John Tortarella has named his starting goaltender for thursday night's season opener against the New Jersey Devils, and it's Johan Holmqvist. After a training camp and preseason, where he looked nothing short of phenomenal, Marc Denis has been relegated to the bench once again. Just a few days after sending Karri Ramo to Norfolk, in a move seemingly signaling the job was Marc Denis's. The belief was that with the demotion of Ramo, would allow the youngster to play on a regular basis, Denis had finally convinced Tortarella that he could be the man. This leaves the goaltending situation in exactly the same state that it was when the Bolt's exited the playoffs last april. The decision seems even more perplexing when you consider that of the three goaltenders, Holmqvist was the least effective in the preseason. One can't help wonder if Tortarella will ever truly believe that Denis can be his goalie. The Lightning put themselves in this situation by refusing to address their biggest question mark in the offseason. If the position continues to be a rotating door, as was all of last season, then the Bolt's will once again be fighting for their playoff lives, not a division title nor home ice. The best case scenario is that Holmqvist takes this first oppurtunity and plays well enough to entrench him for the entire season, instead of looking over his shoulder every game.
-JUSTIN LEWIS
IS TORTARELLA HISTORY? Saturday Night CBC Hockey Night in Canada rumored that John Tortarella will be fired by new Owner Oren Koules and replaced with ESPN Analyst and former Los Angeles Kings Coach Barry Melrose once his ownership...
Lightning Recieve Even More Good News After a season that can only be described as bizarre, the Lightning’s recent spate of good fortune continued Tuesday, when Vinny Lecavalier’s surgery was deemed a success. Below is the team’s official statement...
Lightning Find Groove Since the Bolts ended their season high six game skid, and a winless start on the road, the team has suddenly won four consecutive games. The Lightning have shown signs that they will be able to answer the questions that have seemingly haunted them since the start of last season...
Road Woes Follow Bolts Home The Lightning returned home to the Forum on Saturday night determined to put their road struggles behind them. After jumping out to a 4-1 lead, it looked as if they had indeed snapped out of their recent funk and returned to the form that the home crowd had witnessed in amassing a 6-0-1 record to date...
LIGHTNING LEAVE WOES ON THE ROAD The Lightning continued their early season home dominance, dispatching of the hapless Atlanta Thrashers 6-2. Vinny Prospal's two goals led a scoring barrage that saw five different players score and help stop a two game slide...
Goaltending Question Won't Go Away The Bolt’s are nearly two months away from the first puck being dropped down on Channelside Drive and only about six weeks from the start of training camp (September 13th )and the most interesting story line to follow, and the one that’ll probably haunt them from the start...
