Ramo Confident He Can Regain His Game

The holiday travel plans for Lightning G Karri Ramo were disrupted twice this week, having to scuttle plans to meet friends in Las Vegas after getting called up to Tampa Bay when G Olie Kolzig came down with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Ramo, however, doesn't mind because it means he's where he wants to be, in the NHL. When last season ended, Ramo thought he'd be in Tampa Bay from the start of the season instead of making it up as an injury fill-in. After all, he put up respectable numbers last season, winning seven games and posting a 3.03 goals-against average, closing the season out with a 2.23 GAA and .938 save percentage in his final four starts.

So when he was sent down to AHL Norfolk after accompanying the team to Europe to start the season, Ramo tried so hard to prove he didn't belong in the minors that he lost his game.

"I kind of took things the wrong way," Ramo said. "When I went down there, I wanted to stop every puck I faced in practice, every puck I saw in a game; I didn't want to allow any goals. When I didn't do that there, it made me think, 'Am I this bad because I'm not able to stop these pucks here?' So I ended up beating myself a lot.

"I wanted to show everybody that I didn't belong in the AHL, that I need to be getting playing time upstairs. But I realized that you are never going to stop all the pucks, so I wasn't giving myself a chance to make a mistake and every time I did make a mistake I was blaming myself all the time."

A former AHL All-Star with Springfield his rookie professional season in 2006-07, Ramo proved he can play at that level. Last year, he proved he has the potential to play at the NHL level. Yet in 23 games with Norfolk this season, Ramo has a record of 7-11-4 with a 3.62 GAA and .887 save percentage.

Ramo won his last two starts with the Admirals, stopping 56 of 59 shots faced. While he feels like his confidence has returned, he hopes his game has as well.

"I've done a lot of talking with the coaches down there and it's been helpful," Ramo said. "They told me that if I don't play a single game in the NHL this year, it's not the end of my career, so it's been a tough adjustment for me. Now I just have to get my game back, it's my game and nobody else can help me with that."

BEST SERVED COLD: Lightning C Vinny Lecavalier went looking for some payback Tuesday, trying to goad Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke into a fight in the first period.

Lecavalier suffered a separated shoulder that required offseason surgery as the result of a hit in April from Cooke, who was with Washington at the time. Cooke turtled on Lecavalier, who wound up with a roughing penalty at 16:23. The Penguins did not get off a shot on the ensuing power play.

TYRELL OUT: Lightning prospect Dana Tyrell's season ended late last week after the left wing suffered a torn ACL and partially torn MCL in his right knee playing for Canada in an exhibition game against Sweden. Tyrell, a second-round selection in 2007, will require surgery and extensive rehab to regain strength in the knee.

Tyrell had been playing on Canada's top line with top-ranked center prospect John Tavares when he was injured in the second period of Friday's game. Tyrell has since returned to his native Alberta but hopes to return to Ottawa for the start of the medal rounds of the tournament, which gets under way with preliminary play Friday.

NUTS AND BOLTS: The start of the telecast on Sun Sports on some cable outlets was delayed due to a "switching issue with master control in Houston" only on Bright House, according to Sun Sports spokeswoman Amy Pempel. ... RW Mark Recchi recorded his 1,400th career point with an assist on Matt Pettinger's second-period goal. ... Several signs were posted throughout the bottom level of Mellon Arena welcoming LW Ryan Malone back. Malone received a cheer from the crowd when his name was mentioned as part of Tampa Bay's starting lineup, but was booed after he got tangled up with Evgeni Malkin on the opening shift. ... C Jeff Halpern appeared in his 600th career NHL game. ... LW Ryan Craig was a healthy scratch.

Erik Erlendsson