Last night I went to see the Tampa Bay Lightning play the Buffalo Sabres. I was so excited to finally get back to a game. I haven’t been since the first week of the season. The first ten minutes of the game was pretty good. Vincent Lecavalier scored for the fourth consecutive game, plus fan favorite Andre Roy made his return to a Lightning uniform. Plus, on Roy’s first shift just a few minutes into the game, he immediately dropped his gloves and threw a beating on Buffalo enforcer Andrew Peters. The crowd loved it, and it was good to see a guy like Roy bring some spark to the team. Unfortunately, the Lightning went on to lose 4-1…

Well I know it’s been a while since my last post, so much has been going on. First let’s talk about those Tampa Bay Lightning and the winning streak they are on. The completed a four game road trip winning 7 of 8 points. They came home to face the division leading Atlanta Thrashers and dominated the game. John Tortorella made some line changes, putting Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis on the same line and moving Nikita Alexeev from the checking line up to Vinny and Marty’s line. Also, Torts went with Johan Holmquist in goal and caught a hot goalie. The blue is coming around and they stopped turning it over in the neutral zone. Also, it looks like I might enjoy eating some crow with my early season criticism of Lecavalier. He’s on a scoring streak and is proving me right on one of my statements, as goes Vinny, so will the Lightning. I would still like to see him shoot more, but hey, the guy can stick handle in a phone booth…..

Next up, my Vegas trip.

Well, after that dismal performance on Monday night by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Coach John Tortorella ripped his team in an effort to shake this early season slump. Early on this season, we’ve seen some lackadaisical play and poor effort by the top two lines. Monday’s game was disgusting. Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier line has got to set the tone for the team, those lines have got to skate hard every shift. So Torts put his team through a hellacious practice on Tuesday in hopes of sending a message to his team. Snap out of it early, or it will be a long season. I’m still optimistic, this team still has the talent to win another Stanley Cup, the question is does it have the will? Here’s to hoping Stanley gets another tan in June 2007.

Here’s my first of what I’m sure will be many updates on the state of the Tampa Bay Lightning as I see it. Three games into the season and they are 1-2. Not so great, but still a lot of reason for optimism. First, Torts (head coach John Torterella) seems to have his edge back when dealing with his team. Second, the play on the blue line appears to have more speed and discipline. Still, some costly mistakes will happen with having a second year pro as your number 2, and a barely second year pro as your number 6 defensemen. Third and most important reason for optimism is Number 4, Vincent Lecavalier.

First, Vinny came into camp in the best shape of his career. Looks like he added a good 10-15 lbs of muscle. Has been vocal about what the players, himself especially, need to do, which demonstrates his growing into a leader. Third, he played hard his first two games. As Vinny grows, so will this team. At 25 years old, and eight years in the league, it is time for him to have the season he’s capable of. Vinny has 50+ goals in him. He is player that can take over a game and dominate. Which this is my early season prediction, with a caveat. Vincent will have 54 goals and 48 assists for 102 points for a career best. Now the caveat, if Vinny is not on pace to score 40 for the season, the Lightning will trade him before the trade deadline. Of their big three, Vinny, Brad and Marty, Vinny is the only one who would draw value.

Now, onto Game 3. Vincent Lecavalier. Games 1 and 2 saw Vinny lay some big hits, making use of his size (but please don’t try to mix it up with Zdeno Chara), add some assists, and score the game winning shootout goal in game one. Game 3 saw Vinny open with a big hit on one of his first shifts, and then spend the rest of the game skating in the neutral zone waiting for the puck to bounce his way!!! WTF??? This is the conundrum that is Vinny. If I have to watch another season of that, a guy who is capable of totally DOMINATING, but choosing not to, I will go Elvis on my television.

I only hope to see more of the Vinny from games one and two.