By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, April 9, 2011
5 questions | LW Simon Gagne
What kind of dog do you have? A Burmese mountain dog.
How big is he? He's 135 pounds. He's a bear. If I put his front paws on my shoulder, he's about 5-10.
Is he good with people? He's really affectionate. He'll come over and sit on your feet and force you to pet him.
How does he like the warm weather? At first it was a little hot for him. He was looking to stay inside a lot.
And now? We cut his hair. He looks really good.
Fussin' and fightin'
When C Vinny Lecavalier and D Pavel Kubina were roommates during the 1999-2000 season, their daily activities included a combination wrestling and pillow fight before turning in at night.
"Oh, God, don't write about that," Lecavalier said, laughing.
But Kubina was quite forthcoming.
"We were teenagers pretty much," he said. "Wrestling fight every night."
But not always a fair fight.
"Always it was like (Lecavalier) would say, 'Not tonight,' and I would say, 'Okay,' and the other guy would jump him," Kubina said. "The next night it would be, 'Not tonight, let's go to sleep,' and the other guy would jump him."
Eye to eye
It is interesting that Lightning W Ryan Malone, above, so opposes wearing a visor, a subject that came up last week when teammate Vinny Lecavalier was hit in the eye with a stick blade.
Malone said his grandfather on his father's side, "Wild" Bill Malone, lost an eye playing hockey as a minor-leaguer in New Brunswick. Malone's father, Greg, Tampa Bay's head pro scout, never wore a visor, either, when he played in the NHL from 1976 to 1987, mostly with the Penguins.
Wild Bill had a glass eye from the puck accident.
"We always used to play cards," Malone said, "and we always knew which one was his glass eye."
Quote to note
"We don't need him to score a goal to win. We proved it when we won five in a row with him not scoring. So he doesn't have the pressure to carry the team."
Coach Guy Boucher on C Steven Stamkos
Number of the day
52 Home points for Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, most in the NHL entering Saturday.