Bolts ready to fight with backs against wall

A week ago today the Lightning were 10 points out of a playoff spot and general manager Steve Yzerman was in seller mode as the trade deadline loomed.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the trade deadline — Tampa Bay has not lost a game since. Despite three trades that sent Dominic Moore, Pavel Kubina and Steve Downie elsewhere in exchange for draft picks and the loss of captain Vinny Lecavalier to a broken hand for an indefinite amount of time, the Lightning have won three consecutive games.

The winning streak has seen Tampa Bay cut its deficit in the standings in half. The Lightning are on a 10-3-2 run heading into tonight's divisional showdown with Winnipeg, one of the teams the Lightning trail by five points. The Jets occupy both a tie atop the Southeast Division standings with Florida as well as the eighth spot in the conference standings.

"We know we are on a bit of a streak right now, but this is pretty much make or break at this point of the season on this road trip,'' right wing Teddy Purcell said. "We can either make up a lot of ground or dig ourselves a bigger hole, so we know how important this is. But we've gone through a pretty difficult week already, so this is not anything we are not used to, so we will be excited for the challenge.''

There is an extra importance heading into tonight, which could make it more difficult to keep the necessary narrow focus.

"We want to go about things the same way as we have, we don't want too much and get out of our game and keep doing what's been working for us,'' Purcell said. "But at the same time, we know this is a four-point game, and at the end of the game we could either be seven points out or three, and that's huge at this time of the year with only 20-something games left. So we are excited, we've been playing well lately and we just need to bring that same attitude.''

With everything that has gone on around the team in the past week, coach Guy Boucher said he's not concerned that the team might wilt under the circumstances facing it tonight. Two weeks ago, he's not sure he would have felt the same way.

"We know that's how we've had success lately, we've taken away all the pressure and the things we can't control away and focused solely on the team we are playing in the situation,'' Boucher said. "And the last time we came here we got our (tails) whipped and these guys (Jets) are on fire and we are depleted, so what is going to happen (today)? I don't know, but I know that we are going to be swinging.''