Lightning Strikes (Cristodero)

The Lightning went through a 90-minute workout today at the Ice Den in Scottsdale, Ariz. Not much going on, particularly, just a lot of hard skating after Monday's off day.

The notables: Only center Jeff Halpern, goaltender Olie Kolzig and defenseman Andrej Meszaros did not skate. All, though, had an off-ice workout. ... That seems to indicate defenseman Paul Ranger (upper body) is ready to return to the lineup Thursday against the Coyotes. That, and the fact that Ty Wishart and Vladimir Mihalik were both sent back to AHL Norfolk. ... Kolzig is another matter. Karri Ramo is still with the team, and Kolzig, has not been taking live shots in practice. Until he can do that, coach Rick Tocchet said, it is unclear if he will be ready for Thursday. ... Enforcer David Koci is skating regularly in practice, and Tocchet said he is "close" to being available. ... Forward Paul Szczechura looks as if he will be available against Phoenix.

And finally, the organization got some good news that past two days as Dustin Tokarski was the goaltender Monday for Canada as it beat Sweden for the world junior championship. Also, forward Steve Downie was the only Norfolk player named an AHL All-Star. Downie has six goals and 20 points in 15 games for the Admirals. He had a team-high eight game points streak in which he had five goals and 15 points.

It is an interesting question, and one we here in the Tampa Bay area might have a difficult time answering because we have seen so little of Gary Roberts on the ice because of a nagging elbow injury. But the guy has had a noteworthy career.

Roberts, 42 and in his 21st season, has 436 goals and 906 points. He has won a Stanley Cup in 1989 with the Flames. But the most important thing, former coach Scotty Bowman said is Roberts' longevity and that he has played the game at such a high level over a long period of time.

"It will be close," said Bowman, who is on the committee that votes on Hall of Fame inductees. "But longevity is a big factor."

Bowman would not say how he will vote because the Hall does not like those things revealed. But Bowman gave a pretty strong endorsement at a recent Lightning game at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"The most important thing is there are players who show up to play every game, and, of course, he did," Bowman said. "His strong suit was consistency. You knew what you were going to get from him every game. You knew you were going to get a physical game."

Lightning coach Rick Tocchet, who once fought Roberts in a game, also gave his thumbs up.

"Guys like Gary Roberts, who play the game the right way, and play it hard, I like to see those guys in that situation," Tocchet said. "He's got a lot of goals and he's a winner."

As for Roberts, he said, of course, "It would be a great honor, but there are a lot of guys lined up in front of me for the Hall of Fame."

Before we get to that subject, just a moment to credit defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Lukas Krajicek. Meszaros, wearing a full mask to protect his stitched up lips and mouth, played 25:38 with a blocked shot. Krajicek, who has been bothered by a finger injury, played a season-high 24 minutes and blocked two shots.

Their participation in Sunday's 4-1 victory over the Thrashers allowed Ty Wishart to be scratched and Paul Ranger (upper body) to have another day off. With Wishart and Vladimir Mihalik, going back to AHL Norfolk, it's pretty much assured that Ranger will be ready for Thursday's game at the Coyotes.

Just one more housekeeping thing: forward Paul Szczechura was scratched because of a left leg problem that he said has been lingering for a while. With the three days off, coach Rick Tocchet said it was a "no brainer" to sit him on Sunday. The hope is he will be ready for Thursday.

Anyway, back to the point of this blog. Did you notice that Tocchet did not use the MVP line on the game's first power play? A message for the lead line on a power play that was on a 5-for-56 streak? And how about the wakeup call when Steve Eminger scored with assists from Jussi Jokinen and Adam Hall?

Tocchet said he was using whatever line was up, and he will continue to do that in the near future, he said. He said it is part of a "mental break" for his top three forwards. That seemed to extend to the rest of the game as well, to a certain extent as Vinny Lecavalier played just 16:13, more than four minutes below his average. Marty St. Louis (who had two goals and has five and 12 points in his past eight games) played 15:37, almost six minutes down; and Vinny Prospal played 14:43, about four minutes down.

When asked about it, St. Louis said, "Obviously, we haven't scored on the power play, so, you know, it is what it is."

What it is, is simply something to keep an eye on.

Oh, and I just wanted to pass this quote along from Thrashers coach John Anderson, whose team fell behind Tampa Bay into the Southeast cellar: "Our give-a-crap level is at zero. ... I got to question whether anybody cares in that locker room right now. It's a joke."      

Lightning defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who took 64 stitches in his face and mouth when hit by a slap shot Saturday night from Carolina's Anton Babchuk, is expected to play tonight against the Thrashers in Atlanta. Lukas Krajicek (fingers) also is expected to play instead of the team going with five D.

As for Meszaros, trainer Tommy Mulligan said the blue-liner took stitches in his upper lip, both inside and out, in his gum line and in the roof of his mouth. Amazingly, Meszaros did not lose any teeth or sustain a concussion. Mulligan said that is thanks to Meszaros wearing a mouth guard, something Mulligan said he pushes other players to do. he said a bout 50 percent of Lightning players wear mouth guards.

Mulligan said the injury is now in his top three for ugliness along with Jassen Cullimore's face getting sliced by the boards during the 2003 playoffs and Craig MacDonald losing nine teeth last season when hit by a puck against the Maple Leafs.

Meszaros will wear a full mask today and likely take a mild pain medication, Mulligan said. How much he plays probably depends on how much discomfort he can manage. One thing Meszaros won't be doing for a bit is eating solid food. Mulligan said the team hotel today blended up a concoction of pasta and chicken into a mashed potato-like paste.

Meszaros declined to speak about the injury this morning other than to say he is doing well. He said he would rather talk after the game.

Just an update on defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who got hit in the face by Anton Babchuk's slap shot with 20 seconds left in the second period Saturday night. He did not return, as expected, because, as the team explained, the 64 stitches were not done in time. A quick note on Babchuk. He once won the AHL's hardest shot contest. The bloody gash was under Meszaros' nose.

No one is sure if Meszaros will play Sunday at Atlanta. He wants to play, of course. Either way, Tampa Bay is in a bind. Even though Meszaros has struggled lately, it will miss the 24:28 ice time he averaged. But with no one really left on the farm, the expectation is even if Meszaros cannot go, the Lightning will play with either five D or try to get Lukas Krajicek (fingers) to play in a limited role, though that will not be kown till today.

On the up side, Matt Smaby, Vladimir Mihalik and Ty Wishart weren't the worst things on the ice for Tampa Bay. Wishart, in his NHL debut, played 7:53 with a shot and two blocks.

"It's a chance for other guys to step up," left wing Ryan Malone said of using the kids. "When those guys come back healthy, we should be a better team for it. Hopefully, those guys get their opportunity and run with it."

Couple more things: Tampa Bay is 5-17 in one-goal games and is on a 5-for-59 power play streak, 4-for-42 at home. "It's killing us," coach Rick Tocchet said. ... Jussi Jokinen was scratched with what the team said is a lower body injury. He is day to day.

The team just announced that defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who took a shot off the face at the end of the second period, could return with a face shield ... as soon as they get done with the stitches.

The black cloud over the Lightning got a little deeper with 20 seconds left in the second period as defenseman Andrej Meszaros took a puck off the right side of his face and left the ice bleeding heavily.

Is there a curse here?

Tampa Bay already is without three injured veteran defensemen; Paul Ranger, Jamie Heward and Lukas Krajicek. If Meszaros is out (and who knows, he might even come back today as we have no word on his condition), Tampa Bay may have to dig even deeper into its farm system. It already has called up Matt Smaby, Ty Wishart and Vladimir Mihalik. Who's next? Kevin Quick? Scott Jackson? Is Andy Rogers recovered from his back injury? Tampa Bay might even have to chance losing Mike Lundin on recall waivers.

More likely, I would think, the team either dresses five, or perhaps freezes one of Luke Krajicek's injured fingers and gets him out there at least as a warm body.

Did you see it?

Anton Babchuk takes a shot that deflects off Ryan Malone's stick and goes straight at Meszaros. At least Meszaros had time to turn his face away from the screaming puck.

Other stuff: Jussi Jokinen was the scratch tonight. Also, the team said Jason Ward has a sprained right knee. He had an MRI in Tampa after being hurt Wednesday in Norfolk.   

The last thing you would think the Lightning needs is to get any younger on defense. But with Jamie Heward out for the foreseeable future with a concussion, Tampa Bay had to make a move, bringing up Ty Wishart from AHL Norfolk. Wishart, 20, who will wear No. 3, will make his NHL debut tonight against the Hurricanes at the St. Pete Times Forum. He joins Matt Smaby, 24, who has played 19 NHL games, and Vladimir Mihalik, 21, who has played three.

"You can't change your system," coach Rick Tocchet said. "When you have younger guys come in, the thing they want to do is they get nervous and try to retreat. We don't want them to retreat. We want them to have gap control, play the same way they do (in Norfolk). We don't want them to change their games because they're up here. That's the message we gave them today."

Wishart said all he wants to do is play a smart, positional game. The Belleville, Ontario, native, acquired from the Sharks in the Dan Boyle deal, has a goal and three points in 31 games for the Admirals. He admitted he was not playing well until his past eight or nine games.

"It's improved a lot," he said. "The first part of the season, I wasn't playing too physical and playing a little more defense than I should have, a little more tentative. The last eight, nine games, I really stepped up and played a lot more physical, and jumping in the play a lot more."

Norfolk GM Mike Butters agreed.

"He's always progressed, but he really took a leap forward in his development," Butters said. "He's had five or six consistently strong games. It's good to see him rewarded with a call-up."

Whatever the configuration of the blue line and whoever plays with whom, the team has to get better efforts from vets Andrej Meszaros and Marek Malik, both of whom were terrible Thursday against the Capitals.

Said Tocchet: "We need a bounce-back game from those guys."

Other stuff from this morning: Mike Smith gets the start in goal, but Tocchet said Karri Ramo likely will play Sunday in Atlanta. ... Tocchet called the power play, on a 5-for-56 stretch, "God awful. The frustrating part as a coach is seeing the guys we have without scoring and not getting chances to contribute." He stressed how important is the reunited MVP line of Vinny Lecavalier, Vinny Prospal and Marty St. Louis, which had two goals and five assists against Washington. "If that line is not going to be good for us, we can't win," Tocchet said. "I hate to put pressure on those guys, but we need them to score every night or generate something every night." ... Wing Jason Ward sustained a leg injury at Norfolk serious enough that he was brought to Tampa for "evaluation," believed to be an MRI. Ward was in an awkward position with 20 seconds left in a game Wednesday night and took a hit that injured his right leg, according to Butters. ... Left wing Gary Roberts (elbow) still is probably two or three weeks away from playing, Tocchet said. No surgery for what Tocchet called "a pretty messed up" elbow. Just rest. ... Left wing David Koci (hand) is skating with the team.   

The Lightning, apparently not wishing to risk Mike Lundin on recall waivers, seems likely to call up Ty Wishart from AHL Norfolk. No official word from the team.

Wishart, 20, was acquired from the Sharks in the Dan Boyle deal. He has a goal and three points in 31 games for the Admirals.

Lightning defenseman Jamie Heward was released from a Washington hospital this morning and is on a flight home to Tampa, the team said. Heward sustained a concussion in Thursday night's game against the Capitals when he was hit from behind and went head first into the glass by superstar Alex Ovechkin, whose elbow also pushed Heward's head forward.

He was kept at Sibley Memorial Hospital for observation, and tests revealed no damage to the cervical spine, the team said, adding "the prognosis is good," though it gave no timetable for a return to action.

Heward was unconscious for 90 seconds on the ice after the hit, which occurred 6:15 into the third period as Heward chased after a puck in a corner of the defensive zone. Lightning GM Brian Lawton said Ovechkin will draw no discipline from the league. Lawton said he spoke to NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell Friday morning, who told him the play had been reviewed and Ovechkin will not face league discipline. No penalty was called on the play.

"I was told by the league it was not a targeted hit to the head," Lawton said. "In their assessment, Ovechkin never left his feet."

Lawton said the league decided Heward's crouching on the play also contributed somewhat to the hit to the head.

"I didn't see it that way," Lawton said, though he added, "under the explanation I was given, that was acceptable."

He also said he will not pursue the matter further and he was satisfied with Campbell's assertion that had Heward hit Ovechkin the same way, there also would not have been discipline.

"All you want to do is ensure the standard," Lawton said, who added, "The law of averages says we're going to be on the other side of that someday. It would be nice to have a really clearly defined standard."

Campbell, in an e-mail, declined comment.

The next question is what does the Lightning do if defensemen Paul Ranger (upper body) and Lukas Krajicek (fingers) cannot go Saturday against the Hurricanes? That would leave the team with just five defensemen on the NHL roster.

Possible callups from AHL Norfrolk include Ty Wishart, Mike Lundin, Andy Rogers, Kevin Quick and Scott Jackson. All are under NHL contract. But it's a tough call. Lundin is probably playing the best and the likeliest callup. In fact, coach Rick Tocchet seemed to  indicate the team would prefer to get Lundin back to the NHL. But Lundin would have to clear recall waivers, a dangerous proposition. Rogers is out with a back injury. The other guys are just so young and inexperienced. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Lightning defenseman Jamie Heward was teammates with Capitals star Alex Ovechkin for two seasons. He said they were pretty tight. That is why Heward said he strongly believes Ovechkin had no evil intent when he sent him head-first into the corner boards Thursday night at the Verizon Center.

"Once I found out it was Alex, he's in my opinion, he's probably one of the cleanest players in the NHL as far as being honest," Heward said. "He'll play hard on you, but now that I know it was him, I know it wasn't intentional. I  played with him for two years. We were pretty tight when I played there. I totally agree, and I think it was an accident."

Heward, who sustained a concussion from the hit, made it back to Tampa Friday afternoon after what he said was a "quiet" night in a Washington hospital. He said his headache right now is an "eight and a half, nine" on a scale of 10, has some whiplash-like pain at the top of and back of his neck, and that he recalls little of the incident. In fact, he said the first thing he recalls is being in the ambulance.

"If today is any indication of how I'm going to be feeling for a while, it's going to take a while," Heward said.

He said Ovechkin has not tried to contact him, but that is okay.

"He doesn't have to," Heward said. "If he calls me, great. If not, I'm not too concerned about it. I know how he feels. He said it in the paper and talked to some of the guys after. He talked to (friend Evgeny) Artyukhin and told him he's sorry. Some of the other guys on the Capitals left messages and he told them the same thing. As a hockey player, if he doesn't contact me, it could be just a superstition thing, and I totally understand. We'll talk some day. We'll have a beer in the summer or something like that, and we'll rehash it."

For those of you who recall my misadventures through Philadelphia's airport, or the black hole, as I call it, add this to the file of weird stuff that happens on the road:

I finished working on stories about Tampa Bay's 7-4 loss to the Capitals Thursday night at the Verizon Center after midnight. Tarik El-Bashir, who writes about the Caps for the Washington Post, also was finishing up, so I asked him for a ride back to my hotel. Easy enough, right?

As we rolled up to the arena's parking garage exit, we noticed the large metal door that spans the opening was open about four feet high. As we got closer, we noticed the bottom of the left side of the door was crumpled outward as if something had tried to bash its way past. As the door is supposed to automatically open as a car approaches, the fact that it was stuck in that spot did not bode well. Tarik hit the call button to the security office. A person there tried to automatically raise the door. We could tell by the beeping, but had no luck. When the security person said she had no idea why the door wasn't opening, Tarik described what the door looked like. The security person said she had no knowledge of that and would send an engineer.

The engineer came and looked as did Tarik, whose attention was drawn across the street to where a fire engine with siren blaring, an ambulance and several cop cars pulled up. "You've got to see this," Tarik called to me. Seems a car, a nice looking BMW, had crashed head first into a business across the street. The front end was crumpled, the windshield smashed and water was beginning to flood the street from a wrecked fire hydrant or water pipe.

As we found out sketchily from the police, a guy driving the car had tried to beat the closing arena door. He didn't, and the top of the car hit the bottom of the door that scraped its way along the car. Somehow the car made it past the door but also went out of control and crashed into the building across the street. Amazingly, the police had the guy, who seemed okay. But as one cop said, he was on his way to the lockup.

Tarik's car was a prisoner, too, but of the crumpled door. I could have gotten a cab at that point or tried to make the last run of the subway (it was very cold out), but I didn't want to leave my colleague, either. And I was interested to see how this would play out.

At one point, Tarik called his wife and tried to explain why he was not home and might be a while. He relayed that his wife playfully accused him of making up this fantastic story because he wanted to stay out and have a few beers.

"Uh, huh," he said was her response after he told her what was happening. Not surprising when you consider people on the street, walking by and hearing what was happening, couldn't believe it, either.

Here is where we give credit to the arena guys, who worked so hard to fix the door and kept assuring us they would do so as quickly as possible. First, they got a huge pair of pruning shears -- you know, the two-handed jobs made for cutting big branches -- and began using it as a sledgehammer, trying to straighten the crumpled part of the door. The clanging was so loud, especially if you were inside the garage, it hurt your ears. Little poofs of dust fell from the ceiling with each blow, which wasn't real comforting, either. After a while, the guy swinging the shears could only take three swings at a time before stopping to gather his strength. Then came the actual sledgehammer and more clanging. Finally, someone yelled, "One more snag," and after more clanging, the door seemed straightened enough to be raised. But there was still trouble as the door had at least partially disengaged from the chain that is used to manually raise the it.

What to do? Get the fork lift, which slowly raised the door until it finally was high enough that Tarik's car, and two others behind him, could finally get out. The whole process took about 45 minutes and I got to the hotel a little after 1 a.m.

Before we left, we cleared some debris from in front of Tarik's car such as part of a broken windshield, a piece of broken windshield wiper and various pieces of plastic. As we drove past the wreckage across the street, it was clear the car was totaled. And as one arena worker told us, had the driver just waited for the closing door to get to the ground, it would have gone right back up. It is not a lesson learned easily, apparently, as the arena worker told us the door is regularly abused by cars trying to make it out of the garage before it closes.

"You're not going to beat the door," he said.

A Capitals official told Washington reporters after Thursday's game that he did not believe Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin would get supplemental discipline for his hit on Lightning defenseman Jamie Heward that left Heward unconscious on the ice for 90 seconds but, thankfully, only with a concussion.

Still, NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said early Friday morning that the hit, like all others that results in injury, will be reviewed.

"We look at all hits and plays, particularly those that result in injury," Campbell said in an e-mail. "We don't announce anything unless there is an eventual suspension."

Players also can be fined up to $2,500, the max allowed by the collective bargaining agreement. If you recall, that is what happened to former Capitals player Matt Cooke after his hit last season that injured Vinny Lecavalier.

Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said after the game that he did not think Ovechkin was trying to injure Heward, Ovechkin's former teammate, or that Ovechkin was trying to be dirty. His only concern was if Ovechkin left his feet. Tocchet said he spoke to referee Marc Joannette. He said Joannette said he "could not tell."

If there is a suspension, it will come before Washington's game Saturday against the Rangers.

Heward stayed overnight at Washington's Selbey Hospital for observation, with assistant trainer Mike Poirier, while the team flew back to Tampa.

Lightning defenseman Jamie Heward had to be carted off the ice on a stretcher with 13:15 left in the third period of Thursday night's game with the Capitals after a from-behind hit by Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin.

The team said Heward sustained a concussion and could move all his limbs, but was being taken to a local hospital for evaluation. It was unclear if he would return to Tampa with the team.

Heward lay on the ice for several minutes, face-down, after the hit in which Ovechkin ran at Heward and pushed him into the boards. It did not appear immediately as if Ovechkin was trying to hurt Heward but he did push the side of his head with his right elbow.

Washington led 4-3 at the time and has since taken a 5-3 lead. No penalty was called on the play. 

The Lightning on Thursday called up defenseman Vladimir Mihalik from AHL Norfolk on an emergency basis. That means someone is hurt and that is likely defenseman Paul Ranger, who came off the ice late from this morning's morning skate.

No word on what is Ranger's injury. With defenseman Lukas Krajicek also out with what could be as many as two upper body injuries and while wearing bandages today on fingers of both hands, Tampa Bay had just five available defensemen headed into tonight's game with the Capitals.

Mihalik, 22, at 6 feet 7, 222 pounds, has two goals and eight points in 29 games for the Admirals. He played the first two games of the season in Prague after a very good preseason and amid many good words from the coaching staff. 

With all apologies to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, whom Lightning coach Rick Tocchet includes as two of the game's top three players, Washington's Alex Ovechkin is the best, Tocchet said.

Beyond the skills and the stats -- Ovechkin enters the game tied for second in the league with 25 goals, third with 49 points and first with 227 shots (62 more than second-place Dustin Brown) -- there is this:

"Ovechkin just doesn't sit on the outside and take one-timers," Tocchet said. "He's in front of the net. he goes behind. He does a lot of wraps. He's a special player because he's an aggressive player. That's why I think he's the best player, because he's an aggressive player. He's not just a pure sniper who sits on the outside all day."

Tocchet said he hopes the Lightning does not treat him with too much respect.

"The last time Ovechkin, the first five minutes hit three of our players hard, and I didn't see much reaction, which wasn't something I liked," Tocchet said of the last time the teams played. I don't want our team to go into that mode of we'll play off him. I want us to be aggressive. I don't want turnaways on him. I want to see guys hitting him. This is division rival. We're not here to sit around and watch these guys. We have to be very physical against them."

Other stuff from the morning skate: Seems like defenseman Paul Ranger is out of tonight's game with an undisclosed injury. No word on if it is serious. Either way, with Lukas Krajicek already out, the team likely will have to call up someone from AHL Norfolk. We'll know more later. ... Tocchet said Krajicek has a new upper body injury to go with his old one. He came out of the lokcer room today with bandages on fingers of both hands. ... Tocchet said we might see a lot more of a reunited MVP line of center Vinny Lecavalier and wings Marty St. Louis and Vinny Prospal. Ryan Malone had displaced Prospal of late, but Tocchet said he likes the line of center Jeff Halpern, Malone and Evgeny Artyukhin. "Maybe that magic," Tocchet said of the MVP line. "We've been looking for that all year, so we'll give it a shot. We need production from that line." ... Mike Smith gets the start in goal. ... Goalie Olie Kolzig practiced with the team for the first time since tweaking a back muscle. He said he hopes to be back on the bench for the Jan. 8 game against the Coyotes. ... Tocchet said he really likes the work defenseman Matt Smaby has been doing. He said he likes the way Smaby skates and rarely gets beaten and gets to the puck in the corners. Doesn't mind the way Smaby hits, either. "He eliminates the man," Tocchet said. "If he works on his puck-handling, he can be a very reliable defenseman in the NHL." ... More compliments for Artyukhin. Tocchet called him "a menace," but in a good way because of the way he hits. "Arty has been a game-changer for us the past four or five games," Tocchet said. "He's a menace. Guys don't want to go back for the puck. He has to play like that consistently and he's going to get more ice time."

And finally, there will be a concert on the Chrysler/Jeep Plaza after Saturday's game with the Hurricanes. Buy a ticket to the game and see Danko Jones, fresh off a tour with Motorhead, for free.

It took the Lightning years of winning and promoting to cultivate the market enough that crowds at certain home dates – particularly against Montreal, Toronto, Detroit and Philadelphia – were not dominated by opposing teams’ fans. With the Lightning finishing with the worst record in the NHL last season and struggling again, it appears that work has been undone, as thousands wore Canadiens gear on Tuesday at St. Pete Times Forum.
A “Go Habs Go” chant resonated down the escalator. English might have been the second language inside the building. Maybe it's good for the economy, though.

Lightning winger Martin St. Louis chose not to wear a full face cage for the first time since college against Montreal. He wore it in practice.

St. Louis was struck in the chin with a puck during practice yesterday and required seven stitches to close a nasty gash he said hurt far worse than the face gash he incurred a few weeks ago.

St. Louis looked as if he'd had a golf ball surgically inserted into his lip on Tuesday, and large and inviting target for any ill-intentioned defenseman.

Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier, who grew up in suburban Montreal idolizing the Canadiens, was relieved to learn Jean Beliveau – who scored 507 goals and won 10 Stanley Cups – had been released from a Montreal hospital Monday after being admitted due to a drop in blood pressure.

Lecavalier portrayed Beliveau in the 2005 motion picture “The Rocket,” about Canadiens great Maurice Richard.
“I have a picture with (Beliveau) when I was probably six or seven years old I still have,” Lecavalier said. “I’m not sure which arena we’re at, but we’re on the bench with and he’s kind of putting his arm around me. He’s a class act and a great guy and every time I see him – I don’t see him that often, but when I do – I love to talk to him.”

The Lightning signed 19-year-old goaltender Dustin Tokarski, a fifth-round selection in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He’s currently playing for Canada in the World Junior Championships and is in his third season with Spokane (Western Hockey League). Tokarski was 16-9-2 with a 1.97 goals-against average in leading Spokane to the 2008 Memorial Trophy.