The Lightning (semi) Weekly Round Up

The Weekly Roundup


Weekly Record: 3-3

Overall Record: 9-12, 2nd in the Southeast, 6 points behind the Caps

Wasteland +/-: -1

Key Injuries: Paul Ranger - Personal Reasons, Mattias Ohlund - ankle

Highlight: Goal of the Year

Disappointed By: I was already to write Andrej Meszaros’ name here and then he goes and starts playing well again. I guess that’s what I get for skipping a week. So instead I’ll go with the Lightning’s TV schedule. The last week has seen at least three games that weren’t televised (including Sunday’s OT win against the Thrashers).

If you’re not going to televise every game why not skip a few home games. Of course, I’m sure there were some fiscal concerns when it came to making the decision. Not showing the games from the Bolts longest west coast trip probably saved the organization a nice bit of money. In the long run it might be the smart thing to do, but it definitely irritates an already restless fan base.

According to my refrigerator magnet schedule there are 11 more games that aren’t being televised. Five of those games are road games (including the next to last game of the season). Some of those game may have been picked up by Channel 44 (You’ll find your friends on UPN FORTY-FOUR!)

With a struggling football team and no basketball team this is the time that the Bolts have to do everything in their power to win over new fans. To me that means showing as many games as possible. If this team is still in the playoff hunt come late April there will definitely be a much louder outcry from the bandwagon fans.

Surprised By: Steven Stamkos. The sophomore sensation keeps on ticking along. Most impressive was a blurb in today’s St Pete Times where Stamkos reveals that he pushed himself to make a difference from the first shift of the game on Sunday. It’s easy for players to get motivated by others (hello Mr. Lecavalier), the players that can motivate themselves tend to stand apart.

Playoff Confidence: 65%. Another road trip where the Bolts picked up a majority of the points available. It would have been nice to see a couple of outright wins against the struggling Ducks and Canes, but at this point they have to take what they can get.


Pet Peeve of the Week: Not saying hello on the phone. I make about 60-70 phone calls a day and you would be surprised to find out how few people say hello. I understand that you’re busy, but come on people it takes a second and makes the world a little bit of a better place.