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Things Can't Get Worse For Lightning, Can They?

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

eerlendsson@tampatrib.com

Published: March 8, 2009

Updated: 03/08/2009 11:22 pm

TAMPA - The new look Tampa Bay Lightning fans were promised during the summer never materialized. And in a season filled with new-look lows, Saturday's 9-3 beat-down at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes looked like another new low.

Can things get any lower? Barring any more injuries to the defense, it's hard to imagine things dipping any further.

Of course, with the way the Lightning are playing, there is a chance Tampa Bay could be caught by the New York Islanders before the end of the season and wind up in 30th place for the second consecutive season.

That, of course, would be lower.

That doesn't bode well for the final month of the season, as the potential is there for things to get worse before they get better. There is an awful lot of tension around the team these days - around the entire Forum, for that matter. A reporter from the St. Louis Post Dispatch spent a couple days around the team recently to do a feature on goalie Mike McKenna and could sense it from nearly every employee he encountered.

It's not easy for everyone involved with the team to deal with so much disappointment this season when the ownership change started with so much optimism.

There have been plenty of mistakes made this season and during last offseason. And that is to be expected from an ownership group that never owned a franchise before, a management group that had never managed a hockey operations department before and a coach at the start of the season who was better known as a personality instead of a coach.

The hope now has to be that lessons have been learned and some goodwill between the team and its fans can be made. The season-ticket campaign recently launched is a terrific way to start, cutting packages across the board. Having the chance to purchase a seat for $239 for the season is a steal.

And ever since the word on reduced ticket plans got out, other teams have followed the Lightning's lead.

On the ice, there is reason to believe things can turn around. With a core of Marty St. Louis, Vinny Lecavalier, Ryan Malone, Mike Smith, Steven Stamkos, Andrej Meszaros and Paul Ranger, along with the likes of Jeff Halpern and Vinny Prospal, there is talent.

That means the summer is going to be an important time for this franchise to right some wrongs and get things back in a positive direction.

SPECIAL DELIVERY: Speaking of season-ticket plans, the team will be making special deliveries of renewal forms to current season-ticket holders today.

All Lightning players, coaches and broadcasters will make surprise stops throughout the area from 1 to 3 p.m. following practice.

ALWAYS TOGETHER: Seems McKenna and right wing Brandon Segal can't get away from each other during their career.

They were both drafted by Nashville and attended Predators camp together. They also played in Milwaukee of the American Hockey League, followed by Portland last season.

This season, the two played in Norfolk for most of the season together. When Segal was called up to the Lightning last week, the two wore the same jersey together for the fifth time as teammates.

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