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Long road ahead for Lightning

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

eerlendsson@tampatrib.com

Published: September 20, 2009

TAMPA - Years ago, sports teams would hit the road for a traveling exhibition of games often referred to as a barnstorm tour. The stops along the way tended to be smaller markets, allowing fans in smaller towns to catch a glimpse of professional stars.

Beginning today, the Lightning will travel the friendly skies for a similar modern-day trek. This one will criss-cross the country while stopping long enough for five games in five cities on five consecutive nights in four time zones, before closing the six-game trip in Atlanta a week from today.

"You have to make sure you have a couple of suits, a couple of dress shirts for when you spill your pregame meal on one of them and lots of underwear and socks," said center Brett McLean, who has gone on similar preseason tours with the Panthers the past two seasons.

A nearly 7,000-mile trip begins Monday in Regina, Saskatchewan, against Ottawa. Then the Lightning will face Phoenix on consecutive nights - in Everett, Wash., and Loveland, Colo. On Thursday, Tampa Bay will face Edmonton in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and will fly the next day to Norfolk, Va., for what essentially will be a scrimmage game against the Lightning's farm team.

The team will enjoy a night off in Atlanta on Saturday before closing out the trip, and the exhibition season schedule, on Sept. 27 against the division-rival Thrashers. Tampa Bay will be back in town for four days before heading back to Atlanta to start the regular season on Oct. 3.

While the trip means lots of getting on and off airplanes and buses and clearing customs on four occasions, and seemingly might mean not enough rest for the players as they prepare for the start of the regular season, Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said there is enough time built into the itinerary to ensure none of the players will get overworked.

"It has been tough to map out the schedule and there are always going to be positives and negatives, but we want to make sure the guys get plenty of rest," he said. "That's the biggest thing for me is to make sure the guys do get their rest and we're not overworking them with all the travel, but we also need to get our work in. It's a fine line and that's really where the coaching staff has to figure it out because there is still a lot of teaching we want to do."

And it's not like every player is going to be in a game on each night. While NHL rules prohibit teams from putting players in three or more consecutive games, it wouldn't be practical.

So of the 41 remaining players in training camp after right wing Richard Panik was returned to his junior team Saturday, all will leave town with the team and help spread out the playing time.

"Maybe for a team it's not a perfect scenario, but for the most part, you are not playing every single night and maybe the most you are playing is three games in four nights," McLean said. "And everybody is so fresh this time of year, it's not so bad. Maybe in January it might not be the same story but this time of year everybody is so excited to get going you are just happy to be playing."

And the bottom line to all the playing time is the team still must make decisions as to who makes this team and who doesn't and who plays where within the lineup, which is the primary objective of preseason games to begin with.

"This is still part of training camp and jobs on the line and the pecking order, stuff like that," center Ryan Craig said. "It's still important that when it's your turn to play you be ready to play and when it's not you get your rest so that when your name is called the next time you are ready to go."

While the schedule will feel hectic along the trip, jumping from city to city and playing in different arenas every night, it will also keep the players together in close quarters which can also serve as a way for a team with so many new players get to know each other on a personal and professional level.

And as long as there are no disruptions along the way, Tocchet said a lot can still get accomplished while still allowing plenty of time to be ready for the things to get underway for real in less than two weeks.

"I think if we get by this week with some solid work and some good exhibition games we have a full week of practice before we get ready for Atlanta again," he said, "which helps us calm everything down and get it back to normal again."

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