Coach Pleased With New Line Combination

TAMPA - With few exceptions, line combinations can be fleeting on a John Tortorella-coached team.

But for now, at least, it seems as if the Lightning have found something in the grouping of C Chris Gratton with LW Mathieu Darche and RW Michel Ouellet.

One game after shifting Ouellet from Brad Richards' line to Gratton's - and liking what he saw - Tortorella used Gratton, Ouellet and Darche together from the start Saturday against Atlanta.

The result?

Gratton's third goal of the season, which broke a 1-all tie late in the first period, and Darche's first NHL goal since Nov. 10, 2001, with Columbus. Ouellet assisted on Gratton's goal, and Gratton assisted on Darche's.

Gratton's goal came after he stole the puck at the blue line and positioned himself to receive Oeullet's pass in front of the net. Darche's goal came after he won a battle in the corner and pounced on the loose puck to flip a backhander into the net.

It's that kind of hard work from all three that has Tortorella pleased with the combination for the time being.

'We won't score the pretty goals like Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier do,' Darche said. 'We won't do that zig-zagging. We'll tire them out. Today, it worked.'

BOYLE BACK SOON: Tortorella said the team received a good report Friday on the health of D Dan Boyle, who had left wrist surgery on Sept. 23 after three tendons were sliced by a falling skate during training camp.

'Danny wants to play,' Tortorella said. 'It's just a matter of him understanding that he's not going to hurt himself again. And we got a real good report from the doctor tonight. So, next week he's going to start practicing with us.'

SULLY STAYS PUT: The name of Lightning assistant coach Mike Sullivan surfaced as a potential candidate to replace recently fired Bob Hartley as Atlanta's head coach, but Sullivan's contract doesn't allow him to pursue other jobs during the season without the Lightning's permission.

Sullivan declined interview requests Friday regarding the Thrashers' opening. The former Boston head coach does have a window of time during the offseason during which he can pursue head coaching jobs.

NUTS AND BOLTS: St. Louis scored his first regular-season goal in nine games, dating to March 31 against the Capitals last season. He also picked up his sixth and seventh assists to extend his team lead in that category. ... Atlanta G Ondrej Pavelec, 20, made his NHL debut when he replaced Johan Hedberg at the beginning of the third period. Pavelec, a second-round pick in 2005, was promoted from the AHL's Chicago Wolves when Atlanta starting G Kari Lehtonen (groin) was placed on injured reserve Friday. ... Atlanta LW Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 16th career goal in 32 games against the Lightning. ... Lightning LW Vinny Prospal scored his 50th career power-play goal.

Carter Gaddis