 79.6% (25th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.3% and the average NHL team kills off 82.8% of their penalties successfully. Currently, the Lightning is mired in a 4-41 power play drought, including a 1-34 road power play skid.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49.1% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 45 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Boston Bruins 3

Game 46 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Dallas Stars 1

Game 47 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Phoenix Coyotes 3

Three Stars of the Week

Martin St. Louis – One goal and four assists.

Teddy Purcell – Three goals.

Vincent Lecavalier – One goal and three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning reassigned defenseman Evan Oberg to Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Forwards JT Wyman is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Adam Hall is out with an upper body injury.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Ryan Malone is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Steve Downie is day to day with an upper body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts went 3-0 this past week with two straight road wins. The playoffs are not out of the question, but with 35 games remaining, the Bolts are nine points out of the last playoff spot and they need to jump over five teams. The injury list is long and the AHL call ups are many. Tampa Bay should get much healthier after Tuesday’s game when the league will fall silent during the All-Star break. The Lightning look like they will stand pat and not look for help through trades. Dwayne Roloson is now clearly the backup goalie to Mathieu Garon, but that could change at any moment as Tampa Bay has pulled its starting goalie a total of nine times through 47 games.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Columbus on Tuesday before the All-Star break.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

First up for the Admirals this past week was the Albany Devils. The Devils have won all previous meetings with Norfolk this year. Albany struck first and built a 3-1 lead after one period of play. Cory Conacher scored the lone Admiral goal. The Admirals scored twice early in the second with goals from Evan Oberg and Mark Barberio. Albany would score their last goal of the night in the second before surrendering two more goals to Michel Ouellet and Admirals Captain, Mike Angelidis. Both teams went scoreless in the third period. Despite the rough first period, the Admirals were able to battle back for the 5-4 win. Dustin Tokarski played well, with the exception of the first period.

The Admirals moved on to Syracuse, New York for a Friday night matchup against the Syracuse Crunch. Once again Norfolk dug themselves a big hole. At the end of two periods it was six goals for the Crunch and a big goose egg for Norfolk. At the beginning of the third period goalie Jaroslav Janus was pulled in favor of Dustin Tokarski. Mike Angelidis and Richard Panik scored goals, but it was not enough to win the game.Syracuse took home the 6-3 victory and sent Norfolk on a nice bus ride to Connecticut.

It was just a week ago that Connecticut and Norfolk met down in Virginia. The Admirals won both of the games at Scope and were hoping to add one more in Connecticut. This game was very similar to the two previous matches as Norfolk found themselves down 3-1 at the end of one. Dustin Tokarski was pulled after surrendering three goals on three shots. Tyler Johnson scored the lone Admiral goal. Ondrej Palat would cut the lead to 3-2 with the lone goal of the second period. Carter Ashton opened the scoring in the third to tie the game at three. Cory Conacher would put the Admirals ahead 18 seconds later to give Norfolk the 4-3 lead. Less than two minutes laterSyracuse would tie the game and send it to overtime. After a scoreless overtime period a shootout took place. It took ten rounds to complete the shootout, but in the end Richard Panik secured the 5-4 win for the Admirals.

Cory Conacher (24G 22A 46Pts +3) and Mark Barberio (5G 32A 37Pts +16) find themselves at the top of the Admirals in scoring. Conacher leads the AHL in goals scored and is fifth overall in scoring. Carter Ashton (16G 14A 30Pts +7) is holding on to fourth place in scoring. Dustin Tokarski (17-9-0 2.53GAA) was pulled from the Connecticut game after allowing three goals on three shots. Jaroslav Janus (8-6-2 3.17GAA) went 1-1 this week.

For the Season the Admirals are 25-14-1-2 with 53 points. They are currently two points behind the East Division leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.Norfolk is currently on a 1-0-0-0 streak and is 5-3-1-1 in their last ten games.

Angelidis leads the way for the Admirals

Three Stars of the Week

Mike Angelidis – Three goals.

Cory Conacher – Two goals and an assist.

Mark Barberio – One goal and an assist.

Transactions

Trevor Smith – Recalled to the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL).

Kevin Quick – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

Charles Landry – Returned to the Norfolk Admirals (AHL).

Evan Oberg – Returned to theNorfolk Admirals (AHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Lately the Admirals have let the opposition build an early lead. In all three games this week Norfolk had to fight back from two to three goal deficits. They lost one, won one in regulation and won in the tenth round of a shootout. Even with the call ups missing from the lineup they still have a potent offense and it shows. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Tampa Bay not only has a goalie situation in the NHL, but the AHL netminding isn’t looking that good either. You can look at the stats and say that Tokarski isn’t having a bad season, but what you see on paper is not always what you see on the ice. He need some work before the Bolts bring him up.

The Week Ahead

Next up for the Admirals is a three-game home stand starting Tuesday night against the Charlotte Checkers followed by a Friday and Saturday night series against the Hershey Bears.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fifth (last) place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Washington Capitals by twelve points. Tampa Bay is in 15th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, twelve points out of a playoff spot.

After 44 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 30. He leads the Bolts in points with 50 (third in the NHL). Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 25. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with an alarming -19 and has accumulated 107 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 11 wins, a 2.94 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:18 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 152.

The Lightning have scored 119 goals (12th in the NHL) and allowed 153 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams remain bad. The power play success rate is 14.1% (26th in the NHL) and the penalty kill is at 78.9% (26th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.3% and the average NHL team kills off 82.7% of their penalties successfully. Currently, the Lightning is mired in a 4-41 power play drought, including a 1-34 road power play skid.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 41 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Vancouver Canucks 5 SO

Game 42 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Carolina Hurricanes 5

Game 43 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Washington Capitals 4

Game 44 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Pittsburgh Penguins 6

Three Stars of the Week

Vincent Lecavalier – One goal and four assists.

Martin St. Louis – Five assists.

Steven Stamkos – One goal and three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning announced a two year-one way contract extension for $600,000 per year for forward Tom Pyatt.

The Lightning called up forward Trevor Smith from Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Forwards JT Wyman is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Adam Hall is out 6-8 weeks with an upper body injury.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Dana Tyrell is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts went 0-4 this past week. Tampa Bay has dropped their last seven games and nine of their last twelve. They are at the bottom of the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference. They are 27th of the 30 NHL teams. Tampa Bay is an awful road team going 6-16-3 so far in 2012.

The numbers don’t lie. The Lightning are a last place team with a brutally bad defense and ineffective goaltending. Of the 77 NHL goalies that have suited up this season, Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson rank 58th and 72nd in goals against average respectively. The duo is 58th and 71st in save percentage.

While many believe this is a team that has the ability to come back after trailing…don’t believe it! The Bolts have won only 26% of the games when they have trailed in the first period.

The Lightning is giving up 31 shots per game on average, while getting 28 shots on goal.

At this point, Tampa Bay looks like a seller, but one without much to offer. GM Steve Yzerman will not trade a prospect, as one player, not even a goalie can save the season.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Boston on Tuesday, travels to Dallas on Friday and Phoenix on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals faced off for a rare Tuesday night meeting with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins at home in the “friendly” confines of the Norfolk Scope. The previous meeting, a week ago, resulted in a win for the Admirals. This meeting would not be as nice as the Penguins had revenge on their minds.  Paul Thompson and Ben Street of the Penguins would give the Baby Pens an early 3-0 lead in the first period. Michel Ouellett and Radko Gudas would get the Admirals on the board in the second. Unfortunately for the Admirals these would their only goals of the night. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held Norfolk scoreless the rest of the way and went home with the 3-2 win.

Next, the Connecticut Whale and Sean Avery arrived in town for a weekend series with the Admirals. The Fans were disappointed when Avery was scratched for disciplinary reasons. The Admirals were not focused on the former NHL bad-boy, but instead, focused on the game and getting two points. Mike Kostka opened up the scoring midway into the first period. Cory Conacher added another goal early in the second period. Matt Fornataro score five minutes later to put the Ad’s up 3-0. The Admirals shut-out was ruined as Aaron Voros put the puck past Admirals netminder, Dustin Tokarski. The Voros goal would be the Whales’s only score as the Admirals shut down the Whale for the 3-1 win.

The Whale and the Admirals were back at it on Saturday night for Norfolk’s annual “Pink in the Rink” night to benefit the Susan G. Komen Cure for Cancer and Breast Cancer Awareness. A season high crowd of 7,227 was on hand to see the game and the bonus was an appearance by Sean Avery. The night was Richard Panik’s night as he gave Whale goalie, Cameron Talbot, a “Panik Attack”. Panik opened up the scoring with a goal in the first and another midway thru the second period to give Norfolk a 2-0 lead. Kelsey Tessier and Aaron Voros would score later in the second to tie the game at two each. Mike Kostka and Matt Fornataro would combine to put Norfolk ahead early in the third period. Fornataro deflected Kostka’s pass past Talbot for his second goal in two nights. Mike Angelidis added the insurance goal late in the third.Norfolk won the game 4-2 and swept the Whale.

Trevor Smith (16G 28A 44Pts +17) and Cory Conacher (22G 21A 43Pts +7) find themselves at the top of Norfolk’s scoring list. Smith and Conacher continue to keep moving forward. Mark Barberio (4G 31A 35Pts +20) leads all Norfolk defensemen and is in third place amongst all Admirals in scoring. Carter Ashton (15G 13A 28Pts +9) is seriously falling behind the leaders, but maintains a hold on fourth place in scoring. Dustin Tokarski (16-9-0 2.9GAA) went 2-1 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-5-2 3.04GAA) did not play this week.

For the Season the Admirals are 23-13-1-2 with 49 points. They are currently 6 points behind the East Division leading Hershey Bears. Norfolkis currently on a 2-0-0-0 streak and is 6-2-1-1 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Richard Panik – Two goals.

Mike Kostka  – One goal and two assists.

Mark Barberio – Three assists.

Transactions

Kevin Quick – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

Charles Landry – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Tuesday night was not pretty. The Penguins totally outplayed Norfolk. While the score on paper looked close, it was nowhere near that. Friday and Saturday the Admirals played like they played at the beginning of the season. I don’t know what went on in practice, but whatever they discussed they were on point this weekend. Mark Barberio is having a great season. He is all over the place on the ice and holds the defense together. Richard Panik has shown what he is capable of doing, but needs to keep doing it on a regular basis.

Sean Avery lived up to his reputation. He was scratched from the first game for disciplinary reasons. He was spotted out on the town sitting at a bar being ignored by fellow members of the Whale. During warm-ups on Saturday night he was heckled and challenged a few of the hecklers to come on the ice. During the game he would argue with the referees, slashed an Admirals player, and got tossed for abusing the officials. Yes, he definitely lived up to his reputation. Even though he was very entertaining, I wouldn’t want him on my team.

The Week Ahead

Next up for the Admirals is a three-game road trip starting Wednesday night in Albany, N.Y.against the Devils, Friday night against the Syracuse Crunch, and a rematch with the Whale on Saturday night in Connecticut.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eleven points. Tampa Bay is in 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, nine points out of a layoff spot.

After 40 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 28. He leads the Bolts in points with 43. Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 21. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +7. Steve Downie is last in rating with an alarming -17.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with an alarming -17 and has accumulated 100 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 11 wins, a 2.85 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:14 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 139.

The Lightning have scored 107 goals (17th in the NHL) and allowed 134 goals (28th in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams are awful. The power play success rate is at a season low 13.77% (27th in the NHL) and the penalty kill slipped below 80% at 79.50% (23rd in the NHL). The Bolts are in the middle of an appalling 1-34 road power play skid.Tampa Bay is 25th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 48.5% of their draws.

Tampa Bay has won 11 of 16 games at the Tampa Bay Times Forum and six of 24 games on the road.

Box Scores

Game 38 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Toronto Maple Leafs 7

Game 39 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Ottawa Senators 4

Game 40 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Montreal Canadiens 3

Three Stars of the Week

Vincent Lecavalier – Two goals and an assist.

Steven Stamkos – Two goals.

Dominic Moore – Two assists.

Transactions

Tampa Bay acquired defenseman Brendan Mikkelson from Calgary for forward Blair Jones.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie was recalled by the Lightning.

Forward Brett Connolly returned from Team Canada.

The Lightning announce a two year-one way contract extension for $600,000 per year for forward Tom Pyatt.

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Forwards JT Wyman and Adam Hall are day-to-day with upper body injuries.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts went 0-3 this past week. At the mid-season mark, Tampa Bay is in trouble. They are nine points out of a playoff spot with four teams to jump over to get into the postseason tournament. The Lightning plays nine of its next 12 games at home and must go on a run to maintain hopes of a playoff appearance in 2012. The Bolts have lost 18 road games, only two less than their total road losses last season.

The first half MVP is superstar Steven Stamkos. The Tampa Bay sniper has a NHL best 28 goals and is on pace for another 50 goal season. The 21 year old center has grabbed hold of a leadership role with the team and is playing a more physical game, getting to the front of the net and battling for “garbage” goals.

The biggest disappointment  of the first half is $3 million goaltender Dwayne Roloson, who is 6-9 with a 3.76 goals against average and an .881 save percentage, last and second to last in the NHL respectively.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Vancouver on Tuesday and  Carolina on Thursday. The Bolts travel to Washington on Friday before hosting Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

On Wednesday night, the Norfolk Admirals faced off against division rivals, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Pennsylvania. The normally tough Brad Thiessen was just not himself. The Admirals beat Thiessen three times in the third period. Richard Panik, Cory Conacher, and Radko Gudas  all lit the lamp to give Norfolk a 3-0 lead. The Penguins put their only goal of the night in the second frame. Cory Conacher would get his second of the night in the third and Mike Angelidis put things to bed with the Admirals fifth goal of the night. Dustin Tokarski stopped 20 of 21 shots in theNorfolk 5-1 win.

Friday night had the Admirals and Albany Devils squaring off at the Norfolk Scope. Norfolkdominated the first two periods with goals from Mark Barberio, Carter Ashton, Trevor Smith, and Evan Oberg. Halfway thru the third period Norfolk fell asleep and Albany started their comeback. The Devils would score four unanswered goals and send the game to overtime.Albany finished the Admirals off with a goal at 3:31 of the overtime period for the 5-4 win.

The Devils were back on Saturday night and set the tone early. Stephane Veilleux of the Devils slashed Cory Conacher as the teams lined up for the opening face-off. If they were trying to intimidate the Admirals, it worked.Albanydominated the entire game. They scored their first goal in the first and added two more in the second.Norfolkwas only able to put one goal on the board from Richard Panik. With the 3-1 win the Devils have now won all four meetings of the season.

Trevor Smith (16G 28A 44Pts +18) and Cory Conacher (2G 20A 41Pts +7) find themselves at the top for scoring. Smith and Conacher are 3^rd and 5^th in scoring in the AHL.  Mark Barberio (4G 28A 32Pts +18) leads allNorfolk defensemen and is in third place amongst all Admirals in scoring. Carter Ashton (15G 12A 27Pts +9) continues to hold onto fourth place.  Dustin Tokarski (14-8-0 2.45GAA) went 1-1 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-5-2 3.04GAA) lost in his only start this week to the Albany Devils.

For the Season the Admirals are 21-12-1-2 with 45 points. They are currently four points behind the East Division leading Hershey Bears.Norfolkis currently on a 0-1-1-0 streak and is 5-3-1-1 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Cory Conacher  – Two goals and an assist.

Trevor Smith – One goal and four assists.

Richard Panik – Two goals.

Transactions

Evan Oberg – Returned by theTampaBay Lightning.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Recalled by theTampaBay Lightning.

Injuries

Alexander Picard – Undisclosed injury – Day to day

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed injury – Day to day

Kevin Quick – Lower body injury – Day to day

An Observation from the Stands

One of the big issues Norfolk has had in the past is starting slowely after the Christmas break. The Admirals have played six games and lost three of them. You can attribute the losses to bad breaks, penalties, carelessness, or flat out being outplayed. At the end of the day none of these excuses matter. A loss is a loss and losing those points will matter at the end of the season. The last two games against Albanywere terrible performances by the Admirals. In the first game they built a four goal lead and lost it in the final 15 minutes. The following game they let the Devils walk all over them.Albanyhas won all four meetings with the Admirals this season. It’s time forNorfolkto wake up and beat them.

The Week Ahead

The Admirals remain home for three games this week. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will be in town for a rare Tuesday night game. Sean Avery and the Connecticut Whale come to town Friday and Saturday night.

Follow WB Philp on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by ten points. Tampa Bay is in 12th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, six points out of a layoff spot.

After 37 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 26. He leads the Bolts in points with 43 (4th in the NHL). Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 20. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +12.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 80 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has 11 wins, a 2.73 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:18 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 128.

The Lightning have scored 102 goals (13th in the NHL) and allowed 120 goals (25th in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams still need work. The power play success rate is 14.7% (24th in the NHL) and the penalty kill slipped to 80.1% (24th in the NHL). Tampa Bay is 25th in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 48.8% of their draws.

Tampa Bay has won 11 of 16 games at the Tampa Bay Times Forum and six of 21 games on the road.

Box Scores

Game 35 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Philadelphia Flyers 1

Game 36 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Montreal Canadiens 3

Game 37 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Carolina Hurricanes 2

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Six goals.

Martin St. Louis – Six assists.

Steve Downie – Two goals and five assists.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg from Norfolk for the sixth time this season.

The Lightning announced the signing of Norfolk forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie to a two year, two way contract.

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Forward Nate Thompson is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Bolt Notes

Tampa Bay got just what they needed this week. The Bolts went 3-0 and accumulated six out of a possible six points. The Lightning has won five of their last seven games. The offense is clicking as they averaged over four goals per game and gave up only two goals per game. Goalie Mathieu Garon sparkled with three wins, a 2.00 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. Superstar Steven Stamkos jumped to the top of the NHL goal scoring race, netting six goals in three games to give him 26 on the year. Martin St. Louis is back and better than ever after a facial fracture. He had six helpers this week. Ryan Malone had a three assist game Saturday night versus Carolina and recent call up JT Wyman scored his first NHL goal and garnered two points this week.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay is at Toronto on Tuesday, at Ottawa on Thursday and at Montreal on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals returned to action after the Christmas break with a Wednesday night game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Bridgeport opened up the scoring eight minutes into the first period. This would be their only goal of the night as the Admirals defense shut the Sound Tigers down. Norfolk would get two goals in the second period from Mike Kostka and Philip-Micheal Devos. This would be all that the Admirals needed to secure the 2-1 victory. Both teams went scoreless in the defensive third period. Dustin Tokarski  was stellar in net turning aside 26 of the 27 shots.

Friday night saw the Admirals and Sound Tigers back in action once more at the Scope. Norfolk dominated the first and second periods. Cory Conacher and Matt Fornataro would score in the opening period. Tyler Johnson would add another in the second frame. The Admirals found themselves in penalty trouble in the third period and Bridgeport capitalized on those mistakes. The Sound Tigers scored two quick power play goals before the Admirals were able to recover. Bridgeport continued to put on the pressure, but Tokarski answered back and the Admirals held on for the 3-2 win. Bridgeport winger, Tomas Marcinko was injured when Jean-Philippe Cote of the Admirals was pushed to the ice.Cote’s skate came up and caught Marcinko in the neck. Marcinko was rushed to aNorfolk hospital and required surgery. Marcinko is back with Bridgeport and recovering from his injury.

Norfolk was in Hershey on Saturday for a New Year’s Eve match against the division leading Bears.  Ondrej Palat opened the scoring in the first period for the Admirals. Hershey would strike back in the second. Norfolk found themselves on the power play twice, but the defense failed as the Bears would get two shorthanded goals to take a 2-1 lead into the locker room. Mike Kostka tied the game in the third and sent the game to overtime. Both teams failed to score in the overtime frame and that brought on the shootout. Braden Holtby stopped all five of the Norfolk shooters, while Jaroslav Janus stopped all but Keith Aucoin. Aucoin’s shootout goal secured the 3-2 Bear win.

Trevor Smith (15G 24A 39Pts +17) and Cory Conacher (19G 19A 38Pts +6) find themselves atop the Admirals scoring list. Mark Barberio (3G 26A 29Pts +19) leads all Norfolk defensemen and is in third place among all Admirals in scoring. Carter Ashton (14G 11A 25Pts +9) continues to hold onto fourth place.  Dustin Tokarski (13-7-0 2.40GAA) went 2-0 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-4-2 3.04GAA) lost the shootout decision against the Bears on Saturday.

For the Season the Admirals are 20-11-0-2 with 42 points. They are currently 2 points behind the East Division leading Hershey Bears. Norfolk is currently on a 4-0-0-1 streak and is 7-2-0-1 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Mike Kostka - Two goals, one assist, a +1 rating and seven shots on goal.

Kostka is the first star of the week

Dustin Tokarski – Two wins in two games and stopped 53 of 56 shots.

Cory Conacher  – One goal, two assists and a +1 rating.

Transactions

J.T. Wyman – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Evan Oberg – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Charles Landry – Assigned to the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) from the Florida Everblades (ECHL)

Pierre-Cedric Labrie – Signed to a two-way NHL contract by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Injuries

Alexander Picard – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Pierre-Cedric Labrie– Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

Kevin Quick – Lower Body Injury – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Norfolk has a bad habit of coming back from the holiday break and losing a few. Coach Cooper must have had a good talk with them before the first game and they came out hungry for a win. The games against Bridgeport were solid games. If there is one thing that they still need to work on, it is taking to many penalties. They have to cut down or it will come back and bite them in the rear end.  Dustin Tokarski and the defense played great games againstBridgeport. The Admirals truly deserved the wins.

Saturday’s loss against the division leading Bears was a result of a defensive collapse. The defense that played well on Wednesday and Friday failed to show up in Hershey. Having the man advantage usually benefits a team, but not the Admirals. Twice they allowed shorthanded goals to the league’s top offensive team. Not a good night for the boys. It is time to tighten their belts and get things together. We are all looking for a nice long run, deep into the playoffs this year. Time to get things going guys!

The Week Ahead

The Admirals find themselves on the road Wednesday night in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a match against the Penguins. Norfolk returns home for a Friday and Saturday night set against the Albany Devils.

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The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by twelve points. Tampa Bay has fallen to 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference.

After 34 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with 20 (1st in the NHL) and points with 37. Marc-Andre Bergeron is tops in assists with 19. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +10.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 76 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has eight wins, a 2.84 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson has become the number two goalie, struggling with six wins, a 3.72 goals against average and an .883 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:08 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 118.

The Lightning have scored 88 goals (15th in the NHL) and allowed 114 goals (28th in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams were awful this week. The power play success rate fell t0 14.3% (25th in the NHL) and the penalty kill slipped to 80.7% (25th in the NHL).

Box Scores

Game 33 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – San Jose Sharks 7

Game 34 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Colorado Avalanche 2 OT

Three Stars of the Week

Martin St. Louis – One goal and one assist.

Pavel Kubina – One goal.

Dominic Moore – One goal.

Transactions

The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg and forward JT Wyman from Norfolk and then reassigned Oberg to the Admirals. This was the fifth time this month that Oberg was reassigned.

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Matt Gilroy is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Forward Nate Thompson is day-to-day with a lower body injury and is slated to return on Tuesday.

Bolt Notes

Tampa Bay was embarrassed by San Jose early in the week, then played well versus the Avalanche, but still lost in overtime. They have now lost 12 of their last 18 games and are eight points out of a playoff spot with five teams to jump over. A daunting task, to be certain, with 48 games left.

The Bolts remain woefully inconsistent. The defense and goaltending are struggling mightily. Injuries are hurting the blue line as the Bolts are playing with only six healthy defensemen. Five of the seven defensemen have negative +/- ratings, with Victor Hedman and Brett Clark  ”leading” the way with a -12 and a -11 rating respectively.

Many are calling for GM Steve Yzerman to “do something” to help his club, but it is very difficult to work a trade this early in the season because most teams still do not know if they are buyers or sellers yet.

The measure of an NHL GM and organization  is how they handle adversity. Last season, almost everything fell into place and it looked relatively easy to the Lightning faithful. Now that the road to the playoffs has become rocky, Yzerman and the Bolts brass have an opportunity to show their mettle.

Tampa Bay must go on a run immediately following the Christmas break. The schedule favors them as 12 of the next 18 games are on home ice.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Philadelphia on Tuesday, Montreal on Thursday and Carolina on Saturday.

Are you looking for The Quarterdeck Log? Ken will be back when the AHL break is over next week.

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The Bolts are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by ten points. Tampa Bay has fallen to 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference.

After 32 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with 20 (1st in the NHL) and points with 37. Marc-Andre Bergeron is tops in assists with 19. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +12.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 72 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has eight wins, a 2.75 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson is still struggling with six wins, a 3.67 goals against average and an .882 save percentage.

Defenseman Victor Hedman leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:04 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 114.

The Lightning have scored 85 goals (15th in the NHL) and allowed 105 goals (28th in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams numbers were a mixed bag this week. The power play improved slightly and is clicking at 15.3% (23rd in the NHL). The penalty kill slipped to a success rate of 81.2% (22nd in the NHL).

Box Scores

Game 30 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – New Jersey Devils 5

Game 31 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Calgary Flames 4 OT

Game 32 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Columbus Blue Jackets 2

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Four goals and three assists.

Blair Jones – Two goals, and an assist.

Dana Tyrell  – Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning signed former Stars and Wild forward Antti Mietinen to a two year, one way contract. He was then claimed off waivers by the Winnipeg Jets.

The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg from Norfolk, returned him and then recalled him again.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Forward Martin St. Louis has facial and nasal fractures from getting hit with an errant shot in warm ups. He has been cleared to start working out but remains out indefinitely.

Defenseman Matt Gilroy is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Forward Nate Thompson is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Bolt Notes

After losing to the Devils earlier in the week, the Bolts won two straight and added four points to their season total. This is the first time since Thanksgiving that Tampa Bay has won two straight.

Steven Stamkos is on fire. He had seven points in the three games this week (4G,3A) and looks to be taking more of a leadership role with the absence of his injured mentor Martin St. Louis.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay is at San Jose on Wednesday and at Colorado on Friday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals opened up their week with a Friday night match at home against the Hershey Bears. The Bears dominated the Admirals for the first period and half of the second. They capitalized on two Norfolk penalties and jumped ahead with a 2-0 lead. Trevor Smith would put the Admirals on board with his 14^th goal of the season at 16:38 of the second. Hershey would answer back in the closing minutes of the second period. Norfolk would score twice in the third with goals from  Cory Conacher and Pierre-Cedric Labrie, but Hershey  scored to keep the lead and secure the win. Dustin Tokarski did not have his best night, letting in two soft goals that he should have stopped.

On Saturday the Admirals found themselves in Pennsylvaniato take on the East Division leading WB/S Penguins. The Admirals jumped out to an early lead with goals from Matt Fornataro and Carter Ashton  in the first period. The Penguins would answer back with a goal towards the end of the period and one to tie the game up at two early in the second. Tyler Johnson, Cory Conacher, and Michel Ouellet would put the Admirals ahead for good. Norfolk took their 5-2 victory and set sail for Hershey.

Norfolk was in Hershey for their second Sunday. They fell to the Bears last week and on Friday night back at the Norfolk Scope. The Admirals found themselves on the penalty kill two times to many early in the first. The Bears took advantage of the situation and put two goals up on the board. Michel Ouellet would score, but the Bears quickly regained the lead on a Chris Bourque goal with four seconds left in the first. Both teams were scoreless in the second period. The Admirals came alive and dominated the third period. The defense held the Bears scoreless while the offense lit the lamp five teams in the final period. The Admirals saw goals from J.T. Wyman, Philip-Michael Devos, Trevor Smith, Richard Panik, and Tyler Johnson. Mark Barberio is quietly racking up the point and had three assists.  Jaroslav Janus was solid in net as the Admirals coasted to a 6-3 win.

Michel Ouelette is Norfolk's first star of the week

Trevor Smith (15G 22A 37Pts +17) and Cory Conacher (18G 17A 35Pts +5) find themselves at the top of the Admirals scoring race. Mark Barberio (3G 23A 26Pts +19) leads all Norfolk defensemen in scoring and has moved ahead of forward Carter Ashton (14G 10A 24Pts +8).  Dustin Tokarski (11-7-0 2.50GAA) went 1-1 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-4-1 3.14GAA) had a solid performance against the Bears on Sunday.

For the Season the Admirals are 18-11-3-2 with 37 points. They are currently in a three way tie for first in the East Division with the Hershey Bears and the WB/S Penguins. Evan Oberg was returned from Tampa Bay and is accumulating the air miles, but not getting any time on the ice.Norfolkis currently on a 2-0-0-0 streak and is 7-3-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Michel Ouelette – Two goals and two assists.

Trevor Smith – Two goals and two assists

Mark Barberio – Five assists and a +6 rating.

Transactions

Evan Oberg – Returned from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Charles Landry – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

J P Cote – Signed to an AHL contract.

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed injury – Day-to-day

Kevin Quick – Lower body injury – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Playing against the Hershey Bears is never fun. For some reason the Admirals always struggle against them. The Friday night game was no exception. The Hershey Bears have one of the top rated power play and penalty kill units in the AHL. The Admirals got themselves in trouble and let the Bears power play have at them. While the offense managed to mount a comeback, their efforts were not enough to win the game. Tokarski dropped another game and allowed two soft goals. If the fans inTampaBayare looking for some help in goal I would suggest they look elsewhere, Tokarski is not ready for the NHL.

The Admirals redeemed themselves on Saturday against the Penguins. Tokarski got the start and played like a good AHL goalie; nothing fancy just a solid AHL performance. I don’t know what happened between Norfolk and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but whatever was said or done had an impact on the team. It was a great overall performance.

In the opening period of Sunday’s game, the Admirals put forth another dismal performance. The Bears quickly jumped on the Admirals, going up 3-1. The second period was a defensive struggle with no one scoring. Then something must have clicked.Norfolkcame alive and scored five unanswered goals and took home a rare win in Hershey. Janus was solid in net and the Admirals saw more goals from the role players rather than the stars. It was a great win for the Admirals.

The Week Ahead

Norfolk will enjoy the Christmas break, as their next game will be against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on December 28 at the Norfolk Scope.

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The Lightning are in fourth place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Florida Panthers by eleven points. Tampa Bay has fallen to 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference.

After 29 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with 16 (4th in the NHL) and points with 30. Marc-Andre Bergeron is tops in assists with 19. Stamkos leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 67 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has six wins, a 2.70 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson has six wins, a 3.55 goals against average and an .886 save percentage.

Defenseman Victor Hedman leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:04 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 102.

The Lightning have scored 73 goals (20th in the NHL) and allowed 94 goals (27th in the NHL). The Bolts special teams numbers took a dive again this week. The power play is clicking just 14.7% (24th in the NHL) of the time. The penalty kill is successful 82.0% (18th in the NHL) of the time.

Box Scores

Game 26 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Ottawa Senators 4

Game 27 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – New York Islanders 5

Game 28 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – New York Rangers 2 SO

Game 29 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Philadelphia Flyers 5

Three Stars of the Week

Martin St. Louis – Two goals.

Dominic Moore – One goal, a shootout goal and an assist.

Steven Stamkos  – Three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning loaned forward Brett Connolly to Canada’s World Junior Team.

The Lightning called up newly acquired defenseman Evan Oberg and then returned him to Norfolk.

The Lightning called up forward Blair Jones.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year may be questionable.

Defenseman Pavel Kubina is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Forward Martin St. Louis has facial and nasal fractures from getting hit with an errant shot in warm ups. He is out indefinitely.

Bolt Notes

Following a brutal, three loss week, the slumping Lightning went on a four-game road trip through Ottawa, Long Island, New York and Philadelphia. The Bolts garnered just two of a possible eight points during that trek.

Tampa Bay has now lost ten of their last 14 games, including six of their last seven.

The Lightning has only three players with a positive +/- rating. The defense has been horrific as Victor Hedman, Eric Brewer, Brett Clark and Bruno Gervais have a combined -26 rating.

The goaltending duo of Roloson and Garon had a terrible week, with a 4.00 goals against average and an .881 save percentage.

The offense remained anemic as the Bolts could only muster seven goals in four games.

Despite the awful numbers, the Bolts are just five points out of a playoff spot with 53 games to play. It may not be time to panic, but this team needs help, especially on the blue line. Without any real help in Norfolk and Mattias Ohlund suffering a setback in his rehab, look for GM Steve Yzerman to make a move to bolster the blue line.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay is home versus New Jersey on Monday and hosts Calgary on Thursday. They finish the week at Columbus on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals wrapped up a three game road trip against division rivals Binghamton and Hershey. First up on Friday were the Senators.Norfolk struck first on Michel Ouelette first goal in his first game after a lengthy injury. The Senators would follow up with their only goal of the night to make it 1-1. The second period was all Admirals. Matt Fornataro, Mike Kostka, and Cory Conacher scored to make it 4-1. Trevor Smith sealed the victory with his goal in the third.

Saturday’s match had Trevor Smith lighting the lamp to get the scoring started. Former Admiral, Rob Klinkhammer, responded for the Senators. Cory Conacher and Trevor Johnson put the Admirals up 3-1 in the second. The Senators opened up the third, but Conacher and JT Wyman sealed the 5-2 victory forNorfolk.

Norfolk found itself inChocolate Town, Hershey,PA on Sunday. They quickly got themselves in trouble as Hershey capitalized on two Norfolk penalties. Cory Conacher would cut that lead in half, but Hershey found them on the power-play once more and scored the third power-play goal of the period. The Bears added one more goal for good measure to make it a 4-1 first period lead for the Bears. The Admirals bounced back in the second with goals from Trevor Smith and Tyler Johnson. Hershey put the clamps down in the third, stopped the Admiral offense and added two more goals to take a 6-3 victory.

Trevor Smith (13G 20A 33Pts +17) and Cory Conacher (16G 16A 32Pts +41) find themselves at the top for scoring. Carter Ashton (13G 9A 22Pts +6) follows closely behind. Cory Conacher maintains his hold as the scoring leader for all AHL rookies. Mark Barberio (3G 18A 21Pts +13) leads all Norfolk defensemen in scoring.  Dustin Tokarski (10-6-0 2.43GAA) found his 5 game winning streak snapped Sunday Night against the Bears.  Jaroslav Janus (6-4-1 3.16GAA) had a victory against Binghamton this week.

For the Season the Admirals are 14-7-3-2 with 33 points. They are currently in a three way tie for first in the East Division with the Hershey Bears and the WB/S Penguins. Evan Oberg was returned from Tampa Bay, while Blair Jones found himself recalled to the big club. Norfolk is currently on a 0-1-0-0 streak and is 6-4-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Cory Conacher – Four goals and three assists

Tyler Johnson – Three goals and four assists.

Michel Ouelette – One goal in his return from a lengthy injury.

Transactions

Evan Oberg – Returned from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Blair Jones – Recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day–to-day

Kevin Quick – Lower body injury – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Playing against the division cellar dwellers is not a guaranteed win. The Admirals usually seem to have difficulty with teams that are struggling. They proved me wrong Friday and Saturday with 5-1 and 5-2 wins respectively. Granted, the Senators were not up to full strength, but a win against someone in your division is a big win. A bit of trivia … former Admirals and current Senator, Mike McKenna, has never won a game in goal against the Admirals.

Sunday had the Admirals playing the Bears. The Bears have the top power play unit in the AHL. Norfolk must have missed out on the briefing and promptly gave up three power play goals to the Bears. While they did fight back to within a goal, they caved in the third period and lost 6-2. Norfolk cannot afford to lose to Hershey. They have to solve the puzzle or they are going to find themselves out of the playoffs early. They will see Hershey two more times this upcoming week.

The Week Ahead

Norfolk returns home for a Friday night game against the Hershey Bears. Saturday and Sunday find Norfolk traveling to WB/S Penguins and the Hershey Bears.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

There Boucher goes again...thinking

By now, just about every fan of hockey knows what the 1-3-1 trap is and that the Tampa Bay Lightning used it effectively enough Wednesday night to cause the Philadelphia Flyers to employ a stall tactic of holding and not advancing the puck. In fact, the referees blew the play dead and forced two faceoffs in the Flyers zone. Eventually the Lightning won the game 2-1 in overtime.

After the game, fans, players and media all began debating who to blame for this NHL “atrocity” that had just played out on National TV…Versus is on National TV, isn’t it?

For the record, in my opinion, there is no question that the burden was on the Flyers to move the puck. After all. They possessed the puck and were the attacking team.

That being said, I certainly understand the fans not liking Tampa Bay’ coach Guy Boucher’s strategy. It is BORING and not the up-tempo style of play the NHL has forced its members to play since the lockout.

Agreed. It’s a system that will cause you to become a drooling Zombie in the first period and awaken in the third period with the imprint of your keyboard on your forehead, but I’m fairly certain that every player and fan of the Lightning, if given the choice of running and gunning to a ninth place finish or keeping a pillow close by during the 1-3-1 dominated games and getting to the Cup Final, will take the latter.

The Bolts defense has been putrid over the last two seasons. Coach Boucher knows the cards he has been dealt and instead of folding, has decided to do something that is foreign to most of the NHL coaching community…THINKING and EMPLOYING A STRATEGY!

I have mad respect for Guy Boucher’s figuring out a way to slow down the highest scoring team in the NHL despite missing two of his top four defensemen. (Victor Hedman and Mattias Ohlund) Even if you don’t like the style of play, how can you disrespect a coach who finds a way to win? Isn’t that his job?

Boucher has employed the 1-3-1 system since he came into the NHL. Did no one watch the Lightning’s sweep of the Capitals last year? Where was all the uproar during that series?

And I don’t want to hear anything about a trap system that embarrasses the NHL from you Detroit and New Jersey fans. Unless, of course, you want to give back your cheesy little fake souvenir Stanley Cups.

For those of you that have completely lost your minds and your ability to reason, who think the league should immediately jump in and create an “Avery Rule” of some sort to stop this “embarrassing” type of play…Stop “should-ing” all over yourself. It ‘aint gonna happen.

When all is said and done, Boucher and the Lightning are beyond reproach. They did what they are paid to do…WIN. They broke no rules nor did they disrespect or embarrass the game of hockey.

What are your thoughts puckheads?

Follow me on Twitter @LightningShout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

The Lightning are in third place in the Southeast Division, tied with Florida, two points behind the Washington Capitals and seventh in the Eastern Conference.

After eleven games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with six. and defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron leads in assists with 10 and points with 12. Stamkos also leads the team in rating with a +5.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 42 penalty minutes and goalie Mathieu Garon has three wins, a 2.43 goals against average and a .921 save percentage

Defenseman Victor Hedman leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:05 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 39.

Hedman leads the defensive corps with a +3 rating.

The Lightning have scored 33 goals and allowed 35 goals. The power play is still struggling, scoring 16.70% of the time (9th in the east) and the penalty kill is successful 85.7% of the time (6th in the east).

The Bolts scoring attack remains balanced as 14 players have netted goals and 20 players have at least one point in eleven games.

Box Scores

Game 9 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Buffalo Sabres 3

Game 10 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Nashville Predators 5

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Game 11 – Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – Winnipeg Jets 0

Three Stars of the Week

Steven Stamkos – Four assists.

Marc-Andre Bergeron – Three assists.

Vincent Lecavalier – Two goals.

The Connolly Conundrum Solved

After Tuesday nights win over the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman wasted no time in telling everyone that he had decided to keep 19 year old rookie forward Brett Connolly with the big club.

In a text message to the media, Yzerman wrote, “We feel Brett’s shown that he belongs in the NHL and makes our team better. So, we’ve decided to keep him.”

Who will be the odd man out once defenseman Mattias Ohlund returns from injury? Right now, the top candidates to be sent to Norfolk are forwards Mattias Ritola and Blair Jones.

Transactions

No transactions made this week.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. He is out indefinitely and according to Bolts beat writer Erik Erlendsson is coming along, “A little slower than hoped.”

Summary

The Lightning earned four of a possible six points this week.

Goaltender Dwayne Roloson had a terrific week, stopping eight of eight shots versus Nashville after releiving Mathieu Garon and stopping all 28 shots he faced against Winnipeg on Saturday night to lead the Bolts to a 1-0 win.

The Bolts need to get better defensively and fix the power play. They are scoring three goals per game (5th in the NHL) and allowing three goals per game (24th in the NHL). Giving up more goals than they score with the likes of Stamkos, St. Louis and Lecavalier on the roster is simply unacceptable.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay plays at Carolina on Tuesday, home versus Chicago on Friday and at Florida on Sunday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey, fan of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. Ken is also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

WEEKLY LOG

The Norfolk Admirals opened up the week by starting a seven game road swing that will take them from Charlotte, North Carolina all the way north to Providence, Rhode Island. After a setback in Charlotte, the Admirals bounced back with victories over Adirondack, Providence, and Syracuse. Norfolk returns home for some well-deserved rest and practice before heading to Albany for a Friday night match up with the Devils.

Offensively the Admirals were led by Carter Ashton. Ashton (9G 5A 14Pts +2) leads all rookies in scoring and is fourth overall in the AHL. Trevor Smith (5G 8A 13Pts +10) and Cory Conacher (4G 8A 12Pts 0 +/-) followed closely behind.  Mark Barberio (2G 9A 11Pts +6) leads the defense. The Admirals blue line was bolstered by the return of veteran Scott Jackson.

Goalie Dustin Tokarski (3-2-0 .864 SV%) appeared in two of the four games this week and went 1-1. Jaroslav Janus (4-0-1 .902%) played net in the other two games, winning both. While Tokarski was named the number one goalie out of training camp, Janus has proven that he can fill that position as well.

Norfolk won three of their four games this week, scoring 16 goals and allowing 11 goals. The net-minders stopped 53 of the 59 shots. The Admirals went 5 for 15 on the power play and killed off 16 of 19 penalties. So far this season the Admirals have played ten games and have a 7 – 2 – 0 – 1 record and 15 points. They are three points ahead of the WB/S Penguins and the Hershey Bears. Norfolk has scored a league high 46 goals and allowed 34 goals.

THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

Carter Ashton – Four goals and an assist.

Mark Barberio – A goal and four assists.

Jaroslav Janus – 2-0, stopping 53 of 59 shots.

TRANSACTIONS

Trevor Ludwig – Released from PTO

Scott Jackson – Assigned by Tampa Bay

Charles Landry – Assigned by Tampa Bay

INJURIES

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day To Day

Michel Ouellet – Undisclosed –Day To Day

WHATS NEXT

Friday          11/4     Admirals @ Albany Devils (New Jersey Devils)

Saturday     11/5     Admirals @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders)

Sunday        11/6     Admirals @ Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)

OBSERVATION FROM THE STANDS

On paper, the Admirals are a contender. Offensively they are keeping up with those expectations. Carter Ashton is everything that the scouts said he was. He leads the Admirals and all AHL rookies in scoring. He’s not afraid to mix it up either. The Admirals rookie line of Conacher, Ashton and Johnson have been great.

On the other hand, the defense needs work. The return of Scott Jackson will help bolster the blue line and end the numerous defensive failures that have led to turnovers and goals.

The goaltending tandem of Tokarski and Janus has been solid. Tokarski was the clear number one goalie at the beginning of the season, but Janus is now competing for the starting job. Tic (Tokarski) needs to shake off the cobwebs and step his game up if he wants to hold on to the top slot.

While the Admirals are tasting success early on, the big test comes when the WB/S Penguins visit the Scope on November 9. The Penguins eliminated Norfolk from the Calder Cup playoffs last season.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

Brett Connolly, Yzerman's first draft pick makes the team

Today the Tampa Bay Lightning cut down to the23 man roster limit by sending forward Dana Tyrell to Norfolk. This means that their number one prospect, Brett Connolly has made the team. The junior eligible, 19 year old sniper can play a total of nine games before the Lightning needs to decide whether or not to send him back to his junior team. If he remains with the team after the ninth game, his $2.7 million contract will activate.

Tyrell, who played all of last season with the Lightning, was a victim of circumstance. With defensemen Mattias Ohlund and Scott Jackson injured, the Bolts could keep 14 forwards. Of the 15 remaining forwards, only Tyrell could be sent down without going through the waiver process.

Because of the defensive injuries, the Bolts decided to keep Blair Jones, Tom Pyatt and Mattias Ritola to further evaluate them.

Connolly was the Bolts leading scorer in the preseason and if the lines that practiced together today are any indication of how the team will start the season on Friday, he will skate with Ryan Shannon and Dominic Moore on the third line.

Here is your Tampa Bay Lightning 2011-12 opening day roster:

Forwards– Steven Stamkos, Vinny Lecavalier, Dominic Moore, Nate Thompson, Marty St. Louis, Ryan Malone, Brett Connolly, Mattias Ritola, Blair Jones, Teddy Purcell, Steve Downie, Adam Hall, Ryan Shannon, Tom Pyatt.

Defensemen — Eric Brewer, Victor Hedman, Pavel Kubina, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Matt Gilroy, Brett Clark, Bruno Gervais.

Goalies — Dwayne Roloson, Mathieu Garon.

Injured reserve — Mattias Ohlund (No structural damage to knee), Scott Jackson (Will be sent to Norfolk)

*Bottom Connolly photograph courtesy of Susan Ferlita.

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Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman’s recipe for success finds the Bolts armed and ready to continue their climb to the top of the NHL in the coming season. No one could have predicted the 2010-11 Bolts would make it to the Eastern Conference Final and finally succumb to the eventual Cup winners, the Boston Bruins in a thrilling 1-0 Game Seven. Yzerman has blended grizzled veterans and brash youngsters together to quickly challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. Stevie Y’s best off season “move” was to keep his core group together despite losing playoff stars Simon Gagne and Sean Bergenheim to free agency. Yzerman took care of superstar Steven Stamkos, re-signing the sniper to a five year, $37.5 million contract  and inked veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson to a one year contract. Roloson went 10-6 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in his first postseason appearance since 2006. The Bolts GM also re-signed former Olympic teammate Eric Brewer, who played over 25 minutes per game and led the team in blocked shots in the postseason. In fact, that core group that remains was responsible for 86% of the team’s goals and 74% of its points last season.

Tampa Bay will again compete for the Southeast Division title and go deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2011-12.

Entering: Goalie Mathieu Garon (free agent); Defenseman Bruno Gervais (trade with NY Islanders); Defenseman Matt Gilroy (free agent); Forward Alexandre Picard (free agent); Forward Ryan Shannon (free agent); Defenseman Richard Petiot (free agent); Forward Michel Ouellet (free agent); Forward Tom Pyatt (free agent); Forward Trevor Smith (free agent)

Exiting: Forward Simon Gagne (signed with Los Angeles); Forward Sean Bergenheim (signed with Florida); Goalie Mike Smith (signed with Phoenix); Defenseman Randy Jones (signed with Winnipeg); Defenseman Mike Lundin (signed with Minnesota); Defenseman Matt Smaby (signed with Anaheim); Defenseman Mathieu Roy (signed with Carolina);  Forward Marc Pouliot (signed with Phoenix)

The Defense:  Defensively, Tampa Bay’s roster is full. The Bolts’ blue line has eight players signed to one way contracts:  Eric Brewer, Pavel Kubina, Mattias Ohlund, Victor Hedman, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Brett Clark, Bruno Gervais and Matt Gilroy. Yzerman will be open to second guessing for not going out and signing a big name defenseman to patrol the Bolts blue line, but having Brewer right from the get go is a plus for the Bolts. That being said, the back-end is an area of deep concern. Ohlund and Kubina are a year older and their best days are behind them. While Gervais seems to be a good fit and Gilroy may blossom into a top four defenseman, both have a lot to prove. If Gilroy and Gervais play well accompanied with big Victor Hedman’s emergence as a defensive force (85 blocked shots, 54 hits and 48 takeaways),Tampa Bay’s defense could be much improved.

Roli has found the Fountain of Youth in Tampa

The Goaltending:  The Lightning are solid between the pipes with starter Dwayne Roloson, now the NHL’s oldest player (He turns 42 next month) returning and free agent Mathieu Garon as the backup. Roli is a physical freak of nature and is always in top condition, but the Lightning took no chances and signed Garon to take some of the regular season load off of him. Look for Garon to play as many as 30 games, especially in back to back situations. All in all, the goaltending will be better than last season, especially with Roloson in the fold at the start of training camp. The Lightning’s goalies were nothing short of horrible in the first half of the season last year. With Roloson and Garon on board from the start, the Bolts goaltending will be vastly improved in 2011-12.

The Offense:  Tampa Bay returns, arguably the most talented group of forwards in the league:  Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos, Steve Downie, Teddy Purcell, Ryan Malone, Dominic Moore, Nate Thompson and Adam Hall. That means the Bolts are looking for a fourth liner and replacements for departed forwards Simon Gagne and Sean Bergenheim, who left via free agency. The most obvious candidates to replace Gagne and Bergenheim are newly acquired forwards Ryan Shannon and Tom Pyatt. Shannon scored career highs in games played (79), goals (11), assists (16), points (27) and rating (+3) last season with Ottawa. No less than nine players, including Carter Ashton, James Wright, Dana Tyrell, Blair Jones and Mattias Ritola will vie for the fourth line spot.

Superstar Steven Stamkos is healthy and hungry

Projected MVP:  Steven Stamkos – Look for newly extended all star center Steven Stamkos to be even better this season. Stamkos has been the league’s top goal-scorer over the last two seasons (only his second and third in the NHL) and has been a beast on the power play, leading the league in power play goals. The one aspect of the young superstars’ game that has been overlooked is his durability. Stamkos has played in every game over the past two seasons, despite nagging injuries. Coach Guy Boucher recently disclosed that Stamkos, “Basically broke his sternum” in the opening series of last years Stanley Cup playoffs. Yet the Bolts superstar played on. Make no mistake, Stamkos has lived up to his billing and will continue to do so.

Prediction: Steven Stamkos – 82 games, 54 goals, 50 assists, 104 points and 19 power play goals

Purcell is poised for a big season

Breakout players – Teddy Purcell. The Lightning forward skated in 81 games last season, posting career highs with 17 goals, 34 assists and 51 points. He had six goals and 17 points in 18 playoff games. In the four-game sweep of the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Purcell posted six assists to tie the Lightning playoff record for most helpers in a single postseason series. Purcell is on the precipice of stardom and his numbers will again be career highs.

Prediction:  Teddy Purcell – 80 games, 25 goals, 38 assists for 63 points.

Steve Downie. Downie had his breakout season in 2009-10 when he scored 22 goals, had 42 points and over 200 penalty minutes. The gritty forward played in only 57 games last season because of injuries. This will be Downie’s  fifth NHL season and he will again be a top six forward skating with the likes of Stamkos, St. Louis and Lecavalier. Look for the talented winger to post career numbers this season.

Prediction:  Steve Downie – 80 games, 25 goals, 32 assists, 57 points and 200 penalty minutes.

Prior to last season, I drank the Bolts’ blue Kool-aid and believed they had a solid chance to make the playoffs. This season with Yzerman able to add the ingredients of playoff tested players and a rested Dwayne Roloson, the Bolts look to be in the mix for the Stanley Cup.

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*Steven Stamkos, Teddy Purcell and Dwayne Roloson photographs courtesy of Linda Hamilton*

Tampa Bay Lightning 2011-12 Schedule

Keep in mind that the combined salaries of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Pavel Kubina, Ryan Malone and Mattias Ohlund will make up roughly half of the projected $60 million salary cap.

The Lightning will be looking to add a mobile blue-liner and a power play quarterback while sorting out the goaltending situation.

The NHL salary cap could rise as high as $60 million. The Bolts have $36.55 million in actual salary committed to 11 players and buyouts of Todd Fedoruk and Vaclav Prospal. Here is what the Bolts salary cap numbers look like currently:

Tampa Bay Lightning Salary Cap Chart

NMC – No Movement Clause
NTC – No Trade Clause
EL – Entry Level Contract
UFA – Unrestricted Free Agent (The free agency period begins on the first day of July. At that point, an unrestricted free agent is free to negotiate and sign a contract with any NHL team.)
RFA – Restricted Free Agent (Current team must extend a “qualifying offer” to a restricted free agent by July 1 to retain negotiating rights to that player.)

NHL 2011 Free Agent Compensation Chart
If a RFA player signs an offer sheet, his current team has seven days to match the contract offer and keep the player or else he goes to the team that gave the offer sheet, with compensation going to his first team.

An offer with a $1,034,249 annual cap hit or less: No compensation
More than $1,034,249 — $1,567,043: Third-round pick
More than $1,567,043 — $3,134,088: Second-round pick
More than $3,134,088 — $4,701,131: First and third-round pick
More than $4,701,131 — $6,268,175: First, second and third-round pick
More than $6,268,175 — $7,835,219: Two first-round picks, a second and third
More than $7,835,219 and higher: Four first-round picks

Overview

Steve Yzerman’s number one priority is to re-sign Steven Stamkos by the July 1 deadline. If you have heard any reports stating that the Lightning will let Stamkos become an unrestricted free agent…DON’T BELIEVE THEM! Stamkos has been quoted many times stating that he has made Tampa Bay his home and he is happy with the organization. Look for the Bolts to sign their young superstar at a salary around $7 million per year for more than five years. He will be in Tampa Bay for a long time.

The goaltending situation is not so simple. Both Dwayne Roloson and Mike Smith are UFA’s. Both have publicly stated that they are willing to return, but Yzerman’s hands may be tied as the duo may be too expensive of a package. Mike Smith would have to be open to taking a pay cut for this to happen. If the Bolts GM decides to keep just one, look for Roloson to stay and  an affordable free agent to be the back up. The Bolts are deep in goaltending with prospects Cedrick Desjardins and Dustin Tokarski, but both need more seasoning and Desjardins, a free agent himself, is coming off late season shoulder surgery and may not be ready by training camp. Yzerman may look to a high end free agent to put between the pipes and let both the aging Roloson and Smith go. Available free agent goalies of interest include Ilya Bryzgalov and Tomas Vokoun.

Defenseman Eric Brewer is an interesting case. While he was solid and provided an experienced blue line presence for the Lightning, he probably will be able to get a nice raise in salary on the open market. This may make him unaffordable to Yzerman and Tampa Bay.

Simon Gagne had an unproductive start to the season and missed much of the regular season due to injury. He showed his worth as he scored eight goals and had 27 points in 30 games after the All-Star break. Gagne is an absolute playoff stud ans was an integral part of the Lightning’s run to the Eastern Conference Final, netting five goals and seven assists in 15 games. Because of Gagne’s high salary, he may be a cap casualty. Yzerman may not be able to fit a $5 million, 60 game, and 40 point forward into his plans.

Tampa Bay will likely re-sign playoff stars Teddy Purcell and Sean Bergenheim. Both had breakout playoff performances and will merit raises, but both forwards remain affordable.

It will be interesting to see if GM Yzerman can continue his ‘Golden Touch’ when it comes to signing free agents and making trades.

Click here for a complete and sortable list of free agents.

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*Salary and cap information courtesy of CapGeek.com

Lightning backstop Dwayne Roloson was nothing short of brilliant, stopping 36 of 37 shots and keeping the Bolts in the game despite their lack of offense. Roloson dropped to 7-1 all-time in elimination games which include a 4-1 record this year.

The first period saw both teams flying up and down the ice. Each team had four scoring chances and both goalies were sharp. Lightning netminder Dwayne Roloson made the first key save of the contest as he stopped Milan Lucic on a breakaway with just under five minutes left in the period. For the first time in the series, the opening period ended scoreless with the Bruins out-shooting the Bolts 15-9. Both teams were sharp and played well without picking up a penalty. This was probably the best non-scoring period of the entire playoffs.

In the second period, the Lightning spent much of the time in their own end and got out-shot 14-8. Boston‘s pressure produced many good scoring chances and if not for the superior goaltending of Roloson, the Bruins would have scored. He was brilliant in stopping veteran Mark Recchi twice, keeping the Bruins off the scoreboard..

Steven Stamkos was hit in the face by a slapshot that went off Martin St. Louis stick. Stamkos was ushered to the locker room, bleeding from his nose and was back on the ice five minutes later wearing a full cage. He’s a hockey player.

The Lightning had their scoring chances thwarted by the Bruins solid defense. The much maligned Tomas Kaberle was key in stopping at least three chances by blocking close-in shots.

The period ended scoreless and without any penalties called. The last playoff game without a penalty through two periods was played in 1993.

The scoreless tie was finally broken by the Bruins as David Krejci found a streaking Nathan Horton who beat Roloson at 7:33 of the third period. The Bruins beat the Bolts through the neutral zone and Horton got by Steven Stamkos and Mattias Ohlund.

Boston played suffocating defense the rest of the way, Tim Thomas was solid and Horton’s goal stood up.

In the end, Tampa Bay’s transition game was not good and their inability to keep possession of the puck hurt them badly.

The Bolts had a decided advantdge over the Bruins going into the contest in special team play, but the game was penalty free. The Bruins are the best 5 on 5 team in the NHL and made one play more than the Lightning.

The Lightning’s “Big Three” (Stamkos, St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier) were held to just four shots combined.

This game wasn’t about what the Lightning didn’t do, but instead, what the Bruins did do. The Bruins defense, led by Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg were very good and Vezina front runner Tim Thomas was unbeatable.

This was a classic game in which both teams played at a high level and left it all on the ice. Tampa Bay can hold their heads high for this performance and their run to the conference final.

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Question:  I just wondered if you could talk about your decision on the goaltending. Mike Smith told us you didn’t tell him until about lunchtime and he said maybe that was to kind of keep the pressure off. If you could just talk about that decision?

Boucher:  “Yes, that’s exactly the reason why. And we did that this year. We had Desjardins come in who was coming from the American League, and he’s playing — we’re playing the Canadiens, and that’s the team he got traded from, his team of his youth.  And sometimes to avoid some pressure and making sure the guys sleep well at night, rather tell them after, at lunchtime. And we did that. And I think it paid off.  He played really well.”

“I think the other thing, too, is that all year we’ve used everybody. And we prided ourselves on giving everybody a good chance. When people deserve things, whether they’re a fourth line or a third line or seventh or eighth D, when they deserve — I’m one of those guys that I’ll give people a chance.”

“And I felt that Smitty had been terrific for us for a long, long time, and he deserved to get a game.  At the same time, I felt that giving a little breather to Roli, a bit like Vancouver did with Luongo, and Luongo came back and they have been winning since.”

“It’s a decision I don’t regret at all.  I’ve done it in the past and it worked.  I’ve had it done against me and it worked.  And I think it’s the same for Vancouver and it worked. So it wasn’t something emotional at all.  It was something thought of methodically and it was unanimous as a staff, that we wanted to give a breather to Roli and give a chance to Smitty to participate in something he’s been a part of.”

Question:  After that first period, you guys were all over them and came out with 1-0 lead. Was there a sense of frustration heading into the second, and the way Thomas was playing at that point, could you sense maybe, we’ll have to try to work hard to beat them?

Boucher: “No. You know what, with their goaltender, we’re not frustrated, we’re expecting that. He’s done it all year. He’s done it in the Playoffs. And if you don’t expect that, it’s because you got the wrong expectations. So we were expecting a real tight game. You’re right, we played extremely well that first period. We were very poised with the puck, and it was something we wanted to correct from the previous two games where we had too many turnovers. I think we didn’t really have any turnovers in the first period. We played really good, and should have had probably one or two other goals. But I think what happened on our power play, got a little too cute. And if you look at the replays, you know, a few times it was just an inch away. And so if you score that second goal, obviously you feel a little different, and I think it’s more the second period power plays that might have gotten to us. And I feel that in the second period, we’re trying to make pretty plays, a bit five-on-five, still got a lot of chances, but I feel that we were better in the first and we were better in the third.  It was a good second period, but good is not good enough.”

“If you want to beat that goaltender, you know, I guess at some point shots, I think we were 30 to 12 or something close to that, so I guess we’re going to need 55. There’s no two ways about it. That’s an amazing goaltender that keeps on doing what he’s been doing the entire year and the entire Playoffs.”

Question:  Your team is so known for its skill, but the way you turned around Game 4 with physicality, you started this one out with great physicality, first the hit by Ohlund on Marchand, and then you get the hit by Clark on Krejci and you get the goal coming off of that one. Is that the ticket for you guys, to get this series going the way you want, to get where you want to go? Do you feel like that’s got to be the thing, to be a physical?

Boucher: “No, I think the game itself is physical, whatever game you play.  And there’s opportunities some games that you are more than others. The one thing that I keep on hearing, and I heard it for a long, long time this year, is that we’ve got a few guys that have got skill, but we’ve got a lot of guys that grind it out.  And that’s something that I think has been overlooked for a long time. So whenever we played against tough teams, teams that thought they could run us out of the rink, and they found it very different.”

“We got guys who pay the price, who can take checks, and I think to me, the toughness, the real toughness is being able to take it and continue and being first on puck.  That’s real toughness. The rest, you can hit sometimes, but if you’re always hitting, it’s because you never have the puck. And rather get guys who are first on puck, but if there’s an opportunity that arises, our guys don’t back up in front of anybody, and it’s been like that throughout the entire year.  But it hasn’t been documented much.”

“But for us, it hasn’t changed, and it’s not something we want to add on. And that’s the way we play, that’s the way we played against Pittsburgh. That’s the way we played against Washington. So we just keep playing the way we’re supposed to play. I’m really proud of the guys. They fight really hard.  It’s extremely hard to play in this building. And to get 30 some shots and give the opponent only 20, you know, we usually should take that. But, against this goaltender, you need more. You need more. You need miracles. He’s making miracles. We have to come up with miracles.”

Question:  Can you update  Sean Bergenheim’s status?

Boucher:  “Well, he was out in the first period.  Obviously that hurt us. He’s one of those guys that’s been terrific for us. Got a good chemistry with his line. I was trying to find chemistry after that for Moore and Downie, and obviously missed him for two periods, more than two periods. So we’ll have to see.  Right now we couldn’t put him back on the ice, and we didn’t want to take a chance it would get worse. We’ll see tomorrow, and we’ll see the next game if we’re able to put him back on the ice.”

Question:  The Bruins got key contributions from their big guys Chara and Thomas.  How did you feel about the play of your top players tonight?

Boucher: “Well, if you look at Stamkos, I thought he was terrific tonight. He was the one that made the pass on the first goal. Gagne gets the goal, they get another play like that, Stamkos played well. He got himself alone against the goaltender. Marty St. Louis got chances in the first period to make it 2-0. And then Vinnie Lecavalier has been great through the entire series. So our top guys are doing everything they can, and they’re no different than the rest of the team.  We’re still trying to figure out the Thomas enigma.”

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For Smith it was his first career postseason start after stopping all 29 shots he faced in relief appearances in this series. Starter Dwayne Roloson was 0-2 in his past three games with a 5.64 goals-against average and .820 save percentage.

The Lightning came out throwing their weight around as Mattias Ohlund sent an early message by landing a devastating hit on Boston’s Brad Marchand. Soon thereafter, defenseman Brett Clark checked David Krejci at the Tampa Bay blue line to force a turnover that sent Steven Stamkos and Bruin killer Simon Gagne off on a two-on-one break. The Bruins Andrew Ference lost an edge as Stamkos passed the puck to Gagne who chipped it between Johnny Boychuk’s legs and past Boston goalie Tim Thomas at 1:09.

The first period was all Lightning as they dominated the Bruins completely. The Bolts totally shut down the middle of the ice and out-skated the Bruins. At one point, the Bruins went over 12 minutes and 3o seconds without getting a shot on goal.

The Bruins showed some late signs of life as the period ended with the Lightning outshooting them decisively 14-4.

The second period started with the Bruins killing off two straight interference penalties by a frustrated Nathan Horton. But, after those two awful penalties Horton came out of the penalty box to take a brilliant pass from Milan Lucic and absolutely rifle a bullet past Bolts goalie Mike Smith at 4:24 to tie the game at one. The play all started with a faceoff win by David Krejci.

Boston caught fire but couldn’t score on three straight power play chances.

The score remained tied at one until defenseman Zdeno Chara pinched into the offensive zone and created a turnover that Patrice Bergeron jumped on and found a streaking Brad Marchand who tipped it past Mike Smith to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 15:56. Chara made a great play and Bergeron showed great vision.

The second period ended with Boston leading 2-1 despite being out-shot 23-12 and going o for 3 on the power play.

Tampa Bay started the third period on fire out-shooting the Bruins 7-0 over the first eight minutes. Both goaltenders made miraculous saves:  Thomas on Steve Downie and Smith on Zdeno Chara.

The Lightning had many good scoring chances but could not get one past Tim Thomas. Boston’s Rich Peverley picked up an errant Marc-Andre Bergeron pass and deposited the puck into the empty net at 19:47 to seal the victory for the Bruins.

Bolts forward and leading playoff goal scorer Sean Bergenheim sustained what looked like a groin injury and didn’t play the second and third periods. His status is unknown at this time.

Make no mistake about it. Mike Smith played well and was not the reason Tampa Bay lost. Tim Thomas was the reason the Bolts were beaten. The Vezina Trophy front runner was simply brilliant, stopping 33 of 34 shots.

That being said, I look for Guy Boucher to come back in Game 6 with Dwayne Roloson in between the pipes for the Lightning. He is the man that the Bolts can rally around and force a Game 7.

Game 6 will be played in Tampa on Wednesday night.

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Roloson rolls into the semi-finals

Going into the quarterfinal series the spotlight was on Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. He had, after all won a Stanley Cup and kept the Penguins title hopes alive despite the injuries to superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But, as it turned out, a 41 year old journeyman goalie stole the show. Tampa Bay’s Dwayne Roloson stopped 36 shots to earn his second career playoff shutout and send the Tampa Bay Lightning into the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

In an epic game seven, defensive struggle between two grinding teams, the Bolts prevailed 1-0. Roloson is now 6-0 in elimination games in his career, second only to Chico Resch who was 7-0. The Bolts netminder ended the series with a league leading .941 save percentage and 1.77 goals against average, second only to the Capitals Michal Neuvirth.

The Lightning won its third consecutive game and third road game while becoming the 24^th team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win a series.

For the first time in the entire series, the Bolts and Pittsburgh Penguins played a scoreless first period. The Lightning’s penalty kill remained near perfect stopping the Penguins twice with the man advantage.

Pittsburgh’s power play was 1 for 32 after the period. Tampa Bay was outshot 15-7 and the Penguins won 14 of 22 faceoffs. Pittsburgh controlled the play for much of the period, but Roloson stood tall. The Bolts best scoring opportunity occurred with 45 seconds left when Simon Gagne redirected a Nate Thompson shot toward the net. Marc-Andre Fleury made his best save of the night to keep the game scoreless.

Tampa Bay must have felt pretty good going to the locker room with the score tied. They had weathered the Penguins initial emotional storm.

The only goal of the game was scored by the Bolts Sean Bergenheim at 5:41 of the second period off a no look, backhand pass from Dominic Moore. For Bergenheim, it was his third goal in four games. Moore’s assist was his fourth point of the series. Steve Downie, the game six hero also assisted on the goal for his seventh point in the series.

Dwayne Roloson had to make only seven saves in the period as the defense tightened up very nicely.

Tampa Bay outshot the Penguins in the second period for the first time in the series, 11 to 7, but the superior goaltending of Fleury kept the Bolts from opening up a two goal margin. He made a brilliant, acrobatic glove save on defenseman Pavel Kubina’s power play shot.

Dwayne Roloson stopped all 14 shots the Penguins threw at him in the third period. The Lightning went into a defensive shell and held on to beat the Penguins. The contributions of Mattias Ohlund, Eric Brewer, Mike Lundin, Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark and Victor Hedman cannot be overlooked. Although Pittsburgh held the play in the Lightning zone for most of the period, the Bolts blueliners were magnificent.

The Lightning defensive corps was outstanding throughout the series, giving up less than two goals per game despite the team being outshot 257 to m180.

In a class move, the Penguins presented the Lightning with a game puck to commemorate their first series win since 2004. The Bolts will give the puck to assistant coach Wayne Fleming who is battling brain cancer. Fleming is the Bolts penalty kill coach, an area that the Lightning were near perfect in the series, giving up only one power play goal in 35 Penguins chances with the man advantage.

Tampa Bay will face a familiar foe, the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals starting on Friday in the Verizon Center in Washington.

Eastern Conference Semi-Final Schedule

No. 1 Washington Capitals vs. No. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning

Game 1: Friday, April 29 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. (VERSUS, TSN only)

Game 2: Sunday, May 1 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. (VERSUS, CBC only)

Game 3: Tuesday, May 3 at Tampa Bay, TBD (Sun Sports, VERSUS, TSN)

Game 4: Wednesday, May 4 at Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m. (Sun Sports, TSN)

*Game 5: Saturday, May 7 at Washington, 12:30 p.m. (NBC, TSN only)

*Game 6: Monday, May 9 at Tampa Bay, TBD (Sun Sports, VERSUS, TSN)

*Game 7: Wednesday, May 11 at Washington, TBD (Sun Sports, VERSUS, TSN)

*If necessary

Steve Downie celebrates

The gritty Steve Downie is showing the Penguins and the NHL what we in Tampa have known for a while. He’s a valuable, complete hockey player, not just an agitator. The Bolt forward scored to break a 2-2 tie in the third period to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Pittsburgh Penguins and force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Downie finished the game with a goal and two assists. Teddy Purcell, Ryan Malone and Sean Bergenheim also scored for the Lightning.

Dwayne Roloson remained on fire, stopping 27 of 29 shots and was the Bolts best penalty killer, stopping all four of the Penguins power play chances. Forwards Nate Thompson, Adam Hall, Dominic Moore and Sean Bergenheim were relentless on the penalty kill and were a big reason for the Lightning’s 4-2 win.

The Penguins scored first when Pascal Dupuis beat Dwayne Roloson off of the goalies own turnover. If history prevailed, the Pens would have scored again and won the game. That wouldn’t happen as the Lightning became the first team to win in the series after not scoring first.

The Penguins came out firing in the third stanza. Jordan Staal scored after a beautiful Dupuis pass to tie the game early in the period. The turning point may have come thirty seconds later when Dwayne Roloson stopped Maxime Talbot on a breakaway and a rebound chance and then made a third, acrobatic save on Pascal Dupuis rebound chance. Bolstered by Roloson’s brilliant goaltending, the Bolts came down the ice and Vincent Lecavalier found a wide open Steve Downie in the slot, who was stopped on his first shot but jammed the puck by Marc-Andre Fleury off the rebound to put the Lighting ahead.

Former Penguin Ryan Malone then applied the finishing touches off a tremendous feed from Mattias Ohlund. Bugsy skated away on a breakaway and didn’t fool around with a fancy deke. He simply put the puck on a tee and blasted it by Fleury to put the exclamation point on the night.

Tampa Bay is trying to become the 24^th team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit. The Bolts will travel to Pittsburgh, where they have already won twice in the series, to play Game 7 on Wednesday night.

*Photo courtesy of Chris O’Meara