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Meszaros Stays In Lineup

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 5, 2009

ATLANTA - Less than 24 hours before taking to the ice Sunday, D Andrej Meszaros sat for 45 minutes while doctors sewed together 64 stitches to his upper lip, the inside of his lip, along his gum line and the roof of his mouth.

Meszaros was struck by a deflected puck off the stick of Carolina's Anton Babchuk with 20 seconds left in the second period Saturday. Meszaros, who has played in 285 consecutive games to start his career, wanted to return to the ice against Carolina, but had to settle to getting back to action Sunday while wearing a wired cage to protect his face.

"I want to play every game if it's possible," Meszaros said. "I just put the cage on and I'm ready to go, you know, it's not like it's a broken arm or leg. You just have to suck it up and go. I want to go out and help the team, especially after a couple of losses."

While his diet the next few days might consist of shake-like concoctions of pasta and chicken, he was still fed a steady diet of ice time, logging 25 minutes, 28 seconds Sunday, finishing with a plus-1 rating.

"I've got a couple of pills in me for the pain, but during the game it was actually all right," Meszaros said. "The cage was bothering me a little bit because I'm not used to that, but other than that it wasn't very painful."

Lightning interim coach Rick Tocchet said he liked the fact Meszaros wanted back in. "For him to want to put a cage on and get out there and play shows you a lot about the kid," Tocchet said. "That's leadership, to me, and it's another step for Mez in the leadership ladder."

M-V-P STEPS UP

Even though the ice time was way down for the MVP line of Marty St. Louis, Vinny Lecavalier and Vinny Prospal - all three were less than 17 minutes - the trio combined to score two big goals in the game.

St. Louis scored the first late in the second period on a pass from Lecavalier and then added an insurance goal one minute into the third on the power play by hanging out at the top of the crease and banging in a pass from behind the net by Prospal.

"Those are the kind of goals we are looking for out of that line," Tocchet said.

BACK TO THE MINORS

With D Lukas Krajicek back in the lineup and D Paul Ranger expected to be back for Tampa Bay's game Thursday in Phoenix, the Lightning will send emergency call-ups D Ty Wishart and D Vladimir Mihalik back to Norfolk. The move will be made official today.

Wishart made his NHL debut Saturday. Mihalik, who started the season with Tampa Bay while in Europe, appeared in three games since being brought up New Year's Day and picked up his first career NHL point with an assist on Ryan Malone's third-period goal.

NUTS AND BOLTS

C Paul Szczechura missed the game with a stiff knee. ... LW Jussi Jokinen returned after missing Saturday's game with a lower-body injury. ... Tampa Bay scored a pair of power-play goals in a game for just the second time in 16 games.

Erik Erlendsson

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