Vinny Lecavalier showed up at practice Monday sporting a colorful shiner around his right eye, courtesy of an errant puck that struck him flush on the cheek during Saturday's victory against Boston.
In the victory, Lecavalier had a hand in three of the Lightning's four goals, which is nothing new, considering he leads the league with 41 points heading into tonight's game against Ottawa. The league's No. 3 star for the month of November compiled a league-high 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 14 games and has been there most nights for Tampa Bay.
The Lightning's top line of Marty St. Louis, Vinny Prospal and Lecavalier have been there most nights as well, accounting for 40 of the team's 81 goals this season for a Tampa Bay offense that ranks third entering Monday in goals scored, the fifth highest percentage (49.4 percent) of three players on a team in the league.
But how much better would the Lightning be right now if there was enough secondary scoring to complement the top line? How would Tampa Bay survive had that puck that struck Lecavalier on Saturday kept him out of the lineup for an extended period of time?
One of the areas the team targeted during the summer was to bring in players who could balance out the offense and provide some finish for center Brad Richards - who is also producing with eight goals and 17 assists and ranks one point behind Prospal on the team - while getting some production out of the third line.
Yet 26 games into the season, the balance hasn't been there for the most part.
Jan Hlavac has four goals on the season - none in the past six games - despite being in the top three on the team in terms of being involved in scoring chances. Michel Ouellet, signed to a two-year deal worth $2.5 million during the summer, has five goals but was scheduled to be a healthy scratch Saturday - and could very well be tonight - after his played has dipped in recent games.
And then Chris Gratton, who is generally reliable for 15-20 goals a season, hasn't scored since Oct. 20, a span of 20 games.
"I still think we need to get balanced scoring more consistently," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "I think we have generated some chances there, we just haven't had the finish consistently enough. For any team, when you go through a long year, your best players have to be your best players, but they are also going to need some help as we go through.
"Vinny struggled for a couple of games there not scoring; we need someone to pick him up, our guys know that. I think they are generating some offense but we just haven't had the finish consistently enough."
Gratton said he knows the importance of everybody chipping in on the offense.
"Vinny's line has obviously carried this team, not just this year, and if we can help them out in the offensive category it's going to make our team tougher to defend," he said. "If you look at teams in the past that have had success, they've had two or three and sometimes all four lines going. That's what we are trying to get to, to be a team where all four lines contribute defensively and offensively and it's going to make for a dangerous team."
And the fact that Tampa Bay is 1-6 (including overtime losses) in one-goal game tends to magnify the point. An extra goal in any of those games - particularly the three games lost this season when leading after two periods - and the Lightning could very well be in the top half of the conference standings instead of one spot out of the cellar.
"To scratch out some games when everything isn't going right with your top guys, maybe the are being checked or a goalie is just playing that well, you need to manufacture some goals from your bottom two lines," Tortorella said. "To do that, it's just being simple. Mathieu Darche comes off the bench Saturday and goes right to the net, a puck deflects off him and he scores. ... It's not about being pretty, it's just about getting some ugly goals. I think we just need to be more consistent there."
In the victory, Lecavalier had a hand in three of the Lightning's four goals, which is nothing new, considering he leads the league with 41 points heading into tonight's game against Ottawa. The league's No. 3 star for the month of November compiled a league-high 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 14 games and has been there most nights for Tampa Bay.
The Lightning's top line of Marty St. Louis, Vinny Prospal and Lecavalier have been there most nights as well, accounting for 40 of the team's 81 goals this season for a Tampa Bay offense that ranks third entering Monday in goals scored, the fifth highest percentage (49.4 percent) of three players on a team in the league.
But how much better would the Lightning be right now if there was enough secondary scoring to complement the top line? How would Tampa Bay survive had that puck that struck Lecavalier on Saturday kept him out of the lineup for an extended period of time?
One of the areas the team targeted during the summer was to bring in players who could balance out the offense and provide some finish for center Brad Richards - who is also producing with eight goals and 17 assists and ranks one point behind Prospal on the team - while getting some production out of the third line.
Yet 26 games into the season, the balance hasn't been there for the most part.
Jan Hlavac has four goals on the season - none in the past six games - despite being in the top three on the team in terms of being involved in scoring chances. Michel Ouellet, signed to a two-year deal worth $2.5 million during the summer, has five goals but was scheduled to be a healthy scratch Saturday - and could very well be tonight - after his played has dipped in recent games.
And then Chris Gratton, who is generally reliable for 15-20 goals a season, hasn't scored since Oct. 20, a span of 20 games.
"I still think we need to get balanced scoring more consistently," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "I think we have generated some chances there, we just haven't had the finish consistently enough. For any team, when you go through a long year, your best players have to be your best players, but they are also going to need some help as we go through.
"Vinny struggled for a couple of games there not scoring; we need someone to pick him up, our guys know that. I think they are generating some offense but we just haven't had the finish consistently enough."
Gratton said he knows the importance of everybody chipping in on the offense.
"Vinny's line has obviously carried this team, not just this year, and if we can help them out in the offensive category it's going to make our team tougher to defend," he said. "If you look at teams in the past that have had success, they've had two or three and sometimes all four lines going. That's what we are trying to get to, to be a team where all four lines contribute defensively and offensively and it's going to make for a dangerous team."
And the fact that Tampa Bay is 1-6 (including overtime losses) in one-goal game tends to magnify the point. An extra goal in any of those games - particularly the three games lost this season when leading after two periods - and the Lightning could very well be in the top half of the conference standings instead of one spot out of the cellar.
"To scratch out some games when everything isn't going right with your top guys, maybe the are being checked or a goalie is just playing that well, you need to manufacture some goals from your bottom two lines," Tortorella said. "To do that, it's just being simple. Mathieu Darche comes off the bench Saturday and goes right to the net, a puck deflects off him and he scores. ... It's not about being pretty, it's just about getting some ugly goals. I think we just need to be more consistent there."
