TAMPA - Tonight, the sprint begins.
After pacing their way through the first three-quarters of the marathon regular season, the finish line is in sight with the final 24 games of the regular season on the horizon. What waits on the other side is a mystery.
The last time the Lightning endured an Olympic break, Tampa Bay had three players participate in the Olympics and entered the break 20-30-6-2 after just switching general managers and was a team in transition.
This time, the team had eight players fly to Italy with seven of them participating in the Games. And this time, Tampa Bay is in the thick of the playoff race entering tonight's game against Florida in the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference, nine points ahead of No. 9 Toronto. And instead of returning from Salt Lake City, the travel demands and the compressed Olympic schedule were more grueling than four years ago.
So how does Lightning coach John Tortorella believe his team will respond when the season re-opens?
"I can't answer that, I don't know how we are going to react," Tortorella said.
And to be fair, if Tortorella had that type of a crystal ball he wouldn't be in the coaching business. But there is one thing that he is sure of and that's his players.
"I just believe in these guys and how they go about their business," he said. "I know the guys know what is at stake here. We all know our players, they are pretty good bunch of guys as far as understanding the focus of what they are supposed to do. But coming in off of this, that's my concern and I don't know how they are going to react. It's just mindset. Physically, I think we will work that out as far as them feeling better and the travel and all that. But the mindset is the key."
And yet there are two types of mindsets at play - those that were in Italy and those that haven't played a game in more than two weeks. Both sides have their own stories when it comes to the effects of the two-week break in the NHL schedule.
For those that stayed behind there was a 10-day layoff followed by six days of practice, but there has been no game action since Feb. 11, and simulated game situations in practice can only do so much.
"Maybe for some of us, it might be the game speed that we might have to be ready for," defenseman Nolan Pratt said. "I think it's hard to say right now [how the team reacts]. Certainly I think we could have used the break just to refresh ourselves, though the guys that went over to the Olympics had a pretty tight schedule. You know what, hopefully it doesn't affect us. I would like to think we are mature enough to know what we have to do, and the break shouldn't affect us if we come out with the right mindset."
The mindset might also be an issue for the seven Tampa Bay players who did not come back with a gold medal - Fredrik Modin was the lone Swede - on the potential of a hangover effect, particularly with the Lightning's trio of Canadian players eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Brad Richards, however, said it won't be a factor.
"It was a great experience," he said. "I got put in key situations, so I'm fine. It sucks that [losing in the quarterfinals] happened, but we played one meaningful period so we can't dwell on it. Things are so much better here. Going deep into the playoffs is 10 times better than that experience. So I'll be fine."
Tortorella said he isn't sure which side of the equation he is more concerned with but hopes the balance of rest for those that traveled and work for those that had time off will pay off down the final stretch.
"It is what it is, we are going to have to find a way," he said. "I don't know what the results are going to be, individual or as a team as we start up again. But we need to make a decision as an organization to conduct our business the way we went about it to get ready. Hopefully we'll be successful in some of the thoughts we had in how we are doing it, and we'll take it from there."
WHO: Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
TV/RADIO: Sun Sports; WDAE, 620 AM
WHO'S HURT: Panthers - LW Gary Roberts (knee), C Stephen Weiss (wrist), D Branislav Mezei (knee), RW Anthony Stewart (wrist) out. Lightning - none.
PANTHERS' SPOTLIGHT ON: D Jay Bouwmeester - The sleek-skating former No.3 pick was Team Canada's choice when it needed a defenseman to replace the injured Scott Niedermayer. In six games, Bouwmeester was one of only two Canada players not to record a point (Bryan McCabe was the other). And despite being second on Florida with 27 assists, he has failed to score a goal this season and is a minus-7, second worst on the Panthers.
THE SKINNY: This is the fourth of eight meetings. Tampa Bay is 1-1-1 in the previous three matchups. ? Lightning are 19-27-10-3 all time against Florida, including 9-14-4-3 at home. ? C Brad Richards has a six-game scoring streak with three goals and 12 points in that span. ? The first 5,000 fans receive a Vinny Lecavalier collectible coin. ? D Darryl Sydor will appear in his 1,000th career game, and a special pregame tribute will be held. ? The Panthers are 4-5-2 in their past 11 games. ? Tampa Bay entered the Olympic break on a 10-3-1 streak and opens the final 24 games in sixth place in the East. ? Lightning have won four in a row at home and are 5-0-1 in the past six home games. ? Tampa Bay is 30th in home power play (13.6 percent). ? Florida G Roberto Luongo may be a game-time decision as the Panthers' coaching staff determines whether their goalie needs a rest after returning from Italy. ? Tampa Bay Olympians RW Marty St. Louis and LW Fredrik Modin were expected back in Tampa on Monday night. LW Vinny Prospal and D Pavel Kubina arrived late Sunday and did not practice Monday. All are expected to play tonight.
After pacing their way through the first three-quarters of the marathon regular season, the finish line is in sight with the final 24 games of the regular season on the horizon. What waits on the other side is a mystery.
The last time the Lightning endured an Olympic break, Tampa Bay had three players participate in the Olympics and entered the break 20-30-6-2 after just switching general managers and was a team in transition.
This time, the team had eight players fly to Italy with seven of them participating in the Games. And this time, Tampa Bay is in the thick of the playoff race entering tonight's game against Florida in the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference, nine points ahead of No. 9 Toronto. And instead of returning from Salt Lake City, the travel demands and the compressed Olympic schedule were more grueling than four years ago.
So how does Lightning coach John Tortorella believe his team will respond when the season re-opens?
"I can't answer that, I don't know how we are going to react," Tortorella said.
And to be fair, if Tortorella had that type of a crystal ball he wouldn't be in the coaching business. But there is one thing that he is sure of and that's his players.
"I just believe in these guys and how they go about their business," he said. "I know the guys know what is at stake here. We all know our players, they are pretty good bunch of guys as far as understanding the focus of what they are supposed to do. But coming in off of this, that's my concern and I don't know how they are going to react. It's just mindset. Physically, I think we will work that out as far as them feeling better and the travel and all that. But the mindset is the key."
And yet there are two types of mindsets at play - those that were in Italy and those that haven't played a game in more than two weeks. Both sides have their own stories when it comes to the effects of the two-week break in the NHL schedule.
For those that stayed behind there was a 10-day layoff followed by six days of practice, but there has been no game action since Feb. 11, and simulated game situations in practice can only do so much.
"Maybe for some of us, it might be the game speed that we might have to be ready for," defenseman Nolan Pratt said. "I think it's hard to say right now [how the team reacts]. Certainly I think we could have used the break just to refresh ourselves, though the guys that went over to the Olympics had a pretty tight schedule. You know what, hopefully it doesn't affect us. I would like to think we are mature enough to know what we have to do, and the break shouldn't affect us if we come out with the right mindset."
The mindset might also be an issue for the seven Tampa Bay players who did not come back with a gold medal - Fredrik Modin was the lone Swede - on the potential of a hangover effect, particularly with the Lightning's trio of Canadian players eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Brad Richards, however, said it won't be a factor.
"It was a great experience," he said. "I got put in key situations, so I'm fine. It sucks that [losing in the quarterfinals] happened, but we played one meaningful period so we can't dwell on it. Things are so much better here. Going deep into the playoffs is 10 times better than that experience. So I'll be fine."
Tortorella said he isn't sure which side of the equation he is more concerned with but hopes the balance of rest for those that traveled and work for those that had time off will pay off down the final stretch.
"It is what it is, we are going to have to find a way," he said. "I don't know what the results are going to be, individual or as a team as we start up again. But we need to make a decision as an organization to conduct our business the way we went about it to get ready. Hopefully we'll be successful in some of the thoughts we had in how we are doing it, and we'll take it from there."
WHO: Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
TV/RADIO: Sun Sports; WDAE, 620 AM
WHO'S HURT: Panthers - LW Gary Roberts (knee), C Stephen Weiss (wrist), D Branislav Mezei (knee), RW Anthony Stewart (wrist) out. Lightning - none.
PANTHERS' SPOTLIGHT ON: D Jay Bouwmeester - The sleek-skating former No.3 pick was Team Canada's choice when it needed a defenseman to replace the injured Scott Niedermayer. In six games, Bouwmeester was one of only two Canada players not to record a point (Bryan McCabe was the other). And despite being second on Florida with 27 assists, he has failed to score a goal this season and is a minus-7, second worst on the Panthers.
THE SKINNY: This is the fourth of eight meetings. Tampa Bay is 1-1-1 in the previous three matchups. ? Lightning are 19-27-10-3 all time against Florida, including 9-14-4-3 at home. ? C Brad Richards has a six-game scoring streak with three goals and 12 points in that span. ? The first 5,000 fans receive a Vinny Lecavalier collectible coin. ? D Darryl Sydor will appear in his 1,000th career game, and a special pregame tribute will be held. ? The Panthers are 4-5-2 in their past 11 games. ? Tampa Bay entered the Olympic break on a 10-3-1 streak and opens the final 24 games in sixth place in the East. ? Lightning have won four in a row at home and are 5-0-1 in the past six home games. ? Tampa Bay is 30th in home power play (13.6 percent). ? Florida G Roberto Luongo may be a game-time decision as the Panthers' coaching staff determines whether their goalie needs a rest after returning from Italy. ? Tampa Bay Olympians RW Marty St. Louis and LW Fredrik Modin were expected back in Tampa on Monday night. LW Vinny Prospal and D Pavel Kubina arrived late Sunday and did not practice Monday. All are expected to play tonight.
