Lundin gets another shot

With D Mattias Ohlund not quite ready to return from an ankle injury, Mike Lundin got another chance to impress the Lightning coaching staff Wednesday night against the Maple Leafs.

Lundin was recalled from AHL Norfolk on Tuesday, only a day after getting sent down. He made his Tampa Bay season debut Sunday at Atlanta, logging 13:29 of ice time in a 4-3 overtime win against the Thrashers.

Coach Rick Tocchet said Lundin, a fourth-round pick of the Lightning in 2004 who has played in 107 games for Tampa Bay, "did a nice job for us" against Atlanta.

"Twice, (Ilva) Kovalchuk was gone, and he caught him," Tocchet said. "I don't know if he caught him, but he was pretty even with him, and he got the puck away. ... He's an NHL defenseman. He can play."

Ohlund, an alternate captain, skated Wednesday morning, and is "very close" to returning after missing five games, Tocchet said. The coach also said he wants to get D Matt Smaby, who has a finger injury, into his first game of the season.

Smaby hasn't been able to crack the lineup because of the depth on the blue line.

D Kurtis Foster was expected to continue getting some time at forward. Tocchet said he likes Foster's presence on the power play and plans to use him at wing some to keep him "warm."

Turning point?

The Lightning entered Wednesday night's game with a little more self-esteem than they had when they faced the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Nov. 3.

The night before that first meeting of the season between the teams, Tampa Bay lost at Philadelphia 6-2. Its record stood at 4-4-4, and there were still games ahead at Ottawa and Montreal on a four-game road trip.

Tampa Bay beat Toronto 2-1 in overtime and wound up going 2-1-1 on the road trip. Entering Wednesday night, the Lightning were 5-1-3 since the loss at Philadelphia.

"Yeah, we had that Philly game where we really played awful, and 24 hours later, we had to go into Toronto to play a team that's obviously tough in their building," Tocchet said. "It was a grind-out game, a pretty good hockey game.

"Since then, we've actually played some pretty good hockey."

Black Friday, NHL style

Before hosting the Rangers and their old coach, John Tortorella, Friday night, the Lightning will stage their own version of Black Friday.

They'll have an open skate for fans Friday from 6-8:45 a.m., public access to the Lightning's morning skate from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and an equipment sale and discounted ticket offers to hockey games and other events at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Fans who purchase four lower-level tickets to any game will receive a free jersey, and upper-level tickets will be on sale for $10. Those offers are valid from 6 a.m. to noon at the box office.

Olympic hopeful

C Steven Stamkos, a Toronto-area native, drew a crowd of Canadian media members after Wednesday's morning skate. He told them he'd like to play on Canada's Olympic team.

"Coming into this season, (the Olympic team) wasn't on my radar, but I didn't envision the start that I've had," Stamkos said. "With the way things have gone so far, I definitely want to be on that team. I think I can be an effective player."

Entering Wednesday, Stamkos had scored 31 goals since Feb. 17 - tied for the most in the NHL. He has 15 goals and nine assists this season.

Tocchet said the No. 1 pick of the 2008 draft has earned consideration for the Olympic team.

"I think if they're going to go young, (or) get a couple of young guys on there, he obviously has to be in the mix," Tocchet said. "You can either go all veteran, which is understandable, but usually you try to get some young guys in the mix."

Nuts and bolts

Entering Wednesday's games, C Zenon Konopka led the NHL forwards with at least 20 draws in faceoff percentage at 64.1 percent. ... LW Todd Fedoruk was the other scratch.

Tony Fabrizio