Sound bites

Thoughts and observations from Saturday's broadcast:

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Given its 3-0 loss in Game 1 and considering that the Lightning doesn't normally appear on network television, ABC's three-man booth - announcer Gary Thorne and analysts Bill Clement and John Davidson - could have treated the team dismissively. But the trio was fair, giving credit or criticism to Tampa Bay when it was due.

Martin St. Louis got plenty of well-deserved praise all around from the ABC team, and he was profiled in a timely feature that ran shortly after his goal in the waning seconds of the second period. Still, it was annoying that sideline reporter Christine Simpson didn't even attempt to avoid Americanizing St. Louis' first name, calling him MAR-tin during a reference early in the first.

One reason it's usually a pleasure to see a local team on network television is the quality and depth of the camera work. ABC was not caught off guard by St. Louis' goal even though the Devils had the power play and the momentum, having scored 12 seconds earlier.

They didn't miss much in the booth either. When New Jersey's Grant Marshall scored in the third to tie the score at 2, Clement noted that the same Lightning front line that let the Devils score also had allowed a clean shot to get through a few minutes earlier that would have been a sure goal had it not ricocheted off the post.

Studio analyst Barry Melrose got the last word, saying it's tough to draw parallels between the Lightning's 0-2 start in the first round and this one. "This is a different team than Washington," he said. "As good as (Washington goalie Olaf) Kolzig is, he is not as good as Martin Brodeur in that net. ... This is going to be a quick series." Ouch.

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