If I had to find a word for the Lightning under Barry Melrose’s tenure as coach, I think the word would be disjointed.

The lack of cohesion was apparent, the lack of passion on the ice… and drive to actually play the game. To enjoy the game. It felt like, from a fan perspective, a much hyped package that just could not deliver anywhere close to the promise that was proposed to the fanbase.

The stigma of the roster anarchy will continue to haunt ownership and Brian Lawton for the rest of the season (if not beyond that) unless a clear sense of direction of what the Lightning franchise wants in players is found.

But what a difference a few games make.

It started with Colorado, and I noted that it was the start of a new season for the Lightning where Rick Tocchet had worked with players during their scheduled time off. The Colorado game results and the lack-of-effort in Atlanta didn’t do as much harm as once was thought… Through the negatives and adversity, it looks like the Lightning have found… well, the Lightning.

Maybe I am speaking too soon on this, but the teamt hat I have watched versus the Penguins and Panthers the past week has not been the same club I’ve watched otehr times this season. There is a drive again, there is a cohesion… There’s emotion and passion…

And there’s a clear desire to win.

Things are not all gravy, don’t get me wrong. Thsi team is not suddenly a bunch of world beaters… But as I watch the closing minutes of this Lightning vs. Panthers matchup at Times Palace, the Lightning are playing like sharks when there is blood in the water. A far cry from the comparisons to the days of Steve Ludzik.

Tocchet’s talks, the return of Jeff Halpern, Jussi Jokinen’s “wakeup call”, Evgeny Artyukhin actually playing like he’s on the North American continent once again… Mike Smith being stellar between the pipes, the return of Ryan Malone… It’s all had a profound effect on this club.

Now will it last?

6-4 the final at Times Palace, the Lightning beat the Panthers for the 2nd straight day. Vincent Lecavalier had two goals, Martin St. Louis, Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos and “Artoo” Artyukhin also contributed to scoring. An outstanding effort for a 2nd-game-in-24-hours matchup.

As the holiday season has passed it’s apex, maybe so has the downfall of the Lightning franchise? One could hope, right?

Two wins in a row… I believe that’s a season high, and shows you how horribly the Lightning have played this year. None the less, it’s two positives for this team which has been surrounded by negatives for far too long.

I took the win at Pittsburgh Tuesday Night as a gift — the Penguins have all the firepower it shoudl take to render the Lightning dead on arrival. Instead, the Penguins played Tuesday’s game as if they were already on vacation. Why be bothered with such a thing as winning a should-win match-up with the bottom dwellers of the NHL?

And last night’s game at Sunrise versus the Florida Panthers was a spirited effort with an ugly constant from the season sus far — a regulation collapse leading to overtime and the shootout. All too often this season, the Lightning have found themselves in this situation — defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, perhaps.

Yet, what happens? With a shootout lineup that is not the top-heavy lineup that so often rears it’s head (Lecavalier, St. Louis, and insert-name-here), we get Hall-Jokinen-Artyukhin and Ryan Malone in the four rounds that it takes to secure the win.

As a result, at least for a night, the Lightning are no longer at the very bottom of the standings. 27 points puts them ahead of the Islanders among the league’s 30 teams. The St. Louis Blues and the Ottawa Senators are the next teams in the standings the Lightnign could very well pass on the road to redemption if this season high carries over into the new year.

I seriously doubt that Martin St. Louis is gunning for Vincent Lecavalier’s captainship with his recent outbursts about the team, but I have to say that this is something I think has been long overdue to come out publicly: veterans of the Lightning calling bullshit on the efforts of some of those also on the team.

I don’t know if this public venting can be portrayed as a level of leadership but this fan takes it as such — someone who loves this town and loves this team knows that others aren’t pulling their weight, and regardless of what has been done - they just aren’t playing with their heart and it’s hurting things.

Sadly, in pro sports, a venting like this doesn’t usually lead to the trouble being shipped out of town. It usually leads to the outspoken player being shipped away while the franchise gets rebuilt with problem children as the core.

Damian Cristodero at the Times reports that NHL official Stephen Walkom sees nothing wrong from last night:

Stephen Walkom, the NHL’s director of officiating, said the ruling that Lightning goaltender Mike Smith deliberately threw his stick to disrupt Milan Hejduk’s shootout attempt on Thursday was the correct call.

“It was a very tough call. It was a gutsy call. It was a call that was made in an instant, and I support the call,” Walkom said.

In a related story, Stephen Walkom is an idiot if he thinks this was a deliberate stick throwing incident:

(hat tip to Cassie at Boltsblog for getting the full video)

This is just a show of solidarity and among officials by standing by each other when one is wrong. Not just minorly, mistakenly wrong in this case, but completely batshit-crazy wrong that determines the outcome of a game without a goal being scored.

Who’s responsible for THIS one? Jussi Jokinen on waivers? I want to know whose call. Lawton? Barrie? Tocchet?

Kari Ramo was also sent back to Norfolk which is not surprising as he was an emergency call up. But I want to be enlightened — who, what and why?

Yes, Jokinen is not scoring goals… but there is a bigger story here and it’s a story that has been playing out all season, and keeping the roster in constant upheaval.

Leave it to the on ice officials to ruin a goalie duel by invoking a shootout rule that didn’t fit the situation.

Of course, I will not get on the case of Colorado fans who see my remarks as sour grapes. Or who just see the game as a lucky or solid win… But personally? I look at how this game ended and realize it’s one of the only shootout era games that ended without a goal scored to decide the victor.

Oh, technically a winner was decided by the referees… Which gives me new appreciation for those who prefer the “just let’em play” type of officiating: Refs should not decide games. Especially in the fashion of last night. (Edit: Counterargument- Refs DIDN’T decide the game, Martin St. Louis not scoring decided the game. Counter-counter argument? Hejduk didn’t score either.)

For a better, more in depth review of the game, head over to Boltsblog.net and read Cassie’s postmortem.

How many people are looking forward to the Winter Classic this year?

 Loading ...

While we’re at it, of the three teams at the top of the Southeast division standings, who’s best poised to win the division? (still a long way to go on that one, anything can happen, but consider it a “what if” question):

 Loading ...

And seeing I asked this question last summer but got such a low participation turnout, I’ll ask again for impressions of OK Hockey, owners of the Lightning. Yes, it’s a loaded question but I might as well ask:

 Loading ...

Feel free to use the comments to voice opinions on any of the above topics.