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Lashoff Has Chance To Shine

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

eerlendsson@tampatrib.com

Published: March 19, 2009

TAMPA - The Lightning's back line this season has looked more like the front line on a battlefield - as one man goes down, another steps forward to fill the role.

The latest defenseman to be injured is Cory Murphy, who broke a bone in his right foot when he was hit by a Vinny Lecavalier shot Tuesday. He will miss three to four weeks, which could keep him out the rest of the season. Murphy has been playing the role of quarterback on the power play, and he has been producing consistently lately, with four goals and nine points in the past 10 games.

"I've missed my fair share of time due to injury the past couple of seasons, so it's frustrating," said Murphy, who was slowed by shoulder issues in Florida..

In a season that has already seen 20 different defensemen dress for a game, the latest to suit up now gets pushed to the forefront as Matt Lashoff will have the opportunity to fill Murphy's role.

"The job is his now," Tocchet said. "I don't want to put a lot of pressure on him so he doesn't think he has to score or make a great play the first couple of outings. He's going to have a regular time on the power play to get used to it."

As the key player acquired from the Bruins in the trade-deadline deal involving veteran Mark Recchi, the 22-year-old Lashoff will have plenty of opportunities to show the Lightning why he was a first-round draft pick in 2005.

It will also serve as an injection for Lashoff, who felt like he was stagnating in the Bruins' system the past two seasons.

"Just the way things were going in Boston, I didn't have my confidence," he said. "I was always second-guessing plays that I was making out on the ice. I think from the moment I got here, it was like a weight was taken off my shoulders. The moment I found out I was traded here, to be able to have that opportunity to come in and play right away, to have that all behind me, it's changed my whole demeanor.

"It even started Tuesday during the pregame skate, I just felt more confident with the puck."

In his Lightning debut on Tuesday, Lashoff logged 23 minutes, including more than four minutes on the power play. On one play midway through the second period, Lashoff walked the puck down the slot and fired a backhanded shot on goal, displaying some of the offensive upside the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder brings to the game.

Now he can play his game without the fear of one mistake resulting in a return to the minors.

"Every time you come up, it's an audition, but the way the Bruins were, it would be one shift and you thought you were going back down to Providence of the AHL, and with the way things are going for them this year they didn't have that leeway to give," Lashoff said.

In the final 12 games, Lashoff will be given ample opportunities to play without having to look over his shoulder.

"He knows that we are looking for some D here and there are jobs open, so it's up to him to take hold of it and grab it," Tocchet said. "A guy like him, who is a young guy, you want to play him and see what he's got."

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7853.

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