A month of living on the edge

LIGHTNING 3, THRASHERS 2: Another shaky win proves the most concrete trend is inconsistency.

By TOM JONES
Published October 30, 2005

ATLANTA - The season is old enough now that the time has passed to be talking in terms of "starts" and "openings" and "getting feet wet" and "finding legs" and so forth.

A month of games is enough time for trends to develop into characteristics. Teams are starting to settle into exactly the kinds of teams they are. Some are good. Some are bad. And right now, the trend suggests the Lightning a touch inconsistent.

Good some nights. Bad others. Lucky at times. It was all three Saturday night. Its Jekyll-and-Hyde personality was on full display again as it extended its winning streak to a season-high three games with a fortunate 3-2 victory over the Thrashers at Philips Arena.

Two points are two points and the Lightning will take them anyway it can, but Saturday's game was not one to add to the video collection.

Only a fluke goal and the outstanding goaltending of John Grahame kept the Lightning afloat.

Fredrik Modin's bank-shot, power-play goal off Atlanta defenseman Niclas Havlat was the winner 7:03 into the third period in a game the Lightning was more lucky than good to win.

"I'll take it any way I can get it," Modin said.

Granted, the Lightning was playing for the second consecutive night after struggling to beat the rebuilding Capitals in Tampa on Friday. "For a back-to-back situation, we got 'er done," defenseman Cory Sarich said. "It might have been a little sloppy at times. But I think the work ethic was there even if the execution might have been a little suspect."

Lightning coach John Tortorella classified it as a "gutty performance" considering it was the back end of a tough stretch of games.

"I wouldn't say we played bad," Modin said. "Sometimes I think (people) feel like we got to go in and sweep every team that is not Colorado or Detroit. That's fine, but probably not going to happen."

The Lightning is still above .500 and on pace for another 100-point season, but some things cannot be ignored. It has not put together a solid 60-minute game all season and its best victory probably was a road victory against a New Jersey team that is merely .500. The two best teams Tampa Bay has played (Ottawa and Boston) skated away with easy victories.

Then came Saturday's up-and-down game.

After failing to convert on three first-period power plays (another disturbing trend), the Lightning fell behind 2-0 on second-period goals by Marc Savard and Marian Hossa before waking up.

The Lightning started to claw its way back just two minutes after Atlanta took the two-goal lead when Modin ripped a one-timer past Atlanta journeyman goalie Steve Shields. Brad Richards redirected a Vinny Prospal pass past Shields a little more than four minutes later to tie the game after two periods.

"We never panicked," Sarich said. "It was good to come right back like that. But we found a way and that is what was important."

[Last modified October 30, 2005, 01:14:16]