Filling the St. Pete Times Forum to watch the top-seeded Lightning play its first game in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals was apparently more than the market could bear Thursday as the 20,000-seat arena was pocked by large sections of empty blueness in the third level.
Though the 18,536 in attendance provided a raucous backdrop, it was not what team officials expected. Team president Ron Campbell said he was not disappointed, however.
"I think this team, with the performance it has had this year, it probably deserves a sold-out building," he said. "But I think I would use the d-word only if the trend continued."
Campbell said a busy sports weekend, including Devil Rays opening day, and Good Friday weekend probably affected attendance. He said ticket sales for Game 2 on Saturday were "running neck and neck" with Thursday's pre-sales. He said the team would not discount tickets during the playoffs. "I think it's one of the things where we are a victim of our own marketing aggressiveness," he said. "During the regular season, there was always a wash sale, buy-one-get-ones to get people upstairs and they were waiting for discounts."
Players said it felt like a sellout.
"It was boiling out there," Fredrik Modin said. "You get an extra jolt when you step on the ice."
St. Louis "frustrated"
It didn't happen until the third period, but Martin St. Louis, the league's leading scorer finally got a shot on goal.
Yes, he did hit the crossbar on a first-period breakaway, but the Islanders clearly paid special attention to the MVP candidate. And St. Louis spent much of the game fighting through the clutching and grabbing he has been subjected to for much of the second half of the season.
"I was frustrated at some point," said St. Louis, who had just two shots in the game. "I put pressure on myself on every shift to perform, and I try to meet those expectations. As long as we win, that's all that counts."
St. Louis was not the only Lightning player slowed down. Tampa Bay's top two lines had just nine shots on goal. Ruslan Fedotenko had none. Brad Richards and Cory Stillman had one.
Defenseman makes big stop
Nikolai Khabibulin made more big stops, but defenseman Dan Boyle was credited with an unofficial game-saver with 11:49 left in the second. Boyle went prone to block a close-in shot from Michael Peca then rump-shuffled out of the crease with the puck wedged under his shorts.
"That's why you have a cup," he said, laughing. "I wasn't sure. I'm still not sure of the ruling if you're in the crease on the puck if it's a penalty or a penalty shot. So I just wanted to get out of there."
Peca, though sure he would have scored had the puck reached him flat instead of rolling, credited Boyle's instincts.
"That's a heady play," he said.
From Russia with love
Lightning left wing Dmitry Afanasenkov turned his career around this season, making the team few expected him to make and playing 71 games with a career-high six goals and 16 points.
One of the people Afanasenkov can thank for his turnaround, at least in small fashion, is Islanders center Alexei Yashin.
Afanasenkov and Yashin are from Russia but made a hockey connection in Switzerland, where the two have trained together the past few offseasons.
"He has gotten better step by step," Yashin said.
Yashin said he and Afanasenkov spent a lot of time together, not only on the ice, but talking about the game off it. "He has improved a lot, and he has turned into a good player," Yashin said. "And he has proven he can be a good player in the National Hockey League."
Sticking up for a teammate
Islander players rallied around defenseman Eric Cairns, whose giveaways led to goals by Modin and Andre Roy. "He's a little down in the dumps right now," Peca said. "(But) we look at this team as a matrix, and we'll be there to pick him up."
Around the rink
Defenseman Cory Sarich took a few extra moments to get up after being checked into the boards from behind in the game's final two minutes by Dave Scatchard. Sarich said he is fine. ... Islanders left wing Jason Blake, who was expected to miss a month after sustaining a high ankle sprain March 25, could be ready to play in the series, New York coach Steve Stirling said. ... The Lightning scratched defensemen Stan Neckar, Darren Rumble and Nolan Pratt and centers Ben Clymer and Martin Cibak. The Islanders scratched center Justin Papineau, right wing Eric Godard and defenseman Sven Butenschon.
