New 'mess,' no answers

Fourth straight loss leaves the baffled Lightning alone in last place.

By EDUARDO A. ENCINA, Times Staff Writer
Published December 30, 2007

Joffrey Lupul, left, who scored the Flyers' first goal, joins a celebration after a scrum at the net resulted in another goal.
	[Douglas R. Clifford | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Douglas R. Clifford | Times] Karri Ramo is beaten for a goal during the third, when the Flyers scored twice. "It's not good," Brad Richards says of the skid. [Douglas R. Clifford | Times] The Lightning's Andre Roy, left, squares off with Riley Cote during the first period.

TAMPA - As the Lightning sank to a new low Saturday afternoon, one fact became remarkably clear as the words came directly from John Tortorella's mouth.

"It's our mess. We're going to have to figure it out."

The Lightning played arguably some of its best hockey in the past 18 days against the Flyers, pressuring the net, maintaining puck possession and doing the little things that add up to wins.

But it still ended up as a 4-2 loss, prompting a 38-minute players-only postgame meeting in the Lightning dressing room, in which the team - loser of four straight and seven of its past eight - adopted an "Us Against the World" mentality as a critical four-game road trip looms starting Tuesday.

"Everything's tough," center Brad Richards said. "It's tough to tell you positives.

"We lost again. We have pride. It's not good. It's not fun. ... It's tough, so we're trying to help each other and figure some things out."

After the game, coaches and management emphasized that - despite the team's tumble into sole possession of last place in the East after Washington's win on Saturday - personnel will not change while negotiations to sell the team continue.

General manager Jay Feaster said no moves are on the horizon, and that while Oren Koules' OK Hockey group tries to work out a deal to acquire the team from Palace Sports and Entertainment, the Lightning is in a holding pattern. That includes no talk of trading any piece of the talented trio of Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Richards.

"I think the answers for now have to come from within," Feaster said, "certainly until we get a resolution with the sale situation. The one thing we're not going to do is move the big three. It's just not going to happen."

Tortorella echoed that sentiment.

"We've got nothing coming this way," he said. "That's our way of life right now. We're talked about this as a group. Don't hold your hands out looking for help. ... There's no help in the minors. There's no help in signings. We have to figure it out."

Tampa Bay (15-21-3) entered Saturday's game having dominated Philadelphia - the Lightning has won 12 of 14. And the Lightning outshot the Flyers 33-22 overall, including a 22-minute, 44-second span between the first and second periods in which the Flyers managed just one shot.

"They didn't even have 10 shots halfway through the game," Richards said. "We were playing a good hockey game and usually when things are going good, you'd probably be up a few goals. That's how hard it is right now. We were creating. We were controlling."

But the offense, which has scored two or fewer regulation goals in 11 of its past 12, just wasn't there. And the Flyers broke open a tie score with three goals within a span of 5:11 late in the second period and into the third. Before that Philadelphia flurry, the Lightning couldn't capitalize on two power plays to take a lead. The Flyers scored their first three goals on a penalty shot, a power play and a delayed penalty call.

"We needed to get the second goal," Tortorella said. "We needed it just to change that scenario we've been in and we didn't do it. ... This year it's really hurt us sometimes in quick goals, not just two sometimes but three. It just deflates you."

[Last modified December 29, 2007, 23:04:29]