After three games and two periods of trying to spread the wealth, Rick Tocchet reverted to Tampa Bay's money line in advance of tonight's game against the Flyers.
The line of Steven Stamkos between Marty St. Louis and Ryan Malone was reunited to begin the third period of Saturday's loss to New Jersey and scored the tying goal five minutes into the third. The trio is expected to remain together for tonight's 5 p.m. game against Philadelphia.
"I'm looking for foot soldiers and there's no doubt that Stamkos with Marty and Malone has carried us," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said.
With that top line back intact, it once again puts the spotlight on struggling center Vinny Lecavalier, who has one goal in 11 games and is a minus-5, second worst on the team behind defenseman Andrej Meszaros.
So for practice on Sunday, Lecavalier - who ranks second on the team with nine assists - may have been delivered a bit of a message after he was lined up alongside wingers Drew Miller and Stephane Veilleux.
"There is no question (Lecavalier) is struggling," Tocchet said before the team departed on a four-game, six-night road trip. "We need him scoring but I can live with that. It's the other parts of his game we got to get him cleaned up on. I think if Vinny cleans a couple of little aspects of his game, he'll be fine."
The offensive struggles of Lecavalier have been documented all season and stem back to the tail-end of last season. The Lightning captain went 15 games without a goal before hitting the back of the net against Buffalo on Oct. 24. That goal, however, did not provide a breakthrough on the scoresheet for the former Rocket Richard trophy winner.
He started the season paired with Alex Tanguay while Steve Downie and Veilleux took turns on the right side. Then St. Louis was reunited with Lecavalier while rookie James Wright took his turn on the left side.
None of it has produced the necessary spark to ignite Lecavalier's game.
"It's pretty frustrating," Lecavalier said. "I feel the past three or four games I've had a lot of opportunities; maybe not the last game (against New Jersey), but the three or four games before that."
Lecavalier continues to get his shots, entering tonight's game with 41, trailing only Stamkos for the team lead. He also continues to get the ice time, averaging 20:09 per game, and he runs the right point on the top power play unit.
"Vinny is a big part of our team, and he knows that. He's got to get his game sharp, and there is nothing wrong with saying that," Tocchet said. "This is a team identity we are still trying to figure out here, we're still trying to find it. There's nothing wrong with switching lines around every once in a while."
And while Lecavalier might be disappointed, or even upset, at all the line shuffling that has taken place, his confidence has not been shaken.
"I'm still confident with the puck ... I know it's going to come," he said. "I'm still confident that (tonight) against Philly I'll get my opportunities."
The line of Steven Stamkos between Marty St. Louis and Ryan Malone was reunited to begin the third period of Saturday's loss to New Jersey and scored the tying goal five minutes into the third. The trio is expected to remain together for tonight's 5 p.m. game against Philadelphia.
"I'm looking for foot soldiers and there's no doubt that Stamkos with Marty and Malone has carried us," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said.
With that top line back intact, it once again puts the spotlight on struggling center Vinny Lecavalier, who has one goal in 11 games and is a minus-5, second worst on the team behind defenseman Andrej Meszaros.
So for practice on Sunday, Lecavalier - who ranks second on the team with nine assists - may have been delivered a bit of a message after he was lined up alongside wingers Drew Miller and Stephane Veilleux.
"There is no question (Lecavalier) is struggling," Tocchet said before the team departed on a four-game, six-night road trip. "We need him scoring but I can live with that. It's the other parts of his game we got to get him cleaned up on. I think if Vinny cleans a couple of little aspects of his game, he'll be fine."
The offensive struggles of Lecavalier have been documented all season and stem back to the tail-end of last season. The Lightning captain went 15 games without a goal before hitting the back of the net against Buffalo on Oct. 24. That goal, however, did not provide a breakthrough on the scoresheet for the former Rocket Richard trophy winner.
He started the season paired with Alex Tanguay while Steve Downie and Veilleux took turns on the right side. Then St. Louis was reunited with Lecavalier while rookie James Wright took his turn on the left side.
None of it has produced the necessary spark to ignite Lecavalier's game.
"It's pretty frustrating," Lecavalier said. "I feel the past three or four games I've had a lot of opportunities; maybe not the last game (against New Jersey), but the three or four games before that."
Lecavalier continues to get his shots, entering tonight's game with 41, trailing only Stamkos for the team lead. He also continues to get the ice time, averaging 20:09 per game, and he runs the right point on the top power play unit.
"Vinny is a big part of our team, and he knows that. He's got to get his game sharp, and there is nothing wrong with saying that," Tocchet said. "This is a team identity we are still trying to figure out here, we're still trying to find it. There's nothing wrong with switching lines around every once in a while."
And while Lecavalier might be disappointed, or even upset, at all the line shuffling that has taken place, his confidence has not been shaken.
"I'm still confident with the puck ... I know it's going to come," he said. "I'm still confident that (tonight) against Philly I'll get my opportunities."
