How Tampa Bay Ended Up Last In The East At The Break 1. The plight of Dan Boyle this season just about sums up how things have gone for Tampa Bay in the first half. From the moment an errant skate fell off its hook above Boyle's locker in September and severed three tendons in his wrist, the team must have felt like it has had a black cloud following it around. Boyle's absence was absorbed for the first quarter of the season, but as the season wore on, Tampa Bay's young core of defensemen wore down. ...more

January 26, 2008

They don't do Viking funerals on Channelside Drive, even as a season and franchise are being consumed by fire. They quietly bury mistakes. ...more

December 29, 2007

Karri Ramo skated behind his net during a stoppage of play, stuck out his stick and gave a quick pat to the shin of Washington center Tomas Fleischmann. ...more

December 27, 2007

Johan Holmqvist is, frankly, a little tired of hearing about it. He won't tell you so unless you ask, being the stoic guy he is. But annoyed isn't too strong a word. ...more

November 13, 2007

The road was a problem for the Lightning not so long ago. To be frank, for about two weeks there, just about any slab of ice they happened to come across - home or away - wasn't exactly their comfort zone. ...more

November 10, 2007

1. SENATORS: An unbeaten record on the road (4-0-0) is a good sign they're for real. 2. RED WINGS: Like Ottawa, they've taken care of business away from home (13 points in eight road games). 3. HURRICANES: Depth of scoring (eight players in double-figure points already) has lifted them to the top of the Southeast again. 4. CANADIENS: League's best power play, even without departed D Sheldon Souray. 5. FLYERS: They're doing it with Martin Biron's great goaltending now; they'll need more scoring in the long run. 6. AVALANCHE: Went into Saturday still undefeated (6-0-0) at home. 7. BLUE JACKETS: If they awarded the Vezina in November, G Pascal Leclaire would get it. 8. WILD: They'd be even better right now if they were healthy. Especially if G Niklas Backstrom was healthy. 9. FLAMES: They've survived so far without consistent play from G Miikka Kiprusoff, but how long can that last? 10. BLUES: Doug Weight (no goals in 23 shots, two assists in 11 games) might be at the end of a very nice career. 11. BRUINS: If G Tim Thomas can keep this up (1.56 GAA, .949 save percentage), the city of Boston could have another sports achievement to celebrate next spring. 12. KINGS: Why do they deserve this high of a ranking? Check the standings. As of Saturday, believe it or not, they led the Pacific Division. 13. PENGUINS: Young Sidney Crosby is beginning to come around, leading the league in power-play points. 14. SHARKS: C Joe Thornton is again up to his point-a-game ways, and then some. 15. MAPLE LEAFS: It really does seem as if this team could take off if it would just get some consistent goalie play out of Vesa Toskala or Andrew Raycroft. Or both. 16. ISLANDERS: It was a nice gesture by Ted Nolan to step aside for one game in honor of Coach Al Arbour. 17. BLACKHAWKS: Rookie of the Year is between Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, with their combined 26 points. 18. PANTHERS: They're getting good goaltending. They just have so few goal scorers to help Olli Jokinen that it's tough to win consistently. 19. PREDATORS: G Dan Ellis, second in the NHL in GAA and save percentage, is pushing Chris Mason. 20. STARS: A 5-0 loss to Phoenix on Friday was called "rock bottom" by captain Brenden Morrow. He'd better hope it is. 21. DUCKS: Suddenly, they're Southern California's "other" team. Oh, it won't last. But the Kings are hot, and Anaheim is inexplicably cold. 22. RANGERS: It looks like Chris Drury is beginning to come around. Good thing for New York, which has wasted some great goalie play by Henrik Lundqvist so far. 23. SABRES: D Jaroslav Spacek is healthy and back in the lineup, and that should make a big difference as Buffalo climbs the Eastern Conference standings. 24. DEVILS: Their problems are many. They can't score, and Martin Brodeur hasn't been as dominant with a new defensive style in front of him. 25. LIGHTNING: It's not going to get any better until they figure out how to win on the road. 26. COYOTES: The good news is, they were only four points out of first place on Saturday. The bad news? Averaging 2.45 goals, they'll have a tough time making up even those four points. 27. CAPITALS: G Olaf Kolzig has not been bad. Neither has Alex Ovechkin. But injuries and lack of productive depth have done them in so far. 28. CANUCKS: Losing D Kevin Bieksa (cut on right calf by skate Thursday) for up to eight weeks could be a crippling blow. 29. OILERS: It hasn't helped at all that they've lost four defensemen to injuries, including Sheldon Souray. 30. THRASHERS: The way Ilya Kovalchuk is playing lately, they might yet work their way out of the bottom spot. Carter Gaddis ...more

November 4, 2007

The majority of questions surrounding the Lightning start with the goaltending, a fact that hasn't been lost on the hockey media. ...more

October 3, 2007

The Lightning are 19 days, five preseason games, two exhibition wins (and two losses) into training camp. Well, technically, training camp is finished. There are no more preseason games, only three practice sessions before Thursday's opener against New Jersey. ...more

October 1, 2007