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About Brett Friedlander

Brett Friedlander became a hockey fan in the heart of the deep south in the early 1970s. He became hooked the first time his father, a charter Atlanta Flames season-ticket holder, took him to a game at The Omni. His first job covering hockey was with the Annapolis Capital, where he covered the Washington Capitals and learned to do an uncanny imitation of coach Bryan Murray from 1984-93.

He's also covered the Carolina Hurricanes and Fayetteville FireAntz of the Southern Professional Hockey League for the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He has also been a regular contributor to Rinkside magazine and Faceoff.com. The highlight of his writing career came on June 19,2006, when the Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 to win the Stanley Cup. His first book, "Chasing Moonlight: The True Story of Field of Dreams' Doc Graham" was released by John F. Blair, Publisher, in April 2009.

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Led by offense, Lightning striking early Print
Southeast
Written by Brett Friedlander   
Friday, November 05, 2010 00:00

Steven Stamkos has picked up where he left off last season and new coach Guy Boucher's neutral-zone system is vexing opponents. So far, it's safe to believe the hype in Tampa Bay. 

Brett Friedlander NHL scores With a new general manager, a new coach, a high-profile new player and one of the most exciting young offensive threats in the league, the Tampa Bay Lightning went into the season as the chic pick to be the surprise team of 2010-11.

They’ve done nothing thus far to dampen those predictions.

But even the most optimistic of prognosticators would have had a hard time envisioning just how
AROUND THE SOUTHEAST
good the Lightning has been during the season’s opening month.

At 7-2-2 with four wins on the road already, coach Guy Boucher and his team sat atop the Eastern Conference standings with 16 points as October turned to November. It’s a mark made all the more remarkable by the fact that the Lightning has struggled on the power play recently, and has yet to get any kind of meaningful contribution from GM Steve Yzerman’s key offseason acquisition, Simon Gagne.

Gagne is currently on injured reserve with a mysterious neck injury, suffered on Oct. 21 when he was checked into the boards by the New York Islanders’ Michael Grabner.

“I don't think that many expected us to be there because there are so many new people in place,” said Boucher, a former Canadian junior coach who has ruffled some NHL feathers – including those of Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy – for his innovative, high-scoring 1-3-1 system.

“The only thing I heard all the time was it's going to take time. I even said it myself. What's happening is that nobody cares who gets the credit. You get success that way. Everybody is contributing right now whether it be fourth line, third line, second line, first line, everybody is playing the same way. That's where the success lies right now.”

Of course, it also doesn’t hurt when your best players play their best.

Young center Steven Stamkos proved that his 51-goal outburst last season was no fluke by hitting the net 10 times and amassing 20 points in his first 11 games while earning recognition as the NHL’s Player of the Month for October.

Veteran Martin St. Louis has 13 points, and captain Vinny Lecavalier is off to a promising start with three goals and three assists. The Lightning were pacing the NHL in goals per game, at 3.50, before a 3-2 loss in Anaheim on Wednesday and a 1-0 loss in Los Angeles on Thursday dropped their average to 3.08, good for eighth in the league.

Tampa Bay’s early success, however, hasn’t been built solely around its offense.

Free-agent pickup Dan Ellis has posted a 2.46 goals-against average and .910 save percentage despite a pedestrian 3-2-2 record, while holdover Mike Smith is 4-1-0 (the lone setback being Thursday's hard-luck loss) to give the Lightning a solid 1-2 punch in net.

They’ve also improved defensively, especially in the area of blocked shots, where it ranks fifth in the league with an average of 15.6 per game.

“It's a full team effort,” defenseman Brett Clark said. “Everyone has bought in, and everybody is paying the price.”

Notes

Gagne saw a neurologist and underwent tests that showed he is not suffering from a concussion. Even though his condition is improving, he was left home when the Lightning left for their extended West Coast road trip. … Twenty-three year-old Mattias Ritola, a preseason waiver pickup from Detroit, scored his first career goal last Saturday in Tampa Bay’s win at Phoenix. … Carolina also had a youngster notch a career milestone Wednesday when Jon Matsumoto, playing in only his second NHL game, scored his first two career goals in a 7-2 victory against the Islanders. The win was the Hurricanes’ first on home ice this season after being shut out by Washington and Pittsburgh in its first two games. The seven-goal outburst also ended a scoreless drought of 130 minutes, 12 seconds at the RBC Center. … Florida took a franchise-record 55 shots on goal against Atlanta on Wednesday, but still ended up on the wrong side of a 4-3 loss to the Thrashers as goalie Tomas Vokoun allowed four goals on Atlanta’s first 19 shots. Chris Mason made 51 saves as the Panthers ended up outshooting the Thrashers 55-23. The old team record for shots in a game was 54 in a game against Washington in 2007. … Florida GM Dale Tallon has submitted a formal proposal to the league that would allow coaches to challenge goal-related calls during the course of a game. … Washington G Michal Neuvirth has been named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for October after going 7-3 with a 2.15 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. … Capitals forward Brooks Laich, who made headlines last spring for stopping to help a fan with car trouble after a devistating playoff loss to Montreal, has been nominated by Sports Illustrated magazine as its Sportsman of the Year.

Photos by Getty Images

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Last Updated on Friday, November 05, 2010 03:35