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Weekes lashes out after loss

Lightning goaltender says poor preparation led to Isles' 7-4 win.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 28, 2000

[AP photo] Tampa Bay Lightning' Kristian Kudroc, right, rides New York Islanders' Dave Scatchard off the puck in the first period Monday.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Lightning goaltender Kevin Weekes remembered well the two things coach Steve Ludzik told his players before Monday's game against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

First, Ludzik said, be aware that New York, a desperate team that had lost eight straight and 10 of 11, would come out flying. Second, stay out of the penalty box.

So when the Lightning didn't respond to a hyped Islanders squad, took six penalties that led to four power plays and allowed four first-period goals that powered a 7-4 New York victory, Weekes could not hold back.

"Just poor preparation by a lot of guys, bottom line," the goaltender said. "As a team we weren't fully prepared to play. It was obvious. ... This is the NHL. You can't come to games not prepared to play. You have to come ready to play every night, every day."

The Lightning picked up the pace in the second period and got goals by Fredrik Modin, his 12th, and Brad Richards, his seventh, to cut a 4-1 deficit to 4-3.

But Tampa Bay was fighting an uphill battle. Seven regulars sat out because of injuries, including five defensemen. Two more were lost in the first period.

Right wing Sheldon Keefe was given a five-minute charging major and a game misconduct for running into Islanders goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, who sustained a mid-back strain and was replaced by Wade Flaherty at the start of the second period.

Right wing Mike Johnson, one of the Lightning's hottest players, went down with a sprained left foot. He is day to day.

Weekes, who was replaced by Dan Cloutier after the first period, said the personnel problems had "a bit of an effect."

"But the bottom line is effort and preparation," he continued. "Before we were down nine guys, we were already down because we weren't fully prepared."

"The short bench probably affected us at the end," left wing Todd Warriner said. "We didn't have enough legs. But the start was the key."

The first period was one of the worst Tampa Bay has played in a while. The Lightning was outshot 18-5 -- 38-23 for the game -- and had a terrible time clearing the defensive zone. New York was ahead 2-0 by 8:48 of the first period on two goals in 26 seconds by Roman Hamrlik, on a power play, and Claude Lapointe.

It was 3-0 at 14:05 when Kevin Haller scored on a slap shot after the Lightning failed twice to clear the zone. But the fourth goal really hurt.

The Lightning had pulled within 3-1 at 16:42 on Vinny Lecavalier's 10th goal. But Dave Scatchard made it 4-1 with 6.7 seconds left after he faked around Modin and broke in alone on Weekes.

Still, that was all just a bad memory in the second period and even into the third as Tampa Bay pulled itself back into the hunt.

New York went up 5-3 58 seconds into the third on Taylor Pyatt's first NHL goal. The Lightning made it 5-4 at 2:23 on Martin St. Louis' third goal in four games. But goals in two minutes by Oleg Kvasha, who capitalized when Pavel Kubina's pass to Lecavalier from the corner to the slot bounced off Lecavalier's stick, and Mark Parrish ended the drama at 10:40.

"I'm very proud of my guys," Ludzik said. "For the second (period) and the better part of the third, we had them on the run."

"We played a decent 35 to 40 minutes," defenseman Cory Sarich said. "But that's not enough. We had to play a good first 20."

Ludzik said he doesn't expect any of the wounded to return soon.

"This is what we have for the trip," he said of the four-game swing that ends with the Capitals on Wednesday and Thrashers on Friday. "The cowboys aren't coming. This is what we've got."

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