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Injuries Mounting At Bolts Training Camp

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 21, 2007

BRANDON - A rare occurrence has taken place in Lightning training camp as injuries are starting to mount - relatively speaking.

C Chris Gratton (cornea abrasion) and RW Michel Ouellet (hamstring strain) did not skate Thursday while LW Jan Hlavac (bruised foot) and LW Andre Roy (bruised tailbone) have missed practice time.

The good news is that none of the injuries is reason for concern at this point. Gratton went to Tampa General Hospital on Wednesday night after taking a stick to the eye in the first period of a 4-3 overtime victory against Dallas and no further damage was discovered. He did not practice Thursday but is only expected to miss a couple of days. Ouellet, who left during the second period of Wednesday's game, got treatment Thursday and said he feels better but will be re-evaluated today.

Hlavac, meanwhile, took part in practice for the second consecutive day and is scheduled to play in Saturday's game against Washington while Roy practiced Thursday and said he would be available if asked to play Saturday.

Lightning coach John Tortorella said at this point that nobody has suffered any type of a setback in terms of getting a fair evaluation.

SENDING A MESSAGE: With Tampa Bay protecting a one-goal lead late in Wednesday' preseason opener, Tortorella sent out C Brad Richards, LW Ryan Craig and D Shane O'Brien with Filip Kuba to kill off a penalty. Dallas eventually tied the game, but Tortorella opted to use his veterans in that situation for a reason.

'I wanted to win, there's no question about that,' Tortorella said. 'And we talked about it as a group before the game. We were 0-4 in the rookie camp and although it's a rookie camp and it's just a start, it's 0-4. You need to get into a situation where when you put the uniform on, you are there to win.'

While injuries to Gratton and Ouellet forced some shuffling of the forwards, the fact that both Karl Stewart and Blair Jones played nine minutes or less and defensemen David Schneider and Jay Leach were under 15 minutes is not a positive sign for their chances of making the team.

But it was also a surprise to see rookie Mike Lundin log just over 20 minutes and LW Mathieu Darche, who scored the overtime game-winner, play more than 21 minutes.

NUTS AND BOLTS: Tortorella said G Johan Holmqvist will play the entire game Saturday against Washington. ... Some newcomers are getting a dose of reality as to how the Lightning conduct business, even at the minor-league level, where the start of training camp mimics the parent club. Norfolk D Jerramie Domish, who played for the Admirals last season, told the Virginian Pilot after the first day of conditioning laps that 'My leg muscles are swelled full of blood and they feel like they're ripping through my skin.' ... Craig had a black eye and bruised forehead Thursday as a result of his second-period fight with Dallas RW B.J. Crombeen on Wednesday. ... The team will practice this morning at 10 at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum.

Erik Erlendsson

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