Prospal Prepared To Up Productivity

TAMPA - Whether it comes during a game, practice or just plain goofing around on the ice, when Vinny Prospal puts a puck in a net, his face lights up brighter than the red light sitting atop the glass above the end boards.

That smile and joy, however, was absent too often last year. As linemates Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier soared to unseen heights of production, Prospal finished with a little more than half (55) of that put forth by Lecavalier (108) and St. Louis (102).

There really was no explanation for the 25-point drop-off from the previous season.

'We need him to have a better year than he did last year,' Lightning coach John Tortorella said. 'And a lot of it, he had quite a few scoring chances and was just snake-bitten and just never got out of it. That wears him down. He's a trier and it's never a question of how hard he works or how committed you are. He got really down on himself as he struggled through scoring some goals.

'He likes to score goals and he defines himself that way; not just goals but passing to set up a play, too. And he just got himself into a jam and never totally got out of it.'

As the Lightning get set to start the season Thursday against New Jersey, Prospal said he doesn't want to reflect on what took part during the first three-quarters of last season, instead focusing on how he finished.

'What I'm thinking is the way I played in the playoffs,' said Prospal, who had a goal and five points in the six-game series loss to the Devils. 'That's how I would like to start the year, the way that I finished. That would be great to be able to do throughout the whole season.'

When he returned home to his native Czech Republic after the season, Prospal felt fatigued. It kept him off the golf course more than usual during the summer as he spent time relaxing with his kids, Vaclav and Veronika.

Feeling re-energized, Prospal showed up at training camp in shape and ready to put last season behind him. And if past history is any indication, he won't have a problem bouncing back.

In what can only be concluded as a strange coincidence, Prospal has a knack for strong production every other season. In 2001-02 he had 55 points and followed that with a career-high 79 points. The next season, his first after signing as a free agent with Anaheim, he fell back to 54 points before bouncing back with 80 in 2005-06 back with Tampa Bay.

'I don't know; I train the same way every summer and it just leads to something on paper,' Prospal said. 'I wish every year it could be the same, but for whatever reason it didn't happen. Now we are all starting from zero, so we'll see how it turns out.'

The hope is that history repeats, and it probably doesn't hurt that Prospal is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $1.9 million this season.

'He was just unlucky last season and missed a lot of opportunities he would probably like back,' Lecavalier said. 'He's a great passer and he will produce. He has that determination.'

Tortorella strongly believes Prospal could enjoy his best season this year.

'I expect a big year out of him, I really do,' Tortorella said. 'I think he is so ready to bounce back. That's the type of guy he is. ... That line along with St. Louis and Lecavalier is going to start together and obviously that's a big part of our offense and I think he is going to be right there.

'I just think he is going to be ready to go. I just sense it.'