Their hands. That was what Gordie Howe noticed most about the Lightning's players.
Howe said he came to Detroit's Joe Louis Arena Tuesday to watch Tampa Bay practice and evaluate the size of its players. He said he couldn't get a sense the night before from the press box watching the thrilling 1-1 tie with the Red Wings.
Instead, Howe noticed their hands.
"They're quicker than hell," he said while keeping his eyes on the ice. "Have you ever noticed the quickness of the hands with this team?"
Just then center Vinny Lecavalier playfully jumped into the glass. Earlier, left wing Chris Dingman took down and mock pummeled captain Dave Andreychuk.
Asked if the Lightning had what it takes to compete for the Stanley Cup, Howe said, "Sure they have what it takes. They seem to enjoy it. I always believe if you love the game, you'll work for it."
Talk all you want about Tampa Bay's run for the Presidents' Trophy, given to the NHL's points leader. Or the way it clinched the Southeast title and a playoff spot with 13 games left in the regular season, and its remarkable record since Jan. 3.
There was something official, and totally cool, about Howe, Mr. Hockey, giving the Lightning his endorsement.
It wasn't as dramatic but just as notable when Chico Resch found similarities between Tampa Bay and the Islanders when they were building toward their streak of four consecutive Stanley Cups.
Resch, a goaltender with New York for eight seasons and one championship, said, "The one thing that this team has that we had, the Canadiens had and the Oilers had are two absolutely dynamic offensive lines. It's just relentless. The pressure never ends."
Resch, a TV analyst for the Devils, was cautious discussing what he perceives as the Lightning's lack of experience on defense, though he gave the team's blue-liners credit for being more than the sum of their parts.
He also said the jury is out on goalies Nikolai Khabibulin and John Grahame, who have won one playoff series between them.
Still, Resch said the Lightning has passed a crucial step in its development.
"If this team loses a game, it's like, "What went wrong?' " he said. "It's not, "How did we get beat?' It's "How did we let it slip away?' You're not cocky, but there is a distinct line you step over when you absolutely think it's your game to lose and the other team has to be really lucky or you have to do something wrong."
What it has yet to go through, Resch said, is a crushing playoff defeat.
The Islanders went through it in 1978 when they fell to the goon-it-up Maple Leafs in the quarterfinals. In 1979, with the league's best regular-season record, they were upset by the hated Rangers in the semis.
In '80, the Isles won their first Cup.
"We should have won two or at least one year before, but we didn't know how," Resch said. "That's what this team is missing. I know it doesn't sound right, but there is something to the pain of underachieving that hurts so much you get to the point the next emotion you're going to have is this intense, controlled rage.
"When I was at my best I was almost in tears I was so intense. Every other distraction is put aside so that you can never experience that crushing loss again."
The Lightning's Game 5 triple-overtime loss to the Devils in last season's East semifinals?
"That's a step," Resch said. "But you know what? That excruciating loss, if they don't win it, will come this year because there will be nobody in the East that's better than them. This year this team can go to the finals."
Which brings us back to Howe, who didn't buy into Resch's theory.
"I don't know," he said. "You get a year in you and you're a veteran. Sometimes they want to overplay and win games by themselves. That's experience. All you need is two good leaders to slow them down."
Tampa Bay have them in Andreychuk and center Tim Taylor, who won a Cup with the 1997 Red Wings.
The Lightning also has something Howe deemed more important.
"They enjoy it," he said. "It's great to see them jumping into the glass. You look at a team that's not enjoying it, you find yourself moping around like a dead cat. You might as well say goodbye to them."
The way Howe sees it, it's in the Lightning's hands.
