SB Nation Tampa Bay: All Posts by Clark Brooks

Catching up with Patrick Burke of the You Can Play project

2013-04-30T16:47:16Z

Yesterday, the NBA's Jason Collins came out as gay via a Sports Illustrated cover story, making him the first athlete in a major professional team sport to do so. With the NBA being the most culturally diverse of the four major leagues, it may not be a surprise that a basketball player was the first to cross that line, widely held as one of the last significant cultural barriers to be breached. While still undoubtedly an act that required courage and conviction, Collins' announcement comes at a time when social attitudes toward the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) are shifting toward wider mainstream tolerance. The NHL, frequently criticized for being less than progressive in many areas, has actually been at the forefront in regards to fostering attitudes of inclusion and acceptance, as evidenced by their ongoing relationship with the You Can Play project.

You Can Play is an organization that exists to combat homophobia in sports. Self-described as "Gay athletes, straight allies, teaming up for respect", their mission statement reads, "You Can Play is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation. You Can Play works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete, judged by other athletes and fans alike, only by what they contribute to the sport or their team's success. You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete's skills, work ethic and competitive spirit." Summed up simply, the message is, "If you can play, you can play".

About a year ago, we interviewed Philadelphia Flyers scout Patrick Burke, the co-founder of You Can Play just as the fledgling project was starting to take off. Since then, the organization has grown and increased their social footprint as well as their outreach. In April, You Can Play inked a formal partnership with the NHL and the NHLPA (National Hockey League Players Association) for the purpose of promoting acceptance and inclusion in hockey. We recently caught up with Patrick and asked him about the year in review as well as what the future holds.

So you've got a whole year under your belt. How are things going?

Things are pretty great. Fortunately for us, the NHL and its players are already very supportive. It makes things easier when the payers are taking the initiative in finding ways to get involved and when the teams are supportive. Now with this partnership with the league and the players association, we’re welcomed in the locker room, we’re welcomed in the arenas and we’re welcomed into having discussions with the players. It makes things a lot easier for us. It was a long year, it was a busy year but we’re getting closer to where we need to be.

Did you encounter any unexpected challenges?

Generally speaking, no. We didn't come into this anticipating trouble but without saying it’s been easy, we haven’t encountered significant problems.

When you show up at an arena now, do people see you as a scout for the Flyers or as the You Can Play guy?

Oh, I don’t think people see me as anything (laughs). I don’t know. I think obviously I’m still doing all my work for Philly and that’s my primary focus unless I need to adapt. The only time I’m the You Can Play guy is when something happens and I have to talk about it.

A lot of our readers are devoted followers of the Lightning's AHL affiliate in Syracuse and are wondering if the Crunch have plans to get involved with You Can Play.

The Crunch were among the many, many teams that offered to contribute a PSA (Public Service Announcement) video for us. The sheer number of teams wanting to get involved has been almost overwhelming. But then things got a little hectic in the AHL this year because of the lockout and the rosters were constantly in flux. By the time the NHL got going, half the guys on the team would be on the move at any given time. We anticipate stepping things up over this summer. With a normal calendar, we’re hoping to increase our involvement with all those teams

Considering how contentious the negotiations between the NHL and the NHLPA were last fall, it almost seems like an impressive accomplishment in itself just to get them to enter into an agreement of any kind. Tell us about what this partnership means for You Can Play.

It’s a big deal. It’s tremendous credit to the leadership of both the league and the players association and it allows us to do some really important work in providing resources and education for NHL players that they might not have known were available to them.

When we spoke last year, you expressed hope about getting involved with other sports and leagues. How are things progressing in terms of that outreach?

We have spoken with every other league, and we've talked about some different things. It’s just one of those things where we have to be patient. Now with the NHL, we've provided the blueprint for the rest of the leagues on how partnerships can be structured, what they look like and what they entail. And now we just have to hope that we can spread our involvement.

While there's obviously progress being made, there are still incidents that suggest that everyone is not quite on board, such as the remarks made by San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver. Do things like that make your job harder?

If those incidents didn't occur, if people didn't use those words, we wouldn't have a need to exist anyway. So when players do things like that, it’s disappointing but for the most part, that’s why were here. So getting frustrated or annoyed would just be counter productive.

The Blackhawks' Duncan Keith recently made some dismissive remarks toward a female reporter. Is sexism a problem that needs as much scrutiny as homophobia?

Obviously, we're against sexism. I hope I don’t have to even say that. But when you're dealing with sexual issues pertaining to sexuality or sexual orientation, there’s certainly an element of overlap when it comes to gender issues. So to an extent, when it comes to incidents like that, it's not really our battle. Maybe what we need is, or somebody needs is an organization similar to You Can Play that deals with sexism, since our scope is limited to fighting homophobia and not branching out into other areas, no matter how important they are.

What can we look forward to in the future from You Can Play?

With the new partnership between us, the league and the players association, we'll have more access to players and other resources. Look for more players involved in PSAs and that kind of thing. To what extent, who will be involved and what they’ll look like is still up for discussion but you can anticipate seeing a lot more stuff soon.

Fans seeking to get involved and show support for the You Can Play project can visit their website at http://youcanplayproject.org/

The entire Raw Charge staff contributed to this article.

Lightning will pick third in upcoming draft

2013-04-30T00:37:25Z

The Tampa Bay Lightning will retain the number three selection in the upcoming NHL amateur draft. The NHL Draft Lottery presented the possibility of the Lightning being slotted anywhere between first overall to fourth, however the process resulted only in the Colorado Avalanche swapping places with the Florida Panthers, leaving the rest of the teams unaffected, ranked in order from worst to first based on their 2013 regular season record.

On April 24th, the National Hockey League Central Scouting Bureau released their final rankings of prospects prior to the draft. Topping the list was Defenseman Seth Jones of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks. He's 6'4", 205 lbs., a three-time gold medalist and a native of Frisco, Texas.

He's followed by Finnish center Aleksander Barkov, goaltender Zachary Fusale from Quebec, Nathan MacKinnon, a center from Nova Scotia, left wing Jonathan Drouin of Quebec, defenseman Darnell Nurse from Hamilton, Ontario, and Sean Monahan, a center from Brampton, Ontario.

The 2013 NHL Draft will take place at the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Sunday, June 30..

Game 48: Tampa Bay Lightning versus Florida Panthers

2013-04-28T03:49:12Z

The Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 in the season finale for both teams at the Tampa Bay Times Forum Saturday night.

All things considered, it would actually be kind of easy to forgive the Lightning for having their minds a million miles away from this game, considering that's where their bodies will be in about 72 hours or so. To their credit however, they showed up and tried to give the home crowd a nice send-off before yet another premature start to another long offseason. Alas, that was not to be.

"It's not a physical tools thing, it's a mental thing. Winning is infectious. It's contagious. When you start doing it, you want more of it. But it hasn't been done here of late. Never sit there and say they accept (losing) but it just gets in the back of their head. 'Well here we go again; now we're on our heels' and all of a sudden a 3-2 lead turns into a 4-3 deficit. That mentality of not letting that happen is something we as a staff are going to have to implement into our psyche."- Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

At the 18:50 mark, Benoit Pouliot slipped behind the Panthers defense and was hooked on a scoring attempt. As a result, he was awarded the Lightning's first and only penalty shot of the season. Unfortunately, he was not able to convert the opportunity.

However, just under four minutes later, Matt Carle scored on an assist from Martin St. Louis to give the Bolts the early lead.

Ryan Malone doubled it at 13:14, scoring on assists from Vincent Lecavalier and Victor Hedman.

The Panthers got on the board when Nick Bjugstad scored with help from Tyson Strachan and TJ Brennan at 16:54

The Lightning carried the 2-1 advantage into the first intermission

The Panthers struck quickly in the second, tying the game at two just :54 into the period on a goal from Tomas Fleischmann with assists by Jonathan Huberdeau and Drew Shore

The Bolts answered at 5:47 as St. Louis scored, thereby locking up the scoring title. Teddy Purcell and Steven Stamkos provided assistance.

"Obviously I would trade a lot of that to be in a playoff and have a chance at the Stanley Cup... but I'm proud. I'm not going to say I'm not." - St. Louis

That goal allowed the Lightning to take a 3-2 lead into the third. They had reason to feel good about their chances as they came into tonight's game 13-5-0 when scoring first and 11-2-0 when leading after two periods. They also came into tonight's game leading the NHL with 66 third period goals.

However, one of the Lightning's glaring weaknesses has been passing this season. Where most teams try to hit a specific player or at least a location with their passes, too often Lightning players swat the puck around and struggle to just keep them within the same zip code. Tonight, they had 16 giveaways while Florida only committed five. That kind of ratio eventually leads to trouble.

At 5:30 of the third, Florida tied the game again, this time getting a goal from Scottie Upshall on an assist from Eric Selleck.

They took their first lead at 13:53, with Fleischmann scoring what would be the eventual game winner on assists by Huberdeau and Filip Kuba.

Huberdeau fed Marcel Goc for an empty netter at 19:12 to finish the night and the season.

"What's worse, to just miss the playoffs by one point on the last night, or... If you're gonna miss the playoffs, you might as well hit a home run and miss the playoffs and I think we kind of did that," - Lightning head coach

The Lightning finish the work stoppage-abbreviated season 18-26-4 (40 points), fourth place in this final season of the Southeast Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference.

Game notes:

Stat of the night? Come on, what else? At 37 years old, Marty St. Louis becomes the oldest player to win the Art Ross Trophy which is awarded for leading the league in points scored. St. Louis finished with 60 on the year, beating out Steven Stamkos (57) and Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby (56).
The Lightning finish with a home record of 12-10-2.
Tonight's attendance was 19,204, a sellout. The Forum was sold out for 21 of the team's 24 home games.
Ryan Malone scored his sixth goal of the season and his first since March 9th (vs Montreal).
Matt Carle's goal was his fifth of the season, leading all Tampa Bay defensemen in that category.
The Lightning honored Bob and Janet Ferguson as the 39th Lightning Community Heroes of the year during the first period of tonight's game against Florida. The Ferguson's, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the Camp Living Springs at Morton Plant Mease Foundation. Bob and Janet Ferguson both are cancer survivors that know full-well how difficult it is to go through cancer treatments, especially chemotherapy and radiation treatment. After experiencing their own struggles, their hope is to help patients suffering from cancer a chance to unwind during the recovery process. The couple prescribes major doses of courage, comfort and enjoyment for cancer survivors and their families. The Ferguson's both spent countless hours at Camp Living Springs, a Morton Plant Mease supported 100-acre all-expense paid three-day adult retreat facility that is intended to put the fun back into cancer patients' lives. The Ferguson's plan a variety of activities and invite cancer survivors to get away from their daily obligations by nurturing their spirits and building camaraderie through fishing, crafting, nature walks, karaoke, entertainment and dancing.

Game 46: Tampa Bay Lightning versus Toronto Maple Leafs

2013-04-25T02:55:16Z

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum Wednesday night.

By necessity, the Lightning are a team in transition, with an influx of rookies already on the roster and facing other major changes in the upcoming offseason with high hopes of building a bright future. Tonight, Marty St. Louis reminded everyone that some of the veterans still have something to contribute, netting the seventh hat trick of his career and assuming sole possession of the lead in the NHL points-scored race in the process..

"It's a big win for our team. I thought we started well and we played good, got better as the game went on." - Lightning forward Martin St. Louis

Determined not to repeat the lethargic opening period that plagued them in their last game (among far too many this season), the Lightning came out energized and motivated. There was sloppiness (especially when it came to passing) and some close calls but the effort was much improved from the last game.

"I thought we played well tonight. I think we were probably a little bit of the benefactor of a couple of posts early, but it just seems like those have been going in against us and now they don't." - Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

As a result, both teams were held scoreless for most of the opening period. Toronto finally broke the seal at 17:03 when Phil Kessel scored on an assist from Tyler Bozak.

The period ended with Toronto up 1-0.

At 5:54 of the second, Steven Stamkos tied the game on a highlight reel goal, getting assistance from Nate Thompson and Matt Carle.

Just under 10 minutes later, the Bolts took their first lead of the game, with St. Louis first goal of the night on an assist from Thompson at 15:48. That goal temporarily knotted the scoring lead at 56 between he, Stamkos and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

The Lightning looked to carry a lead into the second intermission but Toronto tallied the dreaded late-period goal to tie it again, with Joffrey Lupul scoring at 14:37 on assists from Clarke MacArthur and Cody Franson.

If that goal affected the Lightning's morale, it didn't manifest on the ice. The Bolts regained the lead for good at 3:13 of the third on Radko Gudas's second goal of the season and his career with Teddy Purcell and Stamkos offering helpers.

St. Louis padded the Lightning lead and took sole possession of the scoring race at 13:08, scoring on assists from Keith Aulie and Dana Tyrell.

At 17:11, he capped off the night, registering his first hat trick since February 26, 2012 and the Lightning's first of the season., scoring into an empty net on a dish from Vincent Lecavalier.

"It was a little frustrating. We are down 1-0 again and we feel like we are always playing from behind. But we didn't let it get past that and we played well. We played the whole 200 feet of ice tonight. It was fun to watch." - Cooper"

The Lightning will now head to Boston tomorrow night to make up the February 9th game against the Bruins that was previously postponed due to a heavy winter storm in the northeast. They'll return to the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Saturday to face the Florida Panthers to conclude the season.

Game notes:

Stat of the night? NHL SCORING LEADERS: St. Louis - 58, Stamkos - 56, Crosby - 56
The Lightning took the season three-game series with Toronto, 2-1.
Both of Gudas's goals have come against the Maple Leafs.
Stamkos was a +5 on the night, which is a career best for him. Sami Salo registered a +5 on January 25 against the Ottawa Senators.
The Lightning are now 8-3-1 in their last 12 games against future division opponent Toronto.
The Lightning honored Heather Barrow as the 38th Lightning Community Hero of the year during the first period of tonight's game. Barrow, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to High Risk Hope, St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation and the Junior League of Tampa. Barrow had a premature baby herself and is now helping other expecting mothers and their families prepare for similar difficulties. There are over 15 million babies that are born prematurely each year in the United States and it is also a growing issue around the world. After she learned that there was a growing crisis of premature births she founded High Risk Hope, an organization that unites physicians, nurses and volunteers to increase survival rates. Barrow's mission is to improve the morale of high risk mothers and after touching more than 500 families with her help. In an effort to provide comfort, High Risk Hope acts as a life line, assembling Bed Rest Baskets and NICU knapsacks containing both essential and thoughtful items. They also offer home-cooked meals and deliver them right to families' homes. Barrow is thankful that she and her son have both grown up happy and healthy after being born prematurely and her objective is to help others do the same.

Game 45: Tampa Bay Lightning versus Carolina Hurricanes

2013-04-22T01:31:27Z

The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum Sunday night.

Stop me if you've heard this before. A lackluster first period results in a hole that proves too deep to dig out of as a comeback ends up just short. That's been the story line far too often this season and it was the story yet again Sunday night.

"I don't know what the problem is with us in first periods. In my four years here it has always been an Achilles in first periods. we always battle back hard from being down in games, which is the good part, but we would rather be up a few goals in the first instead of behind. I don't know what the problem is but we have to figure it out for the upcoming three games." - Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman

Anders Lindbach got the start in net after having missed the last 13 games with an ankle injury. He was not particularly effective early on. Just sixteen seconds after the puck dropped, Alexander Semin put the Hurricanes on the board thanks to an assist from Eric Staal.

They doubled up at 10:45 on a goal from Jiri Tlusty on assists from Semin and Joe Corvo.0

They ran the lead to three at 18:46 when Tlusty scored again, getting helpers from Stall and Semin. The Hurricanes carried that margin into the first intermission.

The Lightning tallied their first goal of the night at 10:07 of the second with Steven Stamkos scoring on the power play with assists from Sami Salo and Martin St. Louis.

The second period ended with Carolina up 3-1.

At 2:16 of the third, the lead was trimmed to one thanks to a goal from St. Louis scoring on an assist from Vincent Lecavalier.

That was as close as they would get, as in spite of a sense of urgency that was absent in the early going, they were unable to convert on any of the resultant scoring chances.

The Lightning have now lost six in a row and tonight's loss drops them to fourth place in the division, swapping places with the Hurricanes. The Lightning willbe in action again on Wednesday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Game notes:

Stat of the night? With a goal and an assist tonight, Martin St. Louis is currently trailing Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby by only a single point as the league's leader in points scored this season.
This was Lindbach's first game under head coach Jon Cooper.
The Lightning wore white sweaters during tonight's game, their first time wearing white at home since February 17, 2009, when they lost 5-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks.
This was the Lightning's first and only loss to the Hurricanes this season, completing the season series at 4-1.
The Lightning honored Patty Parra-Perez as the 37th Lightning Community Hero of the year during the first period of tonight's game against Carolina. Parra-Perez, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the Family Justice Center, Bay Area Legal Services and the Spring. Patty-Perez was seriously harmed by her estranged husband and then had to watch as he took their children's lives. After her dramatic experience, she has made it her mission to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. She re-married, had two children and re-gained her strength and is now serving as co-chair for the Family Justice VOICES committee, a group composed of domestic violence survivors. To help raise awareness, she shares her painful story with college students, teens and adults.Her goal is to bring an end to these senseless acts by also speaking out on the issue of domestic violence at various conferences and events. Once a quiet, timid voice, Parra-Perez shares her unimaginable pain when addressing this indefensible crime. In her effort to help children and adults, she has turned her tragedy into a life-saving effort.

Game 40: Tampa Bay Lightning versus Pittsburgh Penguins

2013-04-12T03:13:48Z

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 6-3 at a sold-out Tampa Bay Times Forum Thursday night.

At this point the Tampa Bay Lightning are a team hanging on to hope that comes from mathematicians coming up with scenarios that would squeak them into the playoffs this year while facing a lot of work to do in a likely long off-season. Their opponents tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins are a team that's currently mowing through the NHL and focused solely on winning the Stanley Cup this season.

"That's a really good hockey team. That's a team that has won 15 games in a row in the top league in the world." - Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

In spite of the obvious and inherent mismatch, the Lightning were actually able to hang with the Penguins for most of the first two periods.

Pittsburgh jumped out in front at 4:07 of the first when Jussi Jokinen scored on assists from Brenden Morrow and Pascal Dupuis

Just under two minutes later, they doubled the margin to 2-0 when Dupuis scored a power play goal at 6:02. Tyler Kennedy Matt Niskanen chipped in with assists.

At the 16:00 mark, the Lightning got on the board and cut the lead in half when Teddy Purcell scored a power play goal on assists from Steven Stamkos and Sami Salo.

The period ended with Pittsburgh up 2-1.

Special teams ruled the second period as the Penguins cashed in on the power play at 1:48 with Chris Kunitz scored with help from Jarome Iginla and Kris Letang.

At 5:46, the Lightning returned the favor, scoring on a power play of their own with Brett Connolly getting assistance from Richard Panik and Alex Killorn.

That would be as close as the Lightning would get as the period ended with Pittsburgh holding a 3-2 lead.

Special teams would get more time in the spotlight almost by default in the third as the Lightning racked up a whopping 31 penalty minutes while the Penguins would accumulate 15 of their own, The Lightning simply didn't have an answer to the Pittsburgh attack.

Pittsburgh doubled their lead when Evgeni Malkin scored unassisted during a 4-on-4 at 1:24.

At 4:45, Jokinen would score an even-strength goal, cashing in on assists by Douglas Murray and Dupuis.

They ran the score to 6-2 at 16:40 when Tanner Glass scored during a 5-on-3 power play, with Jokinen and Iginla offering help.

Purcell would tap in a loose puck at the 19:42 mark for a power play goal to end the scoring on the night.Martin St. Louis and Matt Carle were credited with assists.

The Penguins outshot the Lightning 41-19 on the night.

"We obviously didn't generate a lot of shots. We made some mistakes that ended up with the puck in the back of our net. They obviously have a good team over there and you don't want to give them too much time and space. Ultimately it's a loss. Now it's time to regroup and get ready for the road trip." - Lightning forward Ryan Malone

The Bolts will now head out on a season-long four-game road trip and will be in action again on Saturday when they visit the Southeast Division-leading Washington Capitals.

Game notes:

Stat of the night? Unfortunately, it came in a losing effort but the Lightning tied a season high with three power play goals, converting on three of four opportunities.
Tonight was the third and final match-up of the season between the Penguins and Lightning and the only one at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
The Lightning have a six-game losing streak to Pittsburgh. The last time they beat the Penguins was on November 17, 2011 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
The combined rosters of the Penguins and Lightning feature six players that were selected either first or second overall in the NHL Entry Draft (Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Vincent Lecavalier, Sidney Crosby, Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury)
Marty St. Louis is one of only two NHL players (the other being Chris Kunitz) to not have consecutive pointless games this season.
The Lightning honored Kim Kuruzovich as the 36th Lightning Community Hero of the year during the first period of tonight's game. Kuruzovich, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the LiFT Academy (www.liftacademy.org) and Best Buddies (www.bestbuddies.com). Kuruzovich was a special education teacher for 19 years and during that time she was so passionate about helping others that she decided to take it one step further, creating an entire school dedicated to children with disabilities. Kuruzovich, along with other teachers, have forfeited a salary to make sure that the best interest for the children they look after is always at the highest standards. A mother of two, Kuruzovich has a child of her own that has developmental delays and special needs. She started LiFT Academy, along with two other mothers, to serve special need children from grades K-12. Kuruzovich acts as principal, curriculum specialist, teacher and more. LiFT Academy originally had a commitment of nine students but continues to attract more and more students each year and plans to open a post-secondary education program in the near future.

Game 39: Tampa Bay Lightning versus Ottawa Senators

2013-04-10T03:13:44Z

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum Tuesday night.

Expansion mates dating back to 1992, the Lightning and Senators are going to see a lot of each other in the future as they will occupy the same division starting next season. Judging by tonight, pleasantries and fuzzy memories of entering the NHL together are not going to be what's exchanged when they meet up.

"The boys are learning how to win and what it takes. To see the guys laying out to block shots, you can just see the commitment that was there the whole time." - Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

The Senators got things started on the scoreboard at 14:29 of the first when Daniel Alfredsson scored on assists from Kyle Turris and Chris Phillips. Initially, it looked like the puck might have been tapped in off Alfredsson's high stick but was reviewed and his stick didn't actually make contact with the puck until it was below the crossbar and the play stood.

Ottawa carried the 1-0 advantage into the first intermission.

At 2:35 of the second, Pierre-Cedric LaBrie tied the game when he recorded his first NHL goal, thanks to help from Nate Thompson and B.J. Crombeen.

Labrie's presence on the ice was something of a surprise as he was not listed on the preliminary line-up sheet. Instead, Instead, Benoit Pouliot was a last-minute scratch. Labrie had been scratched in the five games prior to tonight's.

The Bolts took the lead at 4:28 when Vincent Lecavalier scored on a 5-on-3 power play with assists from Teddy Purcell and Martin St. Louis. For St. Louis, it was his 900th career NHL point, tying him with Tony Amonte for 97th place all-time among NHL scoring leaders. That tie would not survive the end of this game.

That power play was part of what Jefe and El Guapo might consider a plethora of penalties. Three penalties on the Lightning and five on Ottawa for 16 penalty minutes between the 3:50 and 19:21 marks.

In spite of all the special teams play on both sides, the Lightning were able to hold on to the 2-1 lead going into the third period.

The third period did not get off to a great start for the Lightning as Ottawa tied the game just :21 in on a power play goal by Guillaume Latendresse with Turris and Patrick Wiercioch chipping in.

Ottawa dominated play in the period, keeping Tampa Bay from recording a shot for over twelve minutes.

"The big thing on the bench was to keep competing hard and battling." - Cooper

Benefiting from yet another penalty, the Lightning cashed in on the power play at 14:56 with Steven Stamkos scoring what would turn out to be the game winner on assists from Lecavalier and St. Louis.

At 17:52, it looked like Ottawa had tied it again, but this time it was waved off as being scored off a high stick, a ruling which was upheld after review.

The Lightning held off the Senators over the last couple minutes which were quite chippy. In fact, the Lightning's Eric Brewer and Ottawa's Chris Neil were each assessed minor penalties for roughing at the 20:00 mark.

Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop stopped 31 of 33 shots while his counterpart, Craig Anderson held off 21 of 24 for Ottawa.

"It was a great feeling. Big two points for our team. First game in this building as a part of the Lightning so I wanted to get a big win for the fans and it was nice that it was against my old team." - Bishop

Game notes:

Stat of the night? With Labrie's goal tonight, seven different players have tallied their first NHL career goals with the Lightning this season.
Tonight was the third and final match-up between Ottawa and the Lightning this season, with Tampa Bay taking the season series 2-1.
The Bolts are 5-0-1 in their last six home games and haven't lost a home game in regulation since March 14.
Defenseman Mark Barberio made his NHL debut for the Lightning.
Now in 97th place on the NHL's list of all-time scoring leaders with 901 points, St. Louis finds himself seven points behind Scott Stevens for 96th.
Much was made of rookie Cory Conacher's return to Tampa Bay for the first time since being traded to Ottawa in exchange for goalie Ben Bishop at the trade deadline. Conacher was held off the score sheet while registering 15:46 of ice time.
The Lightning honored Nicole Johnson as the 35th Lightning Community Hero of the year during the first period of tonight's game. Johnson, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the JDRF, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (www.jdrf.org). Johnson was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 19, when she was advised to drop out of college and return home to live a calmer life. She was told to choose a stress-free career and to never have children, but she decided to prove them wrong. She went on to earn two post graduate degrees and won Miss America in 1999 and also had a healthy child. She now serves as a board member for the JDRF and speaks to civic groups, visits schools and shares her inspiring story at local functions. Over the past 12 years she's helped raise more than $26 million for diabetes research and programs. Johnson participates in the Students with Diabetes Program at USF, assisting both adults and youth, providing insightful information that could help each individual manage their respective situations.

Boucher closes book on his tenure with the Lightning

2013-04-04T01:44:25Z

Former Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Guy Boucher spoke to the media today, his first public remarks since being replaced on March 24th.

In front of gathered Tampa Bay-area writers and television reporters at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon, annual site of the team's training camps, Boucher read briefly from some prepared remarks and then took questions.

On the timing of making this address, he said "I waited all this time to talk for a few reasons. Mainly, I wanted to let my thoughts and my emotions settle down. And two, I didn't want to be a distraction for the players that I certainly still respect and for the new staff."

"A lot of people have asked me my story and my story is very simple; I'm very grateful. I'm grateful for getting the chance to coach in the NHL. I'm grateful for having taken part in such a terrific organization where I was surrounded by quality people at all levels. My family and I couldn't imagine being better treated, welcomed and supported by the organization, by the fans and by the community."

"I'll miss a lot of things but what I'm probably going to miss the most is after every home game, those few seconds where the players get to the middle of the ice and raise their sticks to the crowd to thank them. I think those few seconds, that connection with everybody, was something extremely special and I'm going to miss that a lot."