Gratton feels boxed in as refs mum on calls

By EDUARDO A. ENCINA, Times Staff Writer
Published November 26, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Dirk Shadd | Times] Forward Chris Gratton, a 14-year veteran, has been called for three two-minute penalties the past two games and has served 36 penalty minutes, third most on the team.

TAMPA - Forward Chris Gratton has struggled finding his comfort zone in his first 23 games back in the lineup, and the veteran center said after Saturday's 3-2 loss to New Jersey that the way calls are being made is making it even tougher.

"It's hard," Gratton said after the Lightning lost its fourth straight game, each involving controversy with officiating. "It's a hard way to play now. A lot of the battle has been taken out of the game. It's no longer the bigger player outmuscling the smaller player, winning or battles for the puck. It's all about positioning and keeping your stick down. Especially for the bigger guys, it's a little tough. You get a little more frustrated, but you have to adapt to that."

Gratton, a 14-year veteran, has been called for three two-minute penalties the past two games and has served 36 penalty minutes, third most on the team.

"It's hard because you don't get any explanation of the calls," he said. "We're trying to work with the refs, and the refs are hopefully trying to work with us, but there's no explanation of what's getting called or why. It's kind of like, 'Get away from me and go into the box.' Especially the older players get extremely frustrated by that approach. We're all trying to work together to make this game better and it does get frustrating."

Gratton has just one point in his past 14 games.

CLOSE NO CALL: Forward Marty St. Louis wasn't upset that Devils forward Dainius Zubrus' obvious cross-checking from behind in the third period Saturday wasn't called. But he was upset that Zubrus pushed him forward into a incoming shot and the puck hit off his helmet.

"I'm just getting ready to tip the puck," St. Louis said. "It's a scary moment. I was just frustrated at the time. It's a dangerous play, you know. I think it's just as much his ice as it's my ice. I don't know if it's a penalty, but it's scary when you take a shot off the helmet."

ODDS AND ENDS: Defenseman Shane O'Brien received a 10-minute game misconduct at the end of Saturday's game, apparently for comments he made to an official. With defenseman Filip Kuba out with an abdominal injury, O'Brien played for 28:20, a career high. ... Vinny Lecavalier'snext goal will be the 250th of his career and his next assist will be No. 300. ... Defenseman Doug Janik played in his 100th career game Saturday. ... The Lightning will have an update today on forward Ryan Craig, who left Saturday's game with a left knee injury and was scheduled for an MRI Sunday.

Eduardo A. Encina can be reached at eencina@tampabay.com.

[Last modified November 25, 2007, 21:35:26]