Puzzle too tough to solve

The Lightning confounds the Capitals, thanks to constant reshuffling of its offensive lines.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
Published November 11, 2007

Martin St. Louis watches Filip Kuba's second-period shot go past Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward.
	[AP photo]

WASHINGTON - You like jigsaw puzzles? Rubik's Cube? How about Sudoku?

Then you'll love trying to figure out how Lightning coach John Tortorella constructs, and reconstructs, his offensive lines.

Consider Saturday night's 5-2 victory over the Capitals at the Verizon Center.

One game after it seemed Tampa Bay launched a new big line of center Vinny Lecavalier and wings Vinny Prospal and Michel Ouellet, Tortorella reunited Marty St. Louis with the two Vinnies and moved Ouellet back to Brad Richards' second line.

"You go with your stomach as the game is going on," Tortorella said. "If you're just not creating or not going offensively, we shift it around."

And go into overdrive.

Lecavalier's line had five five-on-five points. The players got two more as individuals on two power-play goals.

Prospal had a goal and two assists. St. Louis had a goal and an assist, and Lecavalier had two assists as the Lightning (8-8-1) earned its third straight victory and second straight on the road.

"It was a great game," forward Ryan Craig said. "A great win."

Assured by a four-goal third period.

Prospal's team-high 11th came 1:29 into the period. St. Louis got the winner 58 seconds later. And Craig, in his first NHL game this season after a two-game conditioning assignment at AHL Norfolk tested his herniated disc, scored on the power play to make it 4-1.

Paul Ranger had an empty-netter. Filip Kuba's power-play goal gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 second-period lead, and Johan Holmqvist, with 23 saves, played his third straight solid game.

The real fun, though, was watching the musical forwards.

Although St. Louis spent most of the game with Lecavalier, he took turns on Richards' line and the third line. Ouellet started on Lecavalier's line but was moved to Richards' when St. Louis went with Lecavalier.

The maneuvers are nothing new for Tortorella. But they were notable because he so quickly in the first period broke up the line of Lecavalier, Prospal and Ouellet, which had eight points Thursday against Carolina.

"I decided that Vinny and Vinny were not really going well at that particular time," Tortorella said of Saturday. "We put Marty up there, and they ended up playing pretty well."

Pretty well?

As Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig said, "We didn't have an answer for them."

St. Louis' pass from the defensive zone sparked the two-on-one break that ended with Prospal's goal off a Lecavalier rebound. St. Louis scored after Prospal's perfect cross-ice pass.

"Marty's a better player moving around," Tortorella said. "(Ouellet) showed he can play on all three lines. We have players who just play and don't worry about getting confused when other people play. We're not going to get stuck with lines."

That's fine with St. Louis.

"I can't speak for the other guys and how they feel," he said. "We're all interchangeable on those top two lines. It keeps us fresh. And it just kind of throws off the other team a bit."

Kind of like a puzzle.

[Last modified November 11, 2007, 00:52:29]