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Lightning Defense Puts Focus On 'D'

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2008

Updated: 09/23/2008 12:12 am

TAMPA - The days of "Safe is Death" have reached their demise for Lightning defense.

The mantra, conjured up by former associate coach Craig Ramsay, helped carry the team to a Stanley Cup title in 2004 by reminding defensemen to stay aggressive and get up the ice as a five-man unit with the forwards.

Under new coach Barry Melrose, the new slogan might as well be, "Safe is Life."

"One of the things that I'm going to stress is that I'd much rather have six great defensive defensemen than six average offensive defensemen," Melrose said. "Our defense is going to be joining the rush and stuff, but they are not going to have carte blanche to do whatever they want. Their job is to stop goals, first and foremost."

In reality, there is not a ton of difference between the way the defense is going to be run under Melrose and his staff. But there are subtle changes that are going to rein in some of that aggressiveness, to a point.

"It's not going to be so much risk and reward, we are not going to pinch as much, we're not going to create so many odd-man rushes against," defenseman Shane O'Brien said. "That's going to help us defend better."

Last season Tampa Bay allowed 266 goals, tied with Atlanta for the most allowed in the league. It's the one area - especially with the Lightning's talented forwards - that Melrose wanted to address right from the get-go at training camp.

"If you look at the numbers, we have to cut our goals-against down," Melrose said. "That alone will put us in the playoffs so that's an area we are going to spend a lot of time working on and the defense is a big part of that."

Perhaps the most noticeable difference for defensemen will be inside the offensive zone. Whereas in previous seasons the defensemen would aggressively pinch into the zone in an attempt to keep the puck inside the blue line, this year, if they are not 100 percent sure the puck can be kept in, they are being asked to play it safe. In many ways, the defensemen still remaining from last year are having to retrain their brain.

"There is still stuff going on out there that in my head I can hear the coaching staff from last year telling me, but the thing of it was that is was so much harder to play the way they wanted us to play as compared to the way Barry wants to play," O'Brien said. "Barry said he wants to keep things simple. Don't pinch all the time, only pinch if you are 100 percent sure. Honestly, if the puck comes around and no one is there, we put it right back down to the forwards. But chances are that, obviously we are going to probably back out anyway and we'll live to see another day."

Paul Ranger, who hasn't put some of the new teachings to use at this point as he waits for his surgically repaired shoulder to recover, said this season is not necessarily about being cautious or safe, it's just about being more aware of situations and making the right read.

"It's being responsible," Ranger said. "There's so many things that your brain processes in a nanosecond that you have to make a decision in that amount of time. And that's what's so cool about hockey, everything is reaction and instinct, so true talent comes out and that's the way we have to play."

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

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