Lightning

Gimme five, on ice

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TALK OF THE TOWN

Five topics suitable for inane debate on talk radio:

PLEASE PICK UP THE WHITE COURTESY TELEPHONE: It would be nice to see Vinny Lecavalier score a goal. Or get angry when he doesn't. Either scenario would work. What Lecavalier cannot afford is to respond to another disappearing act with a shrug of the shoulders. Reputations are made in the postseason and Lecavalier's is starting to take an ugly shape. He has failed to score in his past 10 playoff games and has one assist.

THE MASKED MAN: With three shutouts in five games, Nikolai Khabibulin is at least in the vicinity of some of the NHL's best in the postseason. Martin Brodeur holds the record with seven shutouts in one postseason and Dominik Hasek is next with six.

SPIELBERG IS ON HOLD: You knew Martin St. Louis would be a finalist for the Hart Trophy and John Tortorella would be in the running for the Jack Adams Award. But did you realize Alexei Kovalev's wrist-grabbing dive against Boston in Game 4 has been nominated for an Academy Award? The Montreal wing is up for best actor in a nonsupporting role.

WORD OF WARNING: You may want to hope the referees forget to bring their whistles. The Lightning's power-play numbers against Montreal are abysmal. Worse, in fact, than against any other Eastern Conference playoff team. Tampa Bay was 1-for-18 on power plays, yet allowed Montreal to score on 4-of-11 opportunities.

HAB HEAVEN: Yes, yes, the Lightning has great respect for Montreal. Yes, yes, anything can happen in the postseason. But you can't tell me Lightning players weren't toasting the Bruins for blowing a 3-1 series lead against the Canadiens. There are two teams the Lightning should fear most in the Eastern Conference: Toronto and Ottawa. Had the Bruins held on, the Lightning would have been playing Toronto tonight. Now Ottawa has been eliminated and Philadelphia could knock off the Maple Leafs.

Five disadvantages to playing in Montreal:

5. Cotton-Eyed Joe not as invigorating in French.

4. Expos-mania.

3. Creepy rumor Maurice Richard is still somewhere lying in state.

2. Get preoccupied shopping for meds.

1. Those danged Jerry Lewis marathons.

These five investments, over a 24-month period, cost five draft picks and a prospect. The return has been consecutive division titles:

5. DARRYL SYDOR (JAN.27, 2004): The Lightning was 24-19-6 when Sydor was acquired for Alexander Svitov and a third-round pick. Tampa Bay was 22-9-2 after his arrival.

4. CORY STILLMAN (JUNE 21, 2003): Essentially brought in to replace 2002-03 leading scorer Vinny Prospal. Acquired with a second-round pick, he finished with more goals (25) and points (80) than Prospal had the season before.

3. JOHN GRAHAME (JAN.13, 2003): From the start of the 2001-02 season until Grahame was acquired for a fourth-round pick, backup goaltenders were 3-15-1. Grahame has since gone 24-14-1 behind Khabibulin.

2. BRAD LUKOWICH (JUNE 22, 2002): Acquired for a second-round pick, he set a Lightning record this season for plus-minus for a defenseman at 29.

1. DAN BOYLE (JAN.7, 2002): Acquired for a fifth-round pick, Boyle already is the third-leading scorer among defensemen in team history.

1. Conversations with Khabibulin. The man seems better off when left in his own world.

2. Richard Zednik's karma. The Canadiens right wing had nine winning goals in the regular season and another in Game 7 against Boston.

3. Michael Jackson's sleepovers. Just as a precaution.

4. Complacency. The six days off is Tampa Bay's longest stretch of inactivity this season.

5. Common courtesy. The Lightning is actually a better team the more it hits. Tampa Bay had a better record in games with four or more penalty-killing situations than in games with three or fewer.

Has anyone told Bill Davidson?

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