Lightning erases memory

The team will try to move on and forget about Thursday's performance.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 12, 2003

TAMPA -- It's over, done, forgotten.

That 3-0 loss to the Capitals on Thursday in Game 1 of the East quarterfinals? It's as if it never happened.

Granted, there is that pesky 1-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series. And the video session after Friday's practice at the St. Pete Times Forum went over something that looked like the Lightning's first playoff game in seven seasons.

Whatever. Center Brad Richards said it is better to wipe the slate clean.

"It's over now," he said. "We thought about it today, worked on some things and that's it. That game will be forgotten forever because we didn't win it. If you don't forget when you lose, you're in trouble."

Especially when there are so many good memories of how the Lightning has won.

Bend but not break. Down but not out. Tampa Bay has made a habit of regrouping, and flourishing, when times seemed to be toughest.

It earned 19 points, third-best in the league, with third-period comebacks, and earned 28 points when trailing after two periods. Tampa Bay had three losing streaks of three games. Two ended with emotional victories over the Red Wings and Senators.

While the first-game loss to the Capitals is no reason to panic, another loss and Tampa Bay goes down 0-2 with the series shifting for two games to Washington's MCI Center, where the Lightning has lost 11 straight.

It may not be a must-win situation, but, as Richards said, "It's a big game for us."

Defenseman Jassen Cullimore said that is when you recall what you did in other big games.

"It's experience," he said. "Whether it's regular season or playoffs, it's experience. The guys have gone through it, so you know how to feel and how to adjust and how to play in those situations."

"You remember how we played our game and just took over," Richards said. "The games we lost we probably didn't play our style or got some bad breaks. But we bounced back and got right back to work. We plan on doing that (today)."

The Lightning on Thursday played nothing like the team that went 7-0-6 to secure the Southeast title. It did not forecheck well. It did not screen Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig. It did not control the puck.

Much of that was due to the Capitals defense, which obstructed just enough to keep Tampa Bay from establishing an aggressiveforecheck or a consistent setup in the offensive zone.

"Washington played very well and didn't allow us to get there as quick as we'd like," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "But it falls on your shoulders to find a way."

Like Tampa Bay did against the Avalanche, when it fell behind 3-0 in the first period but won 4-3 against a team that had not lost a third-period lead.

Like it did against the Panthers, when Martin St. Louis' power-play goal with 36.1 seconds remaining gave it a tie at 1.

"They're going to look at some of those experiences to get them through the tough times," Tortorella said. "There's no question they feed off that. They feed off the challenge. They're pros and they've grown up."

Defenseman Cory Sarich said with first-game playoff nervousness gone, he expects the team to be more intense. He envisions Tampa Bay being "gritty" and "mucking and grinding."

"I think they'll be better because some of the jitters are out," Capitals coach Bruce Cassidy said. "You don't know the level of the game in the playoffs. Now they know. It's only one game, but it helps them in preparation."

"Even if we're down, we're confident we can come back," center Vinny Lecavalier said. "But we don't want to put ourselves in that situation that often. We want to get that first goal and that second goal so we can close them out and play our game."

One they will not mind remembering.