TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Growing up fast, Tampa Bay improved by 24 points and won its division last year. Established names like Vaclav Prospal and Dave Andreychuk did their bit, but the success was mainly driven by players enjoying their first landmark NHL seasons: Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Dan Boyle and a bunch of seemingly forgettable defensemen. A mid-season trade also worked out perfectly, as back-up John Grahame arrived from Boston to bail out the overworked goalie, Nikolai Khabibulin.
So do they hold course? Or stumble back, like so many one-season climbers? 93 points was enough to top the Southeast Division. But subtract five of Tampa’s 36 wins and the team might have missed the playoffs. That’s five bad or unlucky nights, not a huge margin of error.
Lineup changes are few. Cory Stillman (67 points) replaces Prospal (79 points), an exchange of left wingers coming off the best seasons of their careers. For what it’s worth, tiny Finnish forward Eero Somervuori is a fashionable pick for rookie of the year. St. Louis and Boyle will be hard-pressed to match last season, when they doubled their point totals. Andreychuk, the power play specialist, is 40. If anyone backslides, the onus falls to last year’s underachievers – most notably Khabibulin – to pick up the slack.
Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier, the cornerstones of this team, will only get better. Richards has been a revelation. A set-up man who stepped from junior hockey to the NHL without a hitch, he has 198 points in his first three years. Lecavalier is still just 23 years old, and 78 points probably represents the ground floor for a man of his gifts.
Trouble: Behind their top six, the Lightning are no better than ordinary.
On the Spot: It seems French-Canadian prospects are never cut much slack, no matter where they play. Lecavalier must at least match last year's 78 points, or the slings and arrows will emerge again.
The Forecast: Atlanta and Florida are coming on, and Carolina should improve. But for now the Southeast remains the NHL’s weakest division. Tampa appears to have enough weapons to stay ahead of the pack.
The Call: 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
Who's in:
Defenseman Pascal Trepanier (free agent from Florida)
Forward Cory Stillman (trade from St. Louis)
Who’s Out:
Left winger Vaclav Prospal (free agent to Anaheim)
Defenseman Marc Bergevin (trade to Pittsburgh)
Defenseman Stan Neckar (unsigned free agent)
2002-03 Regular Season Numbers:
Payroll:
$28,858,439, 26th overall
(Hockey News, November 15/02. Bonuses not included.)
- Record: 36-25-16-5 for 93 points.
- At home: 22-9-7-3.
- On the road: 14-16-9-2.
- Finish: 12th overall, 5th in the Eastern Conference, 1st in the Southeast Division.
- Goals for: 219 (2.67 per game), 13th overall.
- Goals against: 210 (2.56 per game), 12th overall.
- Goal differential: Plus-9, 12th overall.
- Power play: 17.9 percent, 10th overall.
- Penalty kill: 82.6 percent, tied for 19th overall.
Goaltending:
- Nikolai Khabibulin, 65-30-22-11, 2.47 GAA, .911 SV PCT, 4 SO.
- John Grahame, 40-17-14-6, 2.52 GAA, .909 SV PCT, 3 SO.
- Kevin Hodson, 7-0-3-1, 2.54 GAA, .881 SV PCT, 0 SO.
Leaders:
- Scoring: Left winger Vaclav Prospal, 80-22-57-79.
- Power play points: Center Brad Richards, 80-4-34-38.
- Game-winning goals: Left winger Ruslan Fedotenko, 6.
- Ice time: Defenseman Dan Boyle, 24:30 per game.
- Plus/minus: Right winger Martin St. Louis, plus-10.
2002-03 Playoff Numbers:
- Round One: Defeated Washington 4-2.
- Round Two: Lost to New Jersey 4-1.
Goaltending:
- Nikolai Khabibulin, 10-5-5, 2.42 GAA, .958 SV PCT, 0 SO.
- John Grahame, 1-0-1, 1.08 GAA, .958 SV PCT, 0 SO.
Leaders:
- Scoring: Right winger Martin St. Louis, 11-7-5-12.
- Power play points: Four tied with 3.
- Game-winning goals: Martin St. Louis, 3.
- Ice time: Defenseman Dan Boyle, 27:44 per game.
- Plus/minus: Martin St. Louis, plus-5.
