Ask Jay Feaster, and he says tonight's matchup in Atlanta is critical. Ask the players, and you get a different answer.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published December 26, 2003
How much do the NHL standings mean at this time of year? For that matter, what does one game mean?
It depends on whom you ask.
Lightning general manager Jay Feaster said he is worried about the way the first-place Thrashers have separated themselves from second-place Tampa Bay in the Southeast.
But center Tim Taylor said, "I'm not worried about them at all. They're going to take care of themselves, and we have to take care of ourselves. We have to concentrate on winning hockey games."
In that context, then, how important is tonight's game against Atlanta at Philips Arena?
"It's just another game we need to go get," Taylor said.
But Feaster said, "It's a real important game. It's not something you can label as make or break, but you're running out of time. We can kid ourselves and say we somehow have time. But we're not a team, in my opinion, that can turn it on and turn it off.
"(Atlanta) is not going away. They are a group that is playing with a lot of confidence, and they are a perfect example of what happens when you get 23 guys committed to what your coach is trying to sell."
The Thrashers are the feel-good story of the season. Star Dany Heatley was seriously injured and teammate Dan Snyder killed in September when the car Heatley was driving slammed into a pole.
Atlanta's players channeled their emotions into a 5-1-2-1 start and have kept their edge and energy while waiting for Heatley to return, possibly in February, from major knee surgery.
While the Lightning has struggled at 3-9-3 in its past 15 games, the Thrashers are 11-7-0 in their past 18, lead Tampa Bay by six points and lead 18-14 in victories.
The Lightning has five games in hand, but they don't mean much unless it wins, and the way the team is playing, there is no guarantee.
Defenseman Dan Boyle said having Christmas Eve and Christmas off (there wasn't even a meeting), might have been the best tonic, though the team had to fly this morning to Atlanta.
"We needed to forget about hockey for a couple of days and almost start over," Boyle said. "We're not the team we should be. We just need to get back to the way we were playing."
"It's a weird way to start over," defenseman Brad Lukowich said. "Two days off, get on a plane, go to a building, play a game and come home. It's totally in the fire. There's no chance to overthink or overdo. Just go out there and play. Maybe that's the kick in the butt we need."
The Thrashers have done that to the Lightning regularly in Atlanta. The Lightning lost 2-1 in Atlanta on Nov. 29 and is 1-7-3 there in the Thrashers' five seasons.
A victory also would perk up Tampa Bay's mediocre 3-3-2 division record.
Still, when asked if he was concerned about his team's place in the standings, coach John Tortorella said it is too early to worry about division championships or being in the top eight conference positions that advance to the playoffs.
"Are we in a bad spot standings-wise? No, we are right there, but you have to stop this now," he said of the Lightning's slump.
Why not keep track, Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said.
"It's normal," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We're business people. Where you stand is part of our business, especially at this point of the year where, slowly but surely, we're approaching the halfway point of the season."
"Like I said last year, you talk to me in late February and March," Tortorella said. "That's when we start talking about one through eight. These are set-up months, and these are very important months. And that's why we have to stop it now. We have to stop the inconsistency as individuals and as a team."
