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Lightning Suffer 'Embarrassing' Loss

The Associated Press

Steve Downie drops Boston Bruins left wing Blake Wheeler to the ice during the first period.

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 9, 2008

BOSTON - The Bruins' express kept rolling on Monday, leaving the listless Lightning as just another spectator watching it go by.

Boston won its fifth in a row and 14th in the past 16 games while extending its winning streak at home to 10 games, beating Tampa Bay 5-3 and making it look easy early on.

The Lightning, meanwhile, are heading in the complete opposite direction as their winless streak reached eight games (0-6-2), the longest skid since going 0-9-1 from Jan. 12-29, 2001, a streak that started two games into the John Tortorella era. Tampa Bay has one win in the past 14 games.

"To me, it's an embarrassment when you have more than three or four guys not ready to play," interim coach Rick Tocchet said. "We warned them, and it's just embarrassing right now, it really is."

Tampa Bay took two penalties in the opening five minutes and Boston capitalized on the second man-advantage on Milan Lucic's goal, set up on a nice feed from defenseman Dennis Wideman. The Bruins then scored twice in a span of 1:17 on goals by Phil Kessel and Michael Ryder to build a 3-0 lead in the opening 10:46 of the game.

"The coaches have given us an opportunity to know what to do putting the game plan on the board, in practice we go through what we're supposed to be doing in situations, then we go on the ice and it's like we forgot everything," said goaltender Mike Smith, who stopped 19 shots, including a penalty-shot attempt by P.J. Axelsson. "I don't know if we're a dumb team, if we just don't get it or we don't deserve to be in this league, I don't know, but we are making the same mistakes we talk about game in and game out."

Once the first period ended and the Bruins had a the three-goal lead with a 13-5 shot advantage, Boston sat back in the neutral zone and all but snuffed out any attempt at a comeback. Though Adam Hall scored his first goal since the team returned from Europe to make it 3-1, Zdeno Chara put the game away with a goal late in the second with the Bruins on a two-man advantage at 18:43.

Vinny Lecavalier and Paul Szczechura, who scored his first career goal with 18 seconds left, made the score look closer than it really was before Boston added an empty-net goal with 10 seconds left.

Tocchet said all bets are off now when it comes to doling out ice time and responsibilities.

"We are looking for guys who are ready to work, and if there's only six of them, as a coaching staff, you take your six and you work with them," Tocchet said. "I might have to start playing one-and-a-half lines or something like that, maybe play one defenseman. Maybe we should devise a system where we play maybe just eight guys."

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835.

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