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Improved Tempo Pleases Tortorella

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 17, 2007

BRANDON - Before Sunday's second round of scrimmages, Lightning coach John Tortorella expressed his displeasure to the players about their performance the day before.

The message was received.

'I thought it was a much better game Sunday than Saturday. They played at a much better tempo,' Tortorella said.

The action picked up Sunday as battles in the corners and along the walls were more intense. Line combinations and defensive pairings remained mainly intact from the first scrimmage, with the exception of Andreas Karlsson playing left wing on Brad Richards' line, swapping the spot with Jan Hlavac, who played with Chris Gratton.

Nick Tarnasky scored the only goal for Team Black, while Michel Ouellet notched the tying tally with 1:06 left to forge a second consecutive 1-1 tie.

The best showing of the day came from the goaltenders, particularly Marc Denis, who stopped all 17 shots he faced, including denying Marty St. Louis on a breakaway.

Karri Ramo put in a second consecutive solid effort, making 16 saves on 17 shots, while Johan Holmqvist stopped seven of eight shots.

Tortorella praised the goalies but also spoke about the fishbowl environment that comes with the position.

'At that position, that is the world in which they live in,' Tortorella said. 'I thought they were the best three players on the ice Sunday but the scrutiny is certainly something they can't shy away from or use as an excuse because that's just the world in which they live in. And I think all three of our guys understand that.'

BOYLE GETS CLIPPED: There was a few tenuous moments during practice drills as D Dan Boyle was struck with an errant high stick from Andre Roy during a two-on-two drill. Boyle quickly put his hands up near his right eye and skated off the ice.

'I couldn't see, my eye was just all blurry ... it was scary,' Boyle said.

But Boyle came back to a loud ovation from the crowd without receiving stitches, although the cut was clearly visible a couple of inches below the eye.

'I think we are going to have to send Andre back to stick-handling school,' Boyle joked.

CUT DOWNS: Tortorella said the first round of cuts likely would come following Saturday's home exhibition game against Washington. He said the team likely would be down to 25 or 26 players, which means seven or eight would be sent to the minors.

Tortorella also said he plans to keep more than the maximum of 23 players heading into the final two preseason games, both on the road, which likely would mean the final cuts won't come until after the exhibition finale in Dallas on Sept. 29.

NUTS AND BOLTS: Tampa Bay's minor-league affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, opens training camp today in Chesapeake, Va. ... Ouellet briefly left the ice in the second half of Sunday's scrimmage because of an equipment issue. ... Through two days of scrimmages, Richards (two assists) is the only player with more than one point. ... The line of Craig MacDonald with Roy and Tarnasky has been effective in both games, establishing a solid forecheck while generating scoring chances.

Erik Erlendsson

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