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Lecavalier's Scoreless Streak At 3

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By Carter Gaddis, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

TAMPA - Lightning coach John Tortorella was succinct in his assessment Tuesday of what he got out of his top scoring line in a 3-0 loss to Colorado.

"Squat," Tortorella said. And while he wasn't necessarily singling out C Vinny Lecavalier, the league's leading scorer sank a little deeper into what, for him, amounts to a scoring slump.

Lecavalier has been held without a point for three consecutive games, the first such streak for him since he went scoreless for four games Nov. 11-27, 2005.

"It has been a struggle to produce," Lecavalier said, "and get the puck in the net."

Lecavalier's once-comfortable lead as the NHL's leading scorer has disappeared. With 63 points, he's now tied for the lead with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk.

In an effort to jump-start his top scorers, Tortorella juggled the lines during the course of Tuesday's game. By the end of the game, C Brad Richards was with Lecavalier's usual partners, RW Marty St. Louis and LW Vinny Prospal, while Lecavalier was with RW Jason Ward and LW Jan Hlavac.

How rare is a three-game scoreless streak for Lecavalier? Over the course of his 675-game career, he has been held without a point for three or more games in a row only 17 times.

"I definitely want to bounce back next game," Lecavalier said. "I'm here to produce. I'm here to help the team get some points on the board. So, it is frustrating, but I have to stay positive and play hard next game."

LUNDIN A YOUNG STAR: Lightning D Mike Lundin was one of eight Eastern Conference rookies, four defensemen, named Tuesday to participate in the YoungStars competition during All-Star weekend Jan. 26-27 in Atlanta.

Lundin, 23, has averaged 14:59 of ice time with five assists during his first professional season out of the University of Maine. He'll be joined by Atlanta's Tobias Enstrom, Pittsburgh's Kris Letang and Marc Staal of the New York Rangers on the Eastern Conference defense during the three-on-three competition against a team of Western Conference rookies led by Chicago's Patrick Kane.

Richards (2002) and D Paul Ranger (2007) are the only other Lightning players to participate in the YoungStars event, which began in '02.

MINOR-LEAGUE TRADE: Tampa Bay acquired RW Junior Lessard from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Norfolk Admirals D Dan Jancevski on Tuesday. Lessard was assigned to Norfolk of the AHL.

In 36 games for Iowa this season, Lessard had 10 goals and 11 assists. He also played two of his eight career NHL games this season with Dallas.

Lessard, 27, won the Hobey Baker Award for the University of Minnesota-Duluth as college hockey's top player in 2004. That season, he led the nation in goals (32) and points (63) in 45 games.

Lessard was signed by Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2004. Jancevski appeared in two games with the Lightning this season.

NUTS AND BOLTS: Tampa Bay's 22 shots in the third were a season high for a period, three short of the team-record 25 (three times, most recently April 1, 2006 against Florida). ... Lightning C Andreas Karlsson was a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game. ... Tampa Bay fell to 0-4-0 against Western Conference teams.

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