Wishart, Ty

Still no quit in the Admirals.

NOR-4
WBS-3

Riku Helenius allowed 3 goals on 37 shots in the victory.

First Period
NOR Segal, (23) (Zingoni), 11:47
NOR Zingoni, (7) (Kinrade, Keller), 18:07 (PP)

Second Period
WBS Satan, (3) (Taffe, Goligoski), 1:18 (PP)
NOR Simek, (9) (Keller, Boyle), 9:16 (PP)

Third Period
WBS Pesonen, (30) (Johnson, Goligoski), 7:22 (PP)
WBS Taffe, (25) (Goligoski, Pesonen), 13:00 (PP)

Overtime
NOR Smolenak, (23) (Keller), 3:52

Radek Smolenak and Pete Zingoni were named the game's first and third stars.

Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune speculates on his blog that scratches Ty Wishart and Kevin Quick have been called to Tampa for tomorrow night's game against the Washington Capitals. In their absence, the Admirals dressed eight tryout players for the contest and still managed to pull out their 31st win of the season to stay even with Albany at 71 points.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

2-1/2 hours of my life I'll never get back.

TB-1
NYI-3

Mike McKenna allowed 3 goals on 21 shots for the loss. That might've been his worst game as a member of the Lightning. Each of the Islanders' first two goals are ones Mike probably would like back and he made another big puck handling error that he managed to get away with. He's got one more start scheduled this season, and that's probably a good thing. You'd hate to go out like that after a pretty successful year.

First Period
00:23 NYI Park (14), (Joensuu)

Second Period
14:52 NYI Martinek (5), (Gervais, Joensuu)(PP)
16:38 TB Pettinger (6), (Karsums)(PP)

Third Period
09:14 NYI Bailey (7), (Comeau, Gervais)(PP)

The Lightning waited 35 minutes tonight to start playing. Watching grass grow would've been more exciting.

Noah Welch had 3 hits and 3 blocked shots in 19:04. He's been decent the past two games, which is shocking considering how poorly he'd previously played.

Zenon Konopka had a fight, 1 shot, 1 hit, and was 67% on draws in 7:42. He earned his game check.

Matt Smaby was beastly with 2 penalty minutes, 2 shots, 7 hits, and 3 blocked shots in 22:22. He's been so much better since taking a game off to nurse his foot injury. Graduation Tuesday. Bring your digital cap and gown.

David Koci had 15 penalty minutes in 6:34. Former Lightning farm hand Mitch Fritz threw him around like a rag doll.

Paul Szczechura was -1 with 2 penalty minutes, 2 shots, and 1 blocked shot in 15:33. He was also 38% on draws.

Martins Karsums had 1 assist and was -1 with 6 penalty minutes, 2 shots, 4 hits, and 1 blocked shot in 12:02. Like Welch, he's playing better in these past two games.

Matt Lashoff was -1 with 3 shots, 1 hit, and 1 blocked shot in 27:17. He lost a couple of physical battles that resulted in one puck going in the net and one being rung off the post. He didn't do his younger pairing partner any favors.

Vladimir Mihalik was -1 with 1 shot in 13:05 paired primarily with Lashoff. I thought this was his best NHL game thus far, but that may not be saying much. He looked more confident, but he's still a little slow to react to the play. The guy's a mountain and he had 0 hits. That's still a problem. I was, admittedly, surprised he got the call over Ty Wishart or Kevin Quick.

Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.

No quit in Norfolk.

HER-2
NOR-3

Craig Kowalski allowed 2 goals on 36 shots for the win.

First Period
HER Bourque, (21) (Giroux, Kronwall), 0:51
NOR Jones, (18) (Konopka, Lundin), 14:55 (PP)
NOR Smolenak, (22) (Wishart, Segal), 16:36

Second Period
NOR Swanson, (1) (Wishart, Konopka), 10:48

Third Period
HER Giroux, (55) (Bourque, Kronwall), 1:01

ATO forward John Swanson, who was signed today out of St. Cloud State, potted the game winning goal in his first pro game and was named third star. Well played. Kowalski was the game's first star.

Radek Smolenak potted his 22nd goal of the season while Blair Jones inched closer to the 20 goal plateau by lighting the lamp for the 18th time this year. There are still questions about Jones' intensity, no doubt, but 20 goals has to make you stand up and take notice.

Ty Wishart returned to the ice for the first time in about three weeks and hit the scoresheet for helpers in duplicate for the first multi-point game of his pro career.

It kind of snuck up on me: but Mike Lundin has 26 points now in Norfolk. He has a very real opportunity to hit 30 points in about 50 AHL games with the Admirals. I know Darren Rumble really likes Lundin, but the question remains about how well he fits with what Rick Tocchet is trying to do in Tampa Bay. There's no doubt in my mind, though, that his time in the AHL this year has been beneficial to his development and some NHL team is going to reap the rewards next season with a better player.

Norfolk's win, its 30th of the season, and Albany's loss inches the Admirals within 1 point of climbing out of the division basement with 6 games to go in the season. The Admirals also improved to 20-14-4 on home ice with the victory. Norfolk's final two home games of the season are this weekend, meaning the worst the Admirals could finish on their home rink is 4 games over .500. However incremental it may be, there is progress in Norfolk, VA.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

The worst 40 minutes of hockey in Lightning history.

CAR-9
TB-3

Mike McKenna allowed 3 goals on 7 shots before being pulled for Karri Ramo. Ramo was then the beneficiary of some of the worst defense in the NHL and allowed 6 goals on 22 shots (and took the back door loss to boot) before being pulled at the end of the Second Period. McKenna stopped all 8 shots he faced the rest of the way. Honestly, there was only 1 questionable goal in the lot (by Ramo, on a shot that deflected off Stamkos' stick and through his five hole). Other than that, all of the other eight goals were quality goals that were either odd man rushes or terrible defensive zone breakdowns.

First Period
07:01 CAR Staal (29), (Brind'Amour)(SH)
09:40 CAR Staal (30), (Cole, Ruutu)
10:09 CAR Babchuk (9), (Pitkanen)
12:43 TB St. Louis (24), (Stamkos, Szczechura)

Second Period
02:41 CAR Corvo (12), (Cole, Staal)
03:48 CAR Brind'Amour (9), (Samsonov (25), Cullen)(PP)
06:03 CAR Ruutu (18), (Samsonov, Corvo)(PP)
12:48 CAR Staal (31), (Larose, Ruutu)
16:45 CAR Staal (32), (Ruutu, Cole)

Third Period
3:30 TB Lecavalier (28), (Malone, Prospal)
9:12 TB Malone (23), (Prospal, Lecavalier)

Here's an FYI to Len Barrie and Oren Koules: Lightning Nation is pissed off. They're more than a bit peeved by the fact that they have to watch a defense comprised of two cast offs who couldn't even get regular ice time for the Florida Panthers, a cast off who couldn't even get out of the minors for the Carolina Hurricanes, a goon who shouldn't even be playing defense in the NHL, Charminy soft Lukas Krajicek, and Matt Smaby, who is the one guy in the bunch who doesn't deserve to be shot, stuffed, and mounted on the wall at the Bear Mountain Resort. This defense is a disgrace, and it's patently obvious that the season is being tanked from the blueline out. When the lone silver lining is, "Oh, well we picked up two points on the Isles in the Tavares/Hedman derby," that's just not acceptable. Honest to goodness, if you're going to ice a corps that bad, why not just call up Vladimir Mihalik and Ty Wishart? I'd rather give minutes to the kids than a has-been and some never-will-bes.

Noah Welch was -2 with 1 shot, 1 hit, and 2 blocked shots in an obscene 27:22 of ice time tonight. He and Cory Murphy's first period should be a warning to pregnant women of what happens if you drink while you're carrying your child. How does a guy who couldn't even get in the lineup for Florida end up here playing 27:22 two games later? I can't figure out if this movie is a comedy or a tragedy, boys and girls.

Smaby was +1 with 2 shots, 3 hits, and 2 blocked shots in 16:49. I'm kind of surprised that his ice time was so low because he was very visible in the physical game. That said, even he made his fair share of mildly stupid plays tonight.

David Koci was -2 with 4 penalty minutes and 1 hit in 11:59. If David Koci is an NHL defenseman then I'm an international playboy.

Paul Szczechura had an assist and 2 penalty minutes with 3 shots, 3 hits, and 1 blocked shot in 11:30. I haven't really been impressed with Paul since he came back from his injury, but he showed flashes again tonight, especially in garbage time in the third period.

Martins Karsums was -1 with 1 shot and 1 blocked shot in 11:27. Chad made the point on the message boards that, athletically, he's reminiscent of Ruslan Fedotenko. That's true, but unlike Fedotenko, Karsums is terrible along the wall. I don't think it's lack of want to and he seems sturdy on his skates. He just seems clueless about his body position. Oh, and he made a nice fat turnover that ended up in the back of the net on Anton Babchuk's goal. From Latvia to Russia with love.

Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned prospect right wing Steve Downie and defenseman Ty Wishart to the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL, Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manage Brian Lawton announced today. Downie's reassignment likely comes as a result of a report in the Columbus Dispatch today that veteran center Chris Gratton has been claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets on re-entry waivers. The 6-4, 220-pound forward had been playing for Nolfolk and he will join the Jackets for the trip to Western Canada which begins on Tuesday in Calgary.

Gratton, 33, is a veteran of 1,086 NHL games, scoring 214 goals and contributing 353 assists. Jackets General manager Scott Howson said the move would not prevent the Jackets from searching for another center before the trade deadline.

Downie, a 5-foot-10, 192-pound native of Newmarket, Ontario, posted one goal and three points with 34 penalty minutes in 11 games after being recalled from Norfolk on January 26. Wishart, 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, appeared in three games with the Lightning after being called up on February 16. He registered an NHL career high with 15:52 of ice time last night with Tampa Bay in Carolina.