By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, March 5, 2011
5 questions | RW Teddy Purcell
What is your Canadian home province, Newfoundland, known for?
It's really known for the kind and caring people there.
Is the weather rough?
It's a wet winter, a lot of snow, a lot of rain, a lot of slush.
How do you stand that?
I went back for the All-Star break and couldn't wait to get out of there after four days.
Why does Newfoundland have its own time zone?
One of the premiers of the province thought we were different and separated ourselves.
What's the time difference?
We're 30 minutes off Atlantic time (which is one hour ahead of Eastern).
Serve and volley
Lightning forwards Sean Bergenheim and Dominic Moore were at New York's Madison Square Garden on Monday to watch exhibition tennis matches between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, and Pete Sampras, above, and Andre Agassi.
Bergenheim, below, a real tennis buff, was thrilled to see players he previously saw only on television.
"I was very impressed with him," he said of McEnroe. "He could put the ball anywhere on the court."
But he was most impressed with Sampras.
"Because of the touch he had. It's like he never took a day off since he retired."
War mentality
Marty Raymond wouldn't necessarily call himself a war buff, but the Lightning assistant coach loves reading about the world's great conflicts and war leaders. Napoleon, Hannibal, Genghis Khan and the U.S. Civil War are of special interest.
"The strategy aspect of it," Raymond said. "The decisionmaking aspect from a leadership standpoint, how these leaders bring their group to accomplish their task."
He has even found ways to apply what he reads to hockey.
"Hannibal beating the Romans," Raymond said of the Carthaginian commander in the second century B.C. "They suck you into the middle. Teams penalty kill that way. … The (defense) envelops you. You have to find a way to beat that maneuver."
Quote to note
"They are a hard-working team. You have to be physical against those kind of guys there. They are not overly physical, but they work really hard."
Bruins D Dennis Seidenberg, on the Lightning
Number of the day
11 Times the Lightning had scored at least five goals entering Saturday, one more than last season.