Ohlund filling new role for Bolts

After shuffling more than 20 defensemen in and out of their lineup last year, the Lightning decided that stability along the blue line was one of their greatest needs coming into this season.

They turned to veteran Matthias Ohlund to fill that need and few do a better job of explaining the impact Ohlund has had on the Lightning and their blue line than the 33-year-old former Canucks defenseman himself.

"This was almost the worst team in the league for two years and now we're in the middle of a playoff race," Ohlund said Monday as he prepared to face his former team tonight at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"I mean, every game here is very big right now. It's an exciting time of year for us, and I think we have as much talent here as some of the top teams in the league so it's really just a matter of putting it all together."

It has taken some tinkering but the Lightning seem to have put together a rather respectable blue line. It's one that has jumped from 28th in the league in shots allowed per game last year to 19th this year, and Ohlund is a big part of that.

Along with Mike Lundin, Ohlund makes up half of the Lightning's top defense pairing, so it's his job each night to keep the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and - in tonight's case - Henrik Sedin off the score sheet.

That's not necessarily the job Ohlund signed up for when he joined the Lightning as a free agent last July. His hope back then was that in addition to working in the back end, he'd also get some regular work on the power play.

The Lightning, though, have asked the one-time power-play regular to devote virtually all of his 20-plus minutes of ice time to shutting down opposing offensive threats, and really, that's just fine with Ohlund.

"My points (he has 10 in 50 games) are not what they used to be but that's fine as long as we're winning," Ohlund said. "My role here is not to be a power-play guy. I play 23-24 minutes a night now doing other stuff."

That other stuff tonight will include shadowing both Henrik Sedin, the league's leading point producer, and twin brother Daniel, who play together on the Canucks' top scoring line. It's not exactly a new role for Ohlund.

He did the same thing in practice for nine years in Vancouver, so he has a pretty good understanding of what to expect from the twins. So does Lightning coach Rick Tocchet.

Tocchet has been breaking down tape of the Sedins and comparing notes with Ohlund for more than a week now and together they've figured out one of the things that makes stopping them so difficult.

"They're not afraid to go into the middle of the ice," Tocchet said. "They go to the box and they're not scared and when you have elite players that aren't afraid to go to the middle of the ice, it makes a difference."

The Sedins have obviously made a difference in Vancouver. With 72 points the Canucks stand atop the Northwest Division standings and are third overall in the Western Conference.

The former teammate they'll go head to head against tonight has made a similar difference here in Tampa this year.

"He's a guy with credibility, a guy that's a good voice in the room, and (getting someone like) that was our biggest goal," Tocchet said. "He's done a lot of really good things for us."