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Third-period malaise turns another potential win into another frustrating loss.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 19, 2001
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- What should we call it?
What should we call an affliction that makes a hockey team lethargic during the most crucial time of a game, bumble away a two-man advantage that could have sewn up a much-needed win, and produces undisciplined play that leads to two goals against in 21 seconds.
How about Lightning Disease, which spread through Tampa Bay's players like a plague during Sunday night's 3-2 loss to the Predators in front of 15,260 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.
"It's like a virus," goaltender Kevin Weekes said of the Lightning's predicament. "It's tough for us to get over."
Tampa Bay has lost seven in a row and 21 of 24. If that isn't enough to make you sick consider that Sunday's game was there for the taking.
That is until Scott Walker and Robert Valicevic scored at 11:23 and 11:44 of the third period to turn a 2-1 Nashville deficit into a one-goal victory.
"I thought we had this one," Weekes said, "for sure."
Weekes moved much better in his second game back after missing two with a groin strain and made 31 saves, including a string of dandies in the third period that kept the Lightning in the game.
Tampa Bay had a 2-1 lead after two periods on goals by Martin St. Louis and Nils Ekman.
"Take nothing away from Tampa Bay, they played real hard, they've got real quick forwards," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "But we played sloppy and we had some guys that didn't play very well. But we straightened that out."
You would think a team that hasn't seen a victory since Feb. 1 would smell blood and come out looking for some. Instead, it seemed like Tampa Bay felt a little feverish. The Lightning stopped forechecking and was outshot 12-3 in the third period and 34-16 in the game.
"We had no offense and we had no answer," coach John Tortorella said. "We couldn't get in their zone."
"The virus just came up," Weekes said, "and we couldn't ward it off."
You could see the effects toward the end of the second period as the Predators, who snapped a three-game losing streak, began to establish a positional edge.
The turn for the worse came in the third period. Tampa Bay did nothing with a two-minute penalty that began early in the period and included 41 seconds of five-on-three.
Forward Matthew Barnaby took a foolish hooking penalty at 10:14, which led to Walker's tying goal on a rebound shot. Incorrect defensive coverages, which let Valicevic camp out in front of the net, led to his winning goal; not to mention that Tampa Bay let the rushing Predators have as much room as they needed in the offensive zone.
But give credit to Nashville. Instead of laying back, they forced the play and changed the game's momentum.
"It happened so fast it's a blur right now," Valicevic said. "We came out a little sluggish; we weren't very happy, especially with our first period. We just started working harder and harder. The 20 boys in here just pulled it together and won."
"The fact that this keeps on continuing like that makes it harder every night. I'm speechless," Lightning forward Brad Richards said. "We didn't shoot enough, maybe. We've just got to come harder. I'm not going to talk for anyone else, but maybe we could all do more."
Who knows? Maybe the Lightning could have done more had St. Louis been awarded a penalty shot in the first period after he got behind the defense and was tripped by Cliff Ronning in the offensive zone.
All Tampa Bay got was a two-minute power play, which meant it got nothing as the Lightning went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.
Tortorella said the referee told him at the end of the period that, "I may have screwed up there."
But that doesn't excuse the missed opportunities and errors that led to Tampa Bay's demise.
"It was like we ran out of gas," Tortorella said. "It's no excuse. We created no offense."
Hey, it's tough to play when you're coming down with something.