Jones coming up big on penalty kill

When Lightning C Blair Jones earned a second recall to the Lightning on Dec. 15, the hope was that the 23-year-old could help provide a bit of a spark to the team's offense, which was struggling mightily at the time.

But lately, Jones has been garnering attention for his work on the penalty kill.

During Saturday's game against Atlanta, Jones found himself lined up against Atlanta sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, who mans the left point position on the Thrashers' power play. Twice on one shift, Jones blocked a Kovalchuk shot attempt. On another penalty kill, Jones - minus his stick - blocked a shot and then gloved the puck down the ice.

On Monday, he was out against Boston D Zdeno Chara, a former winner of the NHL's hardest shot competition, and stepped right into the path of a Chara point shot on Boston's first power-play attempt.

"He's not afraid to get hit with the puck. He's a good shot blocker," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said of Jones. "He went down a couple of times (Saturday) and Kovalchuk had to reroute his shot. Right now jobs are open (on the penalty kill) and he wants it, you can tell."

So what about that offensive output?

"I think as he gets more confidence at the NHL level, you'll see more offense out of him," Tocchet said.

New arrival

G Antero Niittymaki was back with the team two days after his wife, Miina, delivered the couple's second child, Alina Josefina. Niittymaki returned to practice on Sunday and was back in uniform for Monday's game against Boston.

Niittymaki said he wife was scheduled to come home Monday, but it was undetermined how long Alina, who was born about six weeks early, will have to stay in the hospital.

"She was a little premature, so she has to stay a while, but hopefully not too long," he said. "My wife has been in the hospital for a week now, so I've been in and out of there. But everything is good now. It wasn't like she was crazy early, but it's been a tough week mentally. It's time to get back in hockey mode, again."

With Niittymaki rejoining the team after a one-game absence, G Riku Helenius was returned to Norfolk of the American Hockey League on Monday.

Hall of Famer

The Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) will induct John Franzone, vice president of event productions for the Lightning and the St. Pete Times Forum, into the IDEA Hall of Fame during the IDEA conference to be held in Tampa in February.

Franzone joined the Lightning in 2008 after spending 10 years with the Tampa Bay Rays. Before that, Franzone also worked for the New York Yankees, New York Mets and Disney's Wide World of Sports.

Panik attack

Lightning LW prospect Richard Panik, a second-round pick in 2009, had two goals and four points for Slovakia in an 8-3 victory against Latvia on Sunday at the world junior championship taking place in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan. In two games, Panik has three goals and five points, tied for second in goals and fourth in scoring through three days.

Slovakia will return to action in pool play today at 4 p.m. against undefeated Canada, which has outscored its first two opponents 22-0.

Nuts and bolts

Slovakia is expected to name its Olympic roster today, with D Andrej Meszaros considered a strong candidate for the team. ... LW Stephane Veilleux appeared in his 400th career game. ... LW Alex Tanguay has five points in six games since being a healthy scratch after registering five points in 14 games prior to sitting out.

Erik Erlendsson