Yes, they started their season in the worst way possible. Their coach was sent packing in the first full month of the season. They finally got their 30th point in their 36th game. The property was thought to be reckless and powerless. The fans were not satisfied with the performance of their stars. Does this sound familiar to you fools from the Tampa Bay Lightning? It should, but I’m not talking about this year’s version of the Bolts. No, I’m remembering the Washington Capitals from last year!
The comparisons between the two teams are as terrifying as the start of the 2009 season of “Frightning.” The Caps fired coach Glen Hanlon after a dismal 6-14-1 record last season. Of course, the Lightning gave Barry Melrose his rose role after his terrible 5-7-4 start this year.
The Washington team achieved 28 wins in its last 46 games. They finished the season by winning 11 of their last 12 games and went on to win the Southeast Division title! Former Capitals goalie and now Lightning backup Olaf Kolzig believes the Lightning have “the talent” and the “goalie” (Mike Smith) to make a similar run. There is a great similarity between both teams. Quoted in the St. Petersburg Times, Kolzig stated: “The run we did at the end of the year there, I don’t know if it can be duplicated, but if we can win three out of four, four out of five the rest of the way, I think little soon we’ll get back in. That’s the kind of hole we dig ourselves. We just have to commit to doing it every day.”
Rick Tocchet has trimmed away the deadwood on the team, and the Bolts seem to be playing better and more together. The move to put Vincent Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Ryan Malone on the number one line seems to be working. The Bolts have won three of the last four games and have collected seven points in that span. Tocchet needs to change the culture of the organization, and for that he must continue to hit this team. According to St. Louis, there is a new glimmer of determination in the eyes of his teammates.
Washington has young stars like Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom who sparked their strong comeback last season. He presented Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis of Lightning as proof. Lightning fans, pay attention! The season is not over! “Over? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it’s not over now. Because when the going gets tough… …the tough get going! Who’s with me? Let’s go! -Senator John Blutarsky