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Tortorella Expects Greatness

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 17, 2008

TAMPA - One of the many signs that decorate the hallways around the Lightning locker room is a motto from the 2003-04 season: "Good is the Enemy of Great."

That was similar to the message Lightning coach John Tortorella had for his top players Saturday morning.

"I think they've played good, I think we need them to be great more consistently," Tortorella said when talking about the play of Tampa Bay's top line, which features two of the top 10 scorers in the league in Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis.

But Lecavalier has scored twice in the past 10 games and four times in the past 15 games, although he has 10 assists in that span. St. Louis has two goals in the past 10 games and four in the past 16 games, but he has 16 assists in those 16 games.

"I don't think our top line has been dead on top of their game for a few weeks now," Tortorella said. "For us to do what we need to do and play where we want to play later, after the season, I think our top line has to play better. I know they are working at it.

"And this isn't a criticism, this is the reality of where our team is. I'm not telling you anything they don't know, and that's why they are great players, because they know and they want to do more."

SEEING CLEARER: Craig MacDonald took the ice Saturday with a noticeable difference in his appearance - fans could see his face.

MacDonald had been wearing a full face shield since taking a puck to his mouth on Dec. 20 against Toronto that resulted in nine lost teeth and multiple root canal surgeries. It marked the first time he had worn a full shield since he was in college at Harvard.

"It feels a little different without it, I can feel a breeze coming at me now, but you get used to things and you put it out of your mind," said MacDonald, who already has career highs in assists (seven), points (nine) and games played (42) and needs one more goal to tie his high of three.

He has lost the face shield, but MacDonald continues to wear a visor. He had never done that as a professional until last year, when it was mandated by the American Hockey League.

"Now I look back and I should have been wearing a visor all along," he said. "It's worth it, because I've had so many pucks and sticks and skates hit me. It's not worth it to have a major injury because you say you can't get used to it."

OLD UNIS: For the first time this season, Tampa Bay used its new uniforms, made of the old sweater material.

There were complaints about the new RBK Edge jerseys retaining too much heat and not wicking away the sweat, which ended up soaking players' gloves and skates. Each of the league's other 29 teams had already incorporated jerseys using the old materials, but delays pushed back the Lightning using them.

The jerseys are still more tight-fitting than the old sweaters, but are made from the original materials.

NUTS AND BOLTS: D Brad Lukowich missed his third consecutive game with an abdominal/groin injury. ... C Andreas Karlsson returned after missing the past two games for personal reasons, but he was a healthy scratch. ... LW Vinny Prospal played in his 383rd game with the Lightning, tied for 10th most on the franchise list.

Erik Erlendsson

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