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Bolts' Step Back Baffles Tortorella

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

TAMPA - Had John Tortorella sat in the stands of Tuesday's game instead of coaching from behind the Tampa Bay bench, the ice might have been littered with concession-stand fare or even a rotten vegetable or two.

"I would have thrown stuff at us, not boo us. I would have thrown stuff at us," he said. "I have never been more embarrassed."

It was that bad throughout most of a 3-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche as the Lightning fell seven games below .500 and took a giant leap backward after it seemed like they had begun moving in the right direction. Instead, a season that has been on thin ice for a good part of the past six weeks looks like it's about ready to cave in to the very cold waters in the depth of the league.

Tampa Bay went into the game having won two of three and gained points in four of the previous six to find some sort of hope that things could be turned around in time to get back into the playoff race in the mediocre Eastern Conference. Now the Bolts are one point ahead of Los Angeles for last overall in the NHL.

The Lightning looked lethargic through two periods, generating only 10 shots on goal while allowing two second-period power-play goals to a team that had only four goals with the man advantage in the previous 16 games. The Avalanche had seven power-play goals on the road all season.

"I watched our team practice Monday. I felt we had a really good practice. Tempo was good, spirits were good. ... I just have a really tough time to explain our first two periods. ... I can't," Tortorella said. "It's probably the most embarrassed and disappointed I have been since I have been here."

It wasn't until the third period that the Lightning woke up and realized they were the last-place team in the conference desperate to pick up points. They fired a season-high 22 shots - more than double the amount of the first two periods combined - in one period at Jose Theodore, who earned his first shutout since Feb. 28, 2004.

"We beat ourselves the first two periods," said center Brad Richards, who had a game-high eight shots on goal, six of them in the third period. "I don't know why, but we didn't realize we were in a game until the third."

By then, putting a 20-minute effort into a 60-minute game wasn't going to cut it, no matter how hard they pressed or how much offense they generated. It already was too late.

"We can't start playing after two periods like that," left wing Vinny Prospal said. "The first two periods we came out flat, we didn't have anything, we didn't battle hard enough like we did in the third period. It's just unacceptable to happen, the way we performed. It's really embarrassing."

In a search for answers throughout the struggles and inconsistencies this season, Tortorella has tried just about every trick in the book to turn things around. He has put the team through intense practices. He has given them unexpected days off. There was the bus ride to nowhere in New York when players got dressed in full gear but the bus never stopped at the practice facility. And he has thrown tape-wrapped tennis balls to loosen them up.

Now he appears to be pulling something out of the unwritten coaching manual he rarely delves into, with what could turn into what is commonly called in hockey circles as a "bag skate." While Tortorella stated it was "none of your business" when asked how he would address the situation at today's practice, it's clear that the 8 a.m. session - four hours earlier than originally planned - will not be an easy skate around the rink.

"I'm sure it will be tough," center Vinny Lecavalier said.

At least the ice surface will be free of any clutter.

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

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