Bolts Of Old Appear, But Still Take The Loss

TAMPA - For moments during Saturday's game the Lightning looked like the Lightning of old.

Marty St. Louis was stripping pucks to set up breakaway scoring chances. Vinny Lecavalier was feathering a saucer pass to set up a short-handed goal. Brad Richards was rushing down the wing before centering a pass that ended up as a linemate's goal. Dan Boyle was rushing up the ice on a power play with a chance to skate in on goal.

But a glance up at the scoreboard at the end of the night showed the result was a 5-3 setback to Boston, Tampa Bay's 30th regulation loss of the season, the most in six years.

And with the trade deadline less than three days away, the postgame scene felt like a wake for a team that knows changes are coming before it takes the ice for its next game Wednesday against Minnesota.

It was noticeable that Saturday's loss didn't have the feel of the 29 others this season.

"Yeah, to be honest with you, there is a lot of stuff going on with this hockey club right now that is unfair to the players," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "It's unfair to the players who are still trying to compete, and I'm not making excuses, but the stuff that's going on around this hockey club right now is inexcusable as far as treating players as pros. And I will back them up to the bitter end."

There is little doubt that before the 3 p.m. deadline Tuesday, changes will be made. They could be minor in terms of dealing away potential trade targets as Vinny Prospal, who scored his 29th goal Saturday, or they could wind up being of the jaw-dropping variety that could see core players such as Richards or free-agent-to-be defenseman Boyle no longer with the club.

If that's the case, then the Lightning as they have come to be known will be no longer. The group of core players, the ones the franchise has been built around the past few seasons, will have been broken up and Tampa Bay will be as far removed from its Stanley Cup days as it has ever been.

"I'm doing my best not to think about it," Boyle said. "Obviously, this is a major weekend. ... If we are going to lose a guy, that guy is going to be missed. I don't think you appreciate what you have until it's gone. Certainly, this has been a frustrating year. But whoever we lose, if we lose somebody, it's somebody that is going to be missed, that's for sure."

Richards, who was summoned back to the coach's office after the game for unknown reasons, still had his focus on the game as he sat in his locker stall to address the media right after the game.

"It feels the way it usually does after any other home loss," Richards said when asked if Saturday's loss had a different feel. "I don't really want to talk about that question, but obviously you never know, so it is in the back of your mind."

With the ownership situation still in a bit of flux as Oren Koules waits to get approval from the NHL Board of Governors to officially purchase the team from Palace Sports and Entertainment, it only adds to the cloud hanging over the team.

"These guys have played, and there's a few of them that there's very extenuating circumstances going on which they didn't have to go through," Tortorella said. "I am not beating up any player, I support the players and how they're trying to go about their business."

But the business part of the game, however, is set to be paramount in the coming days before Tampa Bay next takes the ice.

"There's different people who are making the decisions, so for us as players, we have to be ready to play our games," Prospal said. "Who knows what's going to happen, we can't control it."