By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Lightning has been outshot in each of its nine playoff games and 322-227 overall.
It is last among the 16 playoff teams with an average 25.2 shots. Its average 35.8 shots allowed entered Monday third worst.
Coach Guy Boucher said he is not worried the disparity will catch up to his team.
"No, I mean, we don't really look at the shots," he said Monday. "We look at the chances for and against, and we've been right on par with that since the beginning of the playoffs."
In fact, Boucher said scoring chances have been relatively equal except for "one or two games" in which Tampa Bay had penalty trouble. That is what happened in Sunday's Game 2 as the Capitals had 12 shots on six power plays en route to a 37-23 shot advantage.
If not for G Dwayne Roloson, the Lightning would not have had a chance in its 3-2 overtime victory.
C Vinny Lecavalier said Tampa Bay players deserve fault for passing up shots.
"Especially in the second period (Sunday when the Lightning was outshot 16-3) and a couple of chances at the end of the third period, a couple of two-on-ones where we could have shot but tried to make passes," he said. "Maybe we have to get back a little bit more to shooting at the net and going for rebounds and getting more opportunities and creating more chaos."
Even so, Boucher said he does not want his players watching the shot clock.
"The reality is, it's not the number of shots we allow, it's the number of scoring chances," he said. "So we focus more on that for the playoffs and it's paid off."
LAZY: Much has been made about the Lightning's ferocious penalty kill that has killed 45 of 46 power plays and 30 straight. But Tampa Bay's 46 times shorthanded entered Monday the most in the playoffs by eight.
As Boucher said after his team gave the Capitals six power plays in Game 2, "That can't happen."
Worse, C Steven Stamkos said, "It's something we addressed before the game, but something we didn't pay attention to at the beginning. We were undisciplined with our sticks. We can't be kidding ourselves. Our penalty kill has been great but we can't give them so many opportunities."
"The more opportunities they get, it could be a game-changer," Lecavalier said.
What bothers Boucher most are the stick fouls; hooking, high-sticking and tripping, which accounted for four of Tampa Bay's six Game 2 penalties.
"They're lazy penalties and careless penalties," Boucher said.
The coach said that during the regular season he could sit players who took bad penalties for a shift or two. But with injuries to LW Simon Gagne (head), D Pavel Kubina (head) and F Dana Tyrell (foot), "we need everybody on the ice. I have to find another way to make sure we stay out of the (penalty) box."
STILL OUT: Boucher said chances are "slim" that Gagne and Kubina will play Game 3.
FRUSTRATED: The Capitals power-play woes are not new.
Washington is 0-for-11 against Tampa Bay and just 3-for-27 in the postseason.
"We're trying," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We're trying different things. We're trying to make things work. Obviously, it's not. ... We've just got to keep going at it."
ODDS AND ENDS: A goal and assist for Marty St. Louis in Game 2 were his first points in four games. ... St. Louis and Lecavalier entered Monday tied for second in the playoffs with 10 points. ... Lecavalier led with three winning goals. ... Boucher said Tyrell would be playing if not for his foot injury, sustained during a practice in Pittsburgh. "A bad one," Boucher said.