The Lightning came out fired up and ready to prove something under new coach Rick Tocchet. They looked better but couldn’t pull out a win on the road, losing 3-2. It’s a tough go in Carolina as it is, and under a new coachthey did about as good as expected. The defense only allowed 30 shots on goal, of which Mike Smith stopped 28, in regulation and overtime. They dropped it in the shootout that Carolina took when Rod Brind’Amour slipped one past Smith and Jussi Jokinen couldn’t answer. I think Tocchet is the type of coach that can get the best out of this team and he should have the rest of this season to prove it. Vinny and Marty had a goal a piece which is a great sign, especially against a tough goalie like Cam Ward. There was also talk yesterday that Steven Stamkos could be moved to the front line along side Vinny and Marty which would move Vinny Prospal to the second line with Radim Vrbata. I would like that move a lot. Stamkos said the pressure would then be on him but I disagree. I think it would take pressure off of him and give Vrbata a more experienced player to help get his offense going. There only needs to be some minor tweaking offensively to get things going and I think this move would help dramatically. The Bolts play at home tonight against the Florida Panthers and we’ll see how they do in the Forum. I’ll get to the Barry Melrose situation later today.
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