Bolts' Stamkos becoming total package

Forwards find few moments of fame in the defensive zone.

Blocking shots, cutting off passing lanes, swinging sticks on a poke check and battling along the wall don't exactly make the highlight reels on NHL Tonight. The glory comes from scoring goals and Steven Stamkos scores plenty.

Stamkos enters tonight's game against the Ottawa Senators leading the league with 37 goals scored, five more than second-place Evgeni Malkin, and will attempt to become the sixth player in NHL history to record two 50-goal seasons before turning 23.

But Stamkos does not want to be defined as a one-dimensional player who helps his team in one area, but is a liability on defense. The 22-year-old's play in his own zone has improved drastically as he becomes a better two-way player.

"I want to be that player that in both situations, whether up a goal or down a goal, is going to be out there,'' said Stamkos, who has tied his own franchise record with eight game-winning goals this season.

With 133 goals since the start of the 2009-10 season, Stamkos has 28 more goals than any other player in the league during that span. His knack for the net has earned him plenty of praise in his first three-plus seasons in the league and plenty of air time on the highlight clips.

He is, perhaps, the premier goal scorer in the game today.

While his presence on the ice when Tampa Bay needs a goal is a given, lately he's gotten opportunities to help protect leads.

In Saturday's 2-1 victory at Buffalo, Stamkos was called on late in the game to kill a Sabres' penalty, playing 1:02 of the kill with Tampa Bay up a goal. At the end of the game, Stamkos played 63 of the final 72 seconds.

Part of his evolution into a more responsible player in Tampa Bay's end has to do with how he carries himself in situations and how he takes fewer risks than he might have before.

"He's managed the puck better," head coach Guy Boucher said. "We all knew he was a skater and shooter, but he's evolved now into somebody who manages the game a lot better and uses different tools rather than just focus on some of his main tools.

"He still gets his offense without playing the chances … and that's a mark of maturity. He's really understood that and he's continuing to develop that and grow. He's still a young man and it's great to see how he's evolving right now. He's doing it all.''

For a player with quite a few achievements in his young career – including a Rocket Richard Trophy at 19 – it's difficult to fathom Stamkos requires more confidence in his game. But being counted on in defensive situations has done just that for the league-leading goal scorer.

"To be that two-way player that I want to be, you have to have confidence in those situations as well," Stamkos said. "To be out there, knowing that the coaching staff and your teammates have the confidence in you to get the job done at both ends of the rink, is something that does grow confidence in your entire game.''

It's been noticed by his teammates.

"He kills penalties, doing a great job defensively, always good on the back check and scores a lot of goals, so he's the whole package and we are very fortunate to have him on our team,'' defenseman Victor Hedman said.

"It's hard to put into words just how good he is. And if you look at him playing forward (at both ends of the ice), that's the type of player that I want to be. I'm not there yet, but that's the way I want to be, too.''