Lightning to watch. F Steven Stamkos has 14 points and eight goals in Tampa's first seven games.
Lightning injuries. Mattias Ohlund (knee) is out.
Predators injuries. F Matthew Lombardi (concussion), F Marcel Goc (shoulder), D Ryan Suter (lower-body) are out....Preds say Dumont is day-to-day with a "lower-body" injury.
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Opportunity, not revenge, is all Bolts G Ellis wants
If Dan Ellis starts in net for the Lightning against Nashville, he will face an opposing team that once showcased him as a rising No. 1 goalkeeper.
Ellis surprisingly made the Nashville Predators out of training camp in 2007. He eventually overtook Chris Mason for the No. 1 job and led the NHL with a .924 save percentage while going 23-10-3.
Ultimately, it didn't work out for Ellis in Nashville. The Predators committed to young Pekka Rinne, and Ellis left as a free agent after last season, signing with the Lightning to compete with Mike Smith.
There would be a nice little subplot to tonight's Bolts-Predators game at the Forum if Ellis harbored resentment toward his old team, but he insists he doesn't.
"They're a team that gave me a chance to break into the league, and I'll always owe them a debt of gratitude for that," said Ellis, 30. "It was a great opportunity. I have a lot of friends there and really enjoyed the city and people."
Lightning coach Guy Boucher wouldn't commit to Ellis as tonight's starter after Tampa Bay's 5-2 win at Atlanta on Friday night, but Ellis and Smith are co-starters, and Smith has started two of the past three games.
"I think right now we've got two goaltenders that are equally as good," Boucher said late last week. "They're seeing the net, one as much as the other right now, and it's working out for us."
Ellis, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, started in the Dallas Stars organization as a second-round pick, and he played with Smith with the AHL's Iowa Stars. Smith was traded to Tampa Bay in 2009, and Ellis, who played only one game for Dallas, signed with Nashville in 2007.
Expected to play in the minors, Ellis instead made the NHL roster. He took over the top job and started in Nashville's first-round playoff series loss to the Red Wings.
Nashville acknowledged Ellis' No. 1 status after the season by signing him to a two-year, $3.5 million contract and trading Mason. But when Ellis struggled early in the 2008-'09 season, the young Rinne got his chance and excelled.
Rinne became the top option, and when the Predators signed him to a two-year, $6.8 million deal last February, they essentially told Ellis he would be no more than the No. 2 if he re-signed.
Ellis says Rinne is an exceptional talent, but he suggests that losing the job wasn't as simple as being outplayed.
"The thing with Nashville, they had a bit of a revolving door for awhile," Ellis said. "If you look at it, every year they got a little bit weaker in terms of their personnel, and it usually takes almost a half a season for a team to kind of jell."
A starting goalie can become a scapegoat when a team is struggling to build chemistry, Ellis notes, and the backup, playing in "spotted games," can look like a better option.
"That's pretty much what happened to me with the Chris Mason situation," Ellis said. "He played all the games that our team wasn't jelling. I played spotted games and was able to develop confidence. The following year, it was reverse roles, and Pekka got that and emerged as a great goaltender."
Now, Ellis merely wants the opportunity to show he can be a starter in the NHL. That it might be against his old team tonight matters little.
Lightning injuries. Mattias Ohlund (knee) is out.
Predators injuries. F Matthew Lombardi (concussion), F Marcel Goc (shoulder), D Ryan Suter (lower-body) are out....Preds say Dumont is day-to-day with a "lower-body" injury.
==========
Opportunity, not revenge, is all Bolts G Ellis wants
If Dan Ellis starts in net for the Lightning against Nashville, he will face an opposing team that once showcased him as a rising No. 1 goalkeeper.
Ellis surprisingly made the Nashville Predators out of training camp in 2007. He eventually overtook Chris Mason for the No. 1 job and led the NHL with a .924 save percentage while going 23-10-3.
Ultimately, it didn't work out for Ellis in Nashville. The Predators committed to young Pekka Rinne, and Ellis left as a free agent after last season, signing with the Lightning to compete with Mike Smith.
There would be a nice little subplot to tonight's Bolts-Predators game at the Forum if Ellis harbored resentment toward his old team, but he insists he doesn't.
"They're a team that gave me a chance to break into the league, and I'll always owe them a debt of gratitude for that," said Ellis, 30. "It was a great opportunity. I have a lot of friends there and really enjoyed the city and people."
Lightning coach Guy Boucher wouldn't commit to Ellis as tonight's starter after Tampa Bay's 5-2 win at Atlanta on Friday night, but Ellis and Smith are co-starters, and Smith has started two of the past three games.
"I think right now we've got two goaltenders that are equally as good," Boucher said late last week. "They're seeing the net, one as much as the other right now, and it's working out for us."
Ellis, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, started in the Dallas Stars organization as a second-round pick, and he played with Smith with the AHL's Iowa Stars. Smith was traded to Tampa Bay in 2009, and Ellis, who played only one game for Dallas, signed with Nashville in 2007.
Expected to play in the minors, Ellis instead made the NHL roster. He took over the top job and started in Nashville's first-round playoff series loss to the Red Wings.
Nashville acknowledged Ellis' No. 1 status after the season by signing him to a two-year, $3.5 million contract and trading Mason. But when Ellis struggled early in the 2008-'09 season, the young Rinne got his chance and excelled.
Rinne became the top option, and when the Predators signed him to a two-year, $6.8 million deal last February, they essentially told Ellis he would be no more than the No. 2 if he re-signed.
Ellis says Rinne is an exceptional talent, but he suggests that losing the job wasn't as simple as being outplayed.
"The thing with Nashville, they had a bit of a revolving door for awhile," Ellis said. "If you look at it, every year they got a little bit weaker in terms of their personnel, and it usually takes almost a half a season for a team to kind of jell."
A starting goalie can become a scapegoat when a team is struggling to build chemistry, Ellis notes, and the backup, playing in "spotted games," can look like a better option.
"That's pretty much what happened to me with the Chris Mason situation," Ellis said. "He played all the games that our team wasn't jelling. I played spotted games and was able to develop confidence. The following year, it was reverse roles, and Pekka got that and emerged as a great goaltender."
Now, Ellis merely wants the opportunity to show he can be a starter in the NHL. That it might be against his old team tonight matters little.
