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Emotions Boil As Bolts Hit Bottom

The Associated Press

Atlanta Thrashers Eric Perrin sweeps the puck past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Mike Smith.

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 21, 2008

ATLANTA - In a battle for the basement, the Lightning came out on the bottom.

And Marty St. Louis, for one, is at his boiling point when it comes to being in the cellar.

The Thrashers won for just the fourth time in the past 16 games with a 4-3 victory against Tampa Bay, which has two victories in its past 19. The loss keeps the Lightning in last place in the league, tied for the fewest points with the New York Islanders.

Despite a pair of power-play goals from St. Louis and a 24-shot barrage in the third - the second-most shots in a period on the road in franchise history and tied for the third-most all-time - Tampa Bay wound up with its 15th one-goal loss of the season. The Lightning gave up three consecutive goals after holding a 2-1 lead eight minutes into the game.

"It's plain and simple, there's not enough guys that want to make a difference, they're clock killers, that's all it is," said a dejected St. Louis, who slammed his shin pad to the ground in frustration at one point. "I'm expletive fed up."

On Saturday, mistakes the team continually makes showed up, particularly in the defensive zone, where the coverage down low led to three of Atlanta's goals. The defensive pairing of Andrej Meszaros and Marek Malik was on the ice for all three even-strength goals, and the two combined for a minus-6 rating while giving away the puck at inopportune times. Eric Perrin, Todd White and Joseph Crabb all scored from the top of the crease, with White's coming on a power play.

"The coaching staff is running out of answers, we keep rolling up our sleeves and try to give them the information to play good, and to see the first two periods the way they came out is really disheartening," Tocchet said. "And I feel sorry for our fans."

There also has to be sympathy for some of the team's top players, who are not accustomed to so many setbacks.

"If you're a guy who works hard and really cares, I'd be really upset right now," Tocchet said. "I don't know what I would do to a guy who I thought didn't care and continually makes mistakes."

St. Louis didn't call out any individuals, but he questioned the desire of some of his teammates.

"I don't think there's enough guys who really want to win. Yeah, we say the right things, but expletive that," he said. "What's winning? It's being aware of every flipping play that matters, especially now, when you're in a hole. When you're six or seven games over .500 and everything is rosy, you can make mistakes, it happens, you can live with it. But right now, when we're in the situation we are, it's plain and simple embarrassing."

Saturday's game looked like a case of dejÀ vu after Tampa Bay decided to ramp up its game once it fell behind by two goals early in the third.

"It seems any time there is a little adversity or it's 1-1, guys freeze up, their legs don't go," Tocchet said. "They are scared to win a battle, and instead of going to the front lines and saying 'I'll take it,' they instead fall behind, let somebody else do it and hope they don't get noticed."

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

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