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Tampa 3 To Remain Together For Now

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 2, 2008

Updated: 02/02/2008 12:19 am

TAMPA - When it comes to putting together line combinations, Lightning coach John Tortorella traditionally has avoided putting all his biscuits in one basket in the hopes more than one line would put the biscuit in the basket.

Not so right now. The top line for Thursday's game featured the team's top three offensive stars with Vinny Lecavalier centering a line featuring Marty St. Louis on the right side and Brad Richards on the left. The Tampa Three, or the Triple-A line if you will, are expected to start tonight's game against Florida lined up together again.

Why the sudden shift in philosophy?

"I think we needed a change and I just wanted to get a look at it," Tortorella said about the line combination Friday. "I think our top guys have been a little stale offensively, and they are going to get their points because they are that good, but I think we have gotten a little stale with our top guys."
Lecavalier entered Friday tied for second in the league scoring race with 68 points and St. Louis was eighth with 62, showing they are indeed getting their points. Supplemental scoring, however, has been as elusive as finding a falling snowflake in Florida.

That has been the symmetry Tortorella and associate coach Mike Sullivan have wrestled with - try to keep the top offensive players spread out or load them all up to create one high octane unit, which right now also includes defensemen Dan Boyle and Paul Ranger to round things out.

"As a coach, you fight the fight of balance, do you load it up or do you spread it out?" Tortorella said. "I fight that every day and I have for a long time as we have lost some offensive people. It was a decision that Sullivan and I talked about and wanted to try. We'll see where it goes."

If Thursday's game is any indication - the unit was together for almost the entire game - as the line combined to score two of the three even-strength goals while Richards, Lecavalier and St. Louis contributed two goals and five assists on the night.

"Obviously there are a lot of offensive minds out there," said Richards, who said he hasn't taken a regular shift at left wing since playing alongside Lecavalier in juniors. "And when we want to, we are good defensively, so we take care of that. I think with the talent and if we do the right job, stay within the game, we'll create chances with Ranger and Boyle going up the ice, which obviously is just more weapons."

Because of the talent and experience within the group, as long as they take care of their own end, there won't be too many shackles placed on how they go about their business in the offensive end provided they don't forget to shoot the puck.

"I don't want to put too many confinements on them because they're pretty good with their instincts and that's why they are great players in this league," Tortorella said. "This is a fine line I walk with these guys all the time, how much coaching do I give them in certain situations and that goes on daily."

But how well the group plays is not the only factor in the decision on whether to keep the unit intact. The play of the newly formed second line with Vinny Prospal centering Jan Hlavac and Michel Ouellet will have a say in how the lines shake out. Although the Prospal line did not produce a point, they played a physical game and created enough opportunities to keep the lines in a flow.

Should the other lines begin to unravel, however, it could force Tortorella to revert to putting Richards back at center.

Yet, as quick as Tortorella can often be when it comes to shuffling his lines during games, he said his intention is to allow the Fantastick Five line to develop to see if it can create some kind of spark to ignite some more offense.

"There are times where they are going to have to be broken up because of teams or matchups, but I trust them," Tortorella said. "I respect how they have grown as players and sometimes you simply have to go with that and let them figure it out.

"But I want to take a look at this; there may be times where they are broken up where it's not because of them ... but I am not going to overcoach them because they deserve that. They are top players in this league and I think it's very important for coaches to get out of the way sometimes and let them play."

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

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