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DAMIAN CRISTODERO"I'm not playing as good as I was," the NHL's leading scorer says.
TORONTO - So this is what it has come to.
Lightning wing Martin St. Louis sets franchise records with 89 points and 47 on the road, and what's the topic? That St. Louis is having trouble scoring goals.
Amazing, huh? The guy is the league's points leader, has a team-high 35 goals, is a candidate for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, and he's being poked.
Welcome to the world of higher expectations, where bars set by extraordinary athletes must be met or surpassed. So before you start writing letters, consider St. Louis has just three goals in his past 12 games, and three of his past five are empty-netters.
And listen to St. Louis.
"I've said it myself first," he said. "I'm not playing as good as I was. You go through some stretches where you don't see the ice as good. You don't feel the puck as good. Right now, I'm going through that. But I know I'm going to get back into it."
The native of Laval, Quebec, got a good start in that direction with three assists in Tuesday's 7-2 walloping of the Maple Leafs. He skated well, passed with confidence and his stick was stickier when he carried the puck.
Even so, St. Louis said, "I saw the ice good and made some plays, but I could have still been more opportunistic."
St. Louis was referring to the second-period play in which he swooped, legs churning, into the Toronto zone to capture Nolan Pratt's off-the-glass dump-in. St. Louis had a clear path to the net but couldn't beat goalie Ed Belfour.
Balance that with the nifty play on which he earned his 87th point and broke a tie with Brian Bradley for the franchise's record. St. Louis skated off the boards with the puck, circled and fed in stride defenseman Brad Lukowich, who was cruising the slot.
It was St. Louis' first assist in five games. Still, he has 10 in his past 12, and his 13 points in that stretch lead the team.
So is this nitpicking? Picking at scraps? Maybe.
Still, as St. Louis has gained success and fame, the measures being used to slow him down have increased. Clutching and grabbing are common, and Saturday against the Bruins, defenseman Dan McGillis had the 5-foot-8, 181-pound St. Louis pinned to the boards well behind the play; a transgression, by the way, not called by the ref staring right at it.
It certainly will be much more intense during the playoffs, when the Lightning will need St. Louis' scoring touch most.
"He's obstructed quite a bit because there is extra attention being paid to him in team meetings before games," coach John Tortorella said. "You have to hold him up. And with Marty, he's not the biggest guy in the world, so it's a little easier to grab and hold on to him."
"With him being No. 1 (in scoring), they're going to check him a little more," teammate Tim Taylor said. "He's going to have to pay more of a price. That's what comes with the accolades of being No. 1. You get some good press, but at the same time, there's some responsibility there, too."
St. Louis made no excuses but added, "There are games where it's very frustrating. But what are you going to do, moan to the refs? It doesn't help you."
Instead, St. Louis, 28, surely will do what he always has: fight through it, skate harder and put even more pressure on himself. It comes with the territory that continues tonight against the Devils.
"I think about it a little bit more," he said of his dip in goals in relation to the scoring title. "Whether I say it's important or not, deep down I know I might not be in this situation again. You don't want to look back and say, "I wish I was better in my last 10 games.'
"But it's been a good year. I'm not going to be disappointed if I don't win it, but I want to give myself a fair chance. As a team, we have to pick it up, but it starts with individuals, and I'm one of them."
One with a high bar to meet.