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Lecavalier: Let's Stay Positive

By ERIK ERLENDSSON

eerlendsson@tampatrib.com

Published: November 15, 2008

TAMPA - Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier had experienced only one in-season coaching change in his 10-year career in Tampa Bay before Friday, but he knows they are not pleasant experiences for a team.

"Everybody was a little surprised this would come 16 games in," said Lecavalier, who was part of an eight-man leadership group that met with General Manager Brian Lawton on Friday night. "It's easier to blame one person in a situation like this, but as players we have to be accountable to what we have done on the ice. We believe we can be a lot better team than we've been to this point."

Tampa Bay is the lowest scoring team in the league and allows the highest shot totals, two stats that have resulted in the 5-7-4 record that helped lead to Barry Melrose's firing, with associate coach Rick Tocchet taking over on an interim basis.

"This is all part of the business and it's something that we have to look at ourselves as a team as to how we played and how we have to be better," Lecavalier said. "The first thing we have to do is be positive and not look at the negative.

"We all believe in what we can do."

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