Champ rips Lightning

Says Tim Taylor: “I felt bad for the people who came to this game.”

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published October 17, 2006

	[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]
	Goalie Marc Denis gets beat by Carolina Hurricanes' Justin Williams .

TAMPA — With about 10 minutes left in Monday night’s game, Lightning fans began popping the ThunderStix they got in gift bags at their seats.

Hey, it probably was a lot more fun than booing, which actually would have been a more appropriate response to Tampa Bay’s awful 5-1 loss to the Hurricanes at the St. Pete Times Forum.

“Embarrassing,” captain Tim Taylor said. “I felt bad for the people who came to this game. They didn’t deserve that.”

The Lightning, on the other hand, got exactly what it deserved.

Carolina took Tampa Bay to school in very basic aspects of the game, intensity and hard work. The Hurricanes won their third straight by bringing both in huge doses. The Lightning lost for the third time in four home games by not responding.

It was even more disappointing for a team that two nights earlier played a well-rounded, gritty game to beat the Panthers. With the defending Southeast and Stanley Cup champion in town, it seemed a perfect opportunity to make a statement and build momentum.

“You’d think so,” Taylor said.

Tampa Bay could take a lesson from the Hurricanes, on a roll behind goaltender Cam Ward, who made 34 stops and upped his save percentage during his three-game win streak to .947 (90 saves on 95 shots).

Justin Williams had a four-point night with his first career hat trick, and Carolina had three power-play goals and broke it open with a three-goal second.

But the Hurricanes’ victory was more about attitude than statistics, and that is where the Lightning must do some soul-searching.

Tampa Bay played a pretty good first period, outshot the Hurricanes 10-6 and trailed only 1-0. But Carolina came out smoking in the second and so dominated the first few shifts, Lightning coach John Tortorella called a timeout.

“Beginning with those first three or four shifts and right on through, they fed it to us as far as grit,” Tortorella said.

“They were ready to play the second period. They fed it to us as far as what it means to play hard around the puck, especially in the neutral zone.”

Carolina was first to the puck, stronger in battles and forced turnovers with an aggressive forecheck.

“In between intermissions, we did the best we could to make sure we stuck to the program and kept our focus,” Ward said. “We didn’t want to let off the gas. We wanted to play strong, especially in the defensive zone.”

“Our team,” Taylor said, “was plain outworked.”

And got its goal from Nikita Alexeev.

Marty St. Louis blew a breakaway in the game’s second minute when the puck jumped off his stick. Brad Richards missed a prime chance in front of the net.

Vinny Lecavalier had one shot in the second and third periods combined. Ruslan Fedotenko had one shot for the game, and Vinny Prospal had zero.

“No one needs to feel sorry for myself or our team,” St. Louis said.

“We’re going to keep battling and keep working until we get the result we want.”

In the meantime, no ThunderStix are safe.

[Last modified October 17, 2006, 06:57:45]