Stamkos pleased with his play

The sophomore season of Steven Stamkos has played out so well, nitpicking the 19-year-old for having one point in his previous four games seems almost unfair.

After all, Stamkos led the team with 17 goals and was tied with RW Marty St. Louis for the team lead with 30 points heading into Monday's game against Washington. But perhaps it's because of that early season success, the fact he didn't have a goal in a week and only one assist stood out and led some to wonder how he felt about his game.

"I feel that I'm playing a little better now than I was in some of those stretches when I was getting points," Stamkos said. "I think I've been better lately, my faceoffs are better, I'm making good plays with the puck and I feel pretty good. It's just the points aren't coming. But I feel the hard work is going to get rewarded, so I'm not really worried about it."

One thing Lightning coach Rick Tocchet would like to see Stamkos return to is a shoot-first mentality. During a two-on-one drill Monday morning in which Stamkos passed the puck, Tocchet pulled his young star aside to remind him to put the puck on net.

"At the beginning of the year he had that shooter's mentality, but the last couple of weeks he's been passing off shots," Tocchet said. "He's a shooter. He's got to shoot the puck. He's got to have the gunslinger mentality of shooting the puck because he's got such a good wrist shot."

Another area the coaching staff would like to see Stamkos improve on is protecting the puck, particularly in the offensive zone, where he has been guilty of too many turnovers with ill-advised passing attempts.

"When you are successful like he was for about a month and scoring goals, maybe you start to get a little out of character," Tocchet said. "And we talked about it, that he's turning it over a little more than he used to. And when you are a creative player you are going to turn it over, but he is turning it over a little too much for our liking."

Fridge on the shelf

LW Todd Fedoruk was a healthy scratch Monday for the ninth consecutive game, having last played on Nov. 21. Although he has two goals and three points, Fedoruk hasn't been able to get back into the lineup.

Though obviously frustrated about having to watch from the press box, you'll never hear him vent to his teammates or the media.

"I just need to stay positive, stay ready, get my skates in, work hard and support the guys that are in," Fedoruk said. "We want to make sure it's a healthy competition between us, but also not make it uncomfortable for them to where they can't play. That's my main focus, but it is frustrating because I know I can bring something to this team."

Bounce back?

C Blair Jones may have found his way into only two games after his first recall since December 2007, but that doesn't mean the former fourth-round pick won't find his way back to Tampa this season.

"I like him. I think he's a good player for us," Tocchet said of Jones, who was reassigned to Norfolk on Sunday. "I don't know if it's next week or next month, but he's a player I'd like to have."

Nuts and bolts

C Paul Szczechura returned to the lineup after missing one game with an undisclosed upper-body injury. ... LW Ryan Malone and G Mike Smith will appear at the McDonald's at 4443 W. Kennedy Blvd. from 7-8:30 tonight as part of the "Ice Hot" radio show hosted by Dave Mishkin on 620 AM.

Erik Erlendsson