Players earn praise for proactive effort

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
Published November 4, 2007

TAMPA - Turns out the Lightning's bus ride to nowhere was, apparently, a timing problem.

The team was supposed to practice Tuesday at Manhattan's Chelsea Piers.

But the bus, after battling traffic from Madison Square Garden, where the players dressed, turned around and went back to the arena.

Several players said the surprise U-turn occurred because a players-only meeting at the Garden to discuss Monday's dreary 3-1 loss to the Rangers followed by a meeting with coaches ate into the team's ice time at the practice rink.

Coach John Tortorella on Saturday declined to discuss circumstances but acknowledged and praised the players' proactive effort.

"It doesn't need to come from the coaches all the time, and that's the key," Tortorella said. "It comes from within the room."

Defenseman Brad Lukowich said four players spoke during the players-only meeting, but he emphasized, "It doesn't really matter who the guys were who talked. The message was definitely there and was given."

And that was?

"Let's do what everyone does well," he said. "We've got depth in this room. One of the reasons the guys are so down is we know how good we are. It's just a matter of putting it all together; just take control of our own game out there and execute it as one."

There were signs of that in Thursday's 4-0 loss to the Islanders in which Tampa Bay outchanced New York 16-10.

"We know we're the leaders of this team," right wing Marty St. Louis said of the meeting. "When stuff has to be said, we have to address it. It's something that we earned and something that was passed down to us, and it's our responsibility now."

FINDING HIS GAME: Lukowich has one assist and is at minus-11.

"I know I have to be a lot better," he said, adding that part of the problem has been not staying within his game, pinching at the wrong times, which has led to opponent chances.

He said he hopes a better game against the Islanders in which he blocked a game-high six shots marked a turnaround.

"Right now it just seems that everything I try to do is backfiring," Lukowich said. "Blocking shots is one of those things I take pride in. If I can get back to doing those things well, it will expand out from there."

"He'll get his game more consistent because he cares," Tortorella said. "He wants to compete, and as long as he competes, he'll be in the lineup."

BOILING POINT: Trainer Tommy Mulligan said defenseman Dan Boyle is in the lineup because the three surgically repaired tendons in his left wrist cannot be further damaged. Boyle missed the season's first nine games after a skate fell on him from the top of his locker.

"What I said to him is, 'Think back to how it happened,'" Mulligan said. "It's not like he jammed and ruptured the tendons in a game."

ODDS AND ENDS: Defenseman Doug Janik and wing Mathieu Darche were healthy scratches. ... Defenseman Matt Smaby was sent to AHL Norfolk.

Damian Cristodero can be reached at cristodero@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 4, 2007, 00:50:26]