Tampa, Florida					Thursday, September 09, 2010

Reputation Alone Just Won’t Hack It
Monday, January 30, 2006
TAMPA—Virtually, all individual champions and championship teams go through it—even this fine Tampa Bay Lightning team—that reputation will be enough for the winning to continue—that showing up with the last available Stanley Cup in their trophy case, brandishing their weapons as they whisk around the rink with the swagger of, well, of champs would be enough. Even the great Yankee games of Ruth and Gehrig found it, even the Notre of Knuke Rockne found out, the Packers and the Cowboys, even, the Montreal Canadiens, and now the Lightning. Still got to hump, got to hustle, and then, more than anything else be consistent, don’t underestimate. Legendry Alabama football coach, Paul (Bear) Bryant said: “You don’t have to get your team ready to play Auburn. The trick, the mark of a champion, is to be ready to play Mississippi Southern after you beat Auburn.’’ And so it has been generally, off and on, this defending championship Lightning team, then has been again these past game days after seemingly having found their get-mad, don’t take anything for granted mind-set again, but, losing it once more the other afternoon at Washington, the Capitals did them the ultimate disrespect by insulting them 2-1. The Lightning, after pounding a top team, Philadelphia 7-0 up there and apparently back on a tear, played rotten, blew shots, blew power plays, blew passes, blew a 1-0 lead then could not take it to overtime with grand opportunity at the clock’s last tick. Shoulda won that and stayed on the right track only recently. Bolt Coach John Tortorella said they got outplayed. Gritty Martin St. Louis said they just didn’t play well enough, hard enough but not well enough and he didn’t know why. Brad Richards said the last place Capitals deserved to win. That happened was that ignominity, inconsistency returned to the Lightning team. Bet here is that now as they return home for some play at the Forum here tonight, they’ll pick up again and move into their fine stretch run mode of 2003-04, a bit later than last time, but in time, and perhaps being successful in remembering how to produce with a man advantage, on power plays, as they are called. They do fine	at killing penalty play, stopping 28 of the last 28. They have done just fine with Capt. Dave Andreychuk departed, performing 6-2-1 so far, and with the two goaltenders, John Grahame and Sean Burke, alternating. Newish players like Paul Ranger, Ryan Craig and Evgeny Artyukhin who advanced to second behind Dmitry Afrnasenkov in the tough-name-to-spell category had been helpful and solid as have been the heroes of the first Stanley Cup team, St.Louis, Richards, All-World Vincent Lecavalier, Pavel Kubina, Vinny Prospal, Tim Taylor Dan Boyle, Fredrik Modin, Nolan Pratt, Ruslan Fedotenko, Rob Dimaio, Cory Sorich, Martin Cibak and Darryl Sydor, who took a direct hit in the mouth with a flying puck at Philadelphia Saturday in that 7-0 Tampa triumph that required 70 stitches to repair. It was a terrible injury that knocked him out. He’ll be back and soon. He’s high on the toughest guy list of the Lightning. Need him. These guys need each other in this stretch run of the last 30 regular season games, 17 at the St. Pete Times Forum where the Bolts will need all the help they can get from their fans. Nothing is guaranteed. The Bolts are in big time need for consistency. Through 53 games this year, they have 52 points. Through 53 a season ago, they had 63 points. NO, they are not on the same track as the title year, but they are Okay. Their power rating is 14. Sixteen make the playoffs. Need to stay on the course begun after a humiliating 3-0 lost recently out in San Jose, Calif. They are 5-1-1 since then. They had three team meetings in 24 hours, one without coaches. They seem to have regrouped and responded to the Tortorella challenges. Good. The circumstances are favorable—the schedule, breaks for the Olympics where seven to eight may play for their countries, led by the big, strong Canadian contingency on the Lightning roster, and the sobering losses like those at San Jose and Washington forment, remind you of your vincibility, that swagger and reputation aren’t enough. Ought to be clear to these sensibile men of such talent and desire and about as good an arena-full of fans as there is a place where the sport is so new to so many.
Back to Top