Tampa Bay Lightning Struggling to Change the Image

(Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been a doormat for most other teams in the NHL for too many years now. But head coach Rick Tocchet is bound and determined to change that image.

Since their triumphant Stanley Cup victory in the 2003-2004 season, this team has been picked apart from goaltending to defensemen to forwards. The rebuilding process has been a long and arduous task that has seen its fair share of ups and downs.

Ownership changes, coaching changes, and poor free agent acquisitions have led to the Lightning failing to put anything that would resemble a winning product on the ice every night.

But this year it seems just a bit different. The players have seemed to buy into Tocchet's ideas and have adjusted accordingly. It does not help that their first pick in the draft this year, Victor Hedman, is exactly what this team has missed for seasons now on the blue line. Hedman shows very little to no time needed to adjust to the faster, quicker, and harder hitting style of the NHL. While Tocchet was very wise to pair him with free agent acquisition Mattias Ohlund, Hedman is making a name for himself without much assistance needed.

Tampa has had far too many woes on the blue line for far too long. Tocchet recognized this and has made a valiant attempt to change the culture on the blue line. Along with Ohlund, Lukas Krajicek, Kurtis Foster, and Matt Walker were added to strengthen the blue line that had left Tampa's goalies out to dry too many times in recent years.

Early in the season Tampa is still looking for their first win of the season, but they have shown marked improvement in every area on the ice opposed to recent past seasons. Good strong defense and playing the game much better positionally in the back end is only going to help this team in the long run. Look for Tampa Bay to get the monkey off their back within the next two games and quite possibly rattle off a winning streak of four or five games in a row.

Everything is pretty much in place for this team to finally not be walked on anymore. It is up to the players to learn now how to win as a team.

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