A Step Backward Could Move Lightning Forward

By Mark Pukalo

One simple thing was very clear about this Tampa Bay Lightning season. Every contest counts the same amount.

The Bolts opened the season a respectable 12-6-1 despite showing some troubling signs. Those problems were realized when they went 10-18-5 during the fateful middle of the season, including putrid performances against Vancouver (two) and Arizona. The 20-6-4 finish was good, but not good enough.

Even with all that - though some circumstances might have changed - if the Bolts had held on to a one-goal lead at home against Arizona on March 21 they could have finished with 96 points and in third place in the Atlantic Division.

Ultimately, you knew it wasn’t going to happen for the Lightning after that collapse against Arizona as Ottawa, Boston and Toronto continued to collect points. There was just not enough room for error. 

But in some ways, it’s not the worst thing that could have happened to the Lightning for a number of reasons. Rest - physical and mental - is one, after playing way more games than any other team the previous two seasons. A one or two-round trip through the playoffs this season might also have meant keeping Valtteri Filppula, Ben Bishop and Brian Boyle around while not giving long looks to some of the young players. Filppula’s cap number and no-move clause would have hurt next season while they needed to get something for unrestricted free agents Bishop and Boyle. The veteran duo brought back a second-round pick and a big right-handed defenseman (Erik Cernak). They also were able to deal Filppula without retaining salary. In some ways, it was also a plus that captain Steven Stamkos did not play at the end of the season to give his knee more time to get stronger.

This season provided some answers and showed kinks in the armor for everyone at different times. Ondrej Palat had a disappointing first half and was one of the best players in the second while Alex Killorn was the exact opposite. Jonathan Drouin clearly showed he should be an untouchable, but you still would like a little more consistency and a few more even-strength points from him. Tyler Johnson continued to be inconsistent, but had some great nights. Cedric Paquette had a good stretch, but once again was injured. J.T. Brown was gritty and active, but went backward offensively this season. Vladislav Namestnikov has not shown any progress, especially on defense where Drouin is a Selke candidate compared to him. Adam Erne and Yanni Gourde certainly showed they are NHL players while heady Brayden Point may have established himself as the team’s second-line center moving forward. Let’s also hope Ryan Callahan comes back healthy, because he is way more important than some fans think.

Nikita Kucherov was the team’s MVP and it was amazing he put up the numbers he did after being a bit lost during the team’s bad stretch in January. The only criticism on Kooch, except for the odd no-look pass in his own zone (see Drouin), is his attitude after games. He needs to take a few extra seconds of his time to give more than one or two-word answers to the media, who laud him game after game. It was funny at first. It looks bad on him now.

Victor Hedman had a poor game here or there, but it will be a crime if he’s not a Norris Trophy finalist, and Anton Stralman was tremendous in the final 30 games. After that, it’s still a work in progress on defense. Jason Garrison had a rough first half and only improved when placed beside Stralman. Braydon Coburn was solid enough most nights, but is more of a No. 5 than anything. Andrej Sustr showed a bit more progress than Namestnikov, but he doesn’t produce nearly enough good performances and gets lost in key situations too much. Jake Dotchin was the biggest surprise after being recalled and may just be the third defenseman protected in the expansion draft while Slater Koekkoek - perhaps unfairly - has lost his momentum.

So, what happens in the offseason?

The big question, in my opinion, is what to do with Johnson? Palat and Drouin must be signed. But should the Lightning really go down the middle with Stamkos, Point and Johnson? That’s a bit too small in my mind and Point seems to be more productive at center. Can Johnson alone, or in a package, get the Lightning a top-four defenseman?

Many have talked about trading Killorn and, while it’s not out of the question, if you deal the Harvard graduate you get smaller again. With all his faults - like too many penalties - Killorn is a winner and a glue player. I think you try to trade Johnson and bring in a veteran third-line center (way cheaper than Filppula’s deal would have been) for a year or two to give promising middle men Anthony Cirelli and Brett Howden more time to develop. It certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing if Boyle came back on a two-year deal and started as the third-line pivot. But I bet a team offers him a longer-term deal he cannot turn down.

Teams such as St. Louis, Minnesota and Anaheim - if they don’t go far in the playoffs - may need some more offense and Johnson could fit in there. Minnesota is in expansion draft jail. You wonder if the Lightning could deal Johnson to the Wild (with picks, Brown, a prospect?) in a package for center Charlie Coyle and defenseman Jonas Brodin - then send Brodin and Koekkoek to Winnipeg in a deal for Jacob Trouba. Problem solved with Coyle as your physical third-line center and Trouba makes your top four D formidable. The Wild can only protect three out of the fivesome of Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter, Matt Dumba and Brodin for the expansion draft. The only good news for Minnesota is it can only lose one player. There is also Anaheim’s dilemma with righty D man Sami Vatanen if they can’t get Kevin Bieksa to waive his no-move clause. If it means exposing Dotchin to get a true No. 3 blue liner, it’s probably worth it.

Imagine if the Lightning could keep both Koekkoek and Dotchin somehow and add Trouba. You could have a top six of Hedman-Dotchin, Koekkoek-Stralman and Coburn-Trouba. Even if you must deal Koekkoek or expose him, you can use Garrison for one more rebound season. Pipe dream, maybe. I’m sure Andrei Vasilevskiy would love to play in back of that group, though. The Russian’s only poor stretch last season was playing behind a defense that was just brutal in front of him. He had little chance. Seems like Peter Budaj would be the perfect backup, but it’s up to the unrestricted free agent whether he tries to be a starter somewhere or not.

The expansion draft will be very interesting at every level. Vegas should be able to put together a solid team for coach Gerard Gallant, but it could be very random what they are looking for from each team. The Golden Knights will need some veterans to lead the way and provide enough cap cash to reach the floor. They could pick the best young player on your team or a veteran that fills a role. GM George McPhee could come to the Lightning’s list and take a veteran D man like Coburn and Garrison or he could think young and pick Koekkoek (if there), Namestnikov or even Paquette. Heck, he could see Brown as a nice third-line player who can fight.  

It seems pretty obvious who the Lightning will protect up front - Stamkos, Callahan, Drouin, Kucherov, Palat, Johnson and Killorn. After Hedman and Stralman, the big choice comes on defense. It likely has to be either Dotchin or Koekkoek, but the Lightning may value Coburn more. Dotchin has probably passed Koekkoek on the depth chart and he’s a righty, but Vegas might look at it another way. Don’t forget Dotchin played with Hedman, which probably makes him look a little better. Ultimately, the Lightning probably protect Dotchin and cross their fingers that McPhee chooses Namestnikov or Garrison. I tried some inception with McPhee when he was in the Amalie Arena press box in March. But I don’t think he will pick Erik Condra.

You can expect Lightning GM Steve Yzerman will wrap up contracts for Drouin, Palat and perhaps Dotchin in the next month. If Johnson is not signed by late June it may be a signal he is being shopped. There’s no doubt his new team would want to do his next contract.

The end of June and early July will be very interesting times for the Lightning. When it’s over, the pain of what fans endured this season might just be worth it.

Vegas Baby

There are teams that will have very difficult decisions on who to protect for the expansion draft in June. That will likely lead to some moves in the final week before the Golden Knights make their selections and teams with cap space may get a few bargains because of it.

San Jose, Detroit, Minnesota and Anaheim seem to the teams with the most difficult decisions. Teams that could go with eight protected skaters rather than seven forwards and three defensemen could be – San Jose, Colorado, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Nashville.

If the draft were this week, here’s what the first Golden Knights roster could look like.

Forwards - Colin Wilson (Nashville), Darren Helm (Detroit), Reilly Smith (Florida), Tyler Ennis (Buffalo), Charlie Coyle (Minnesota), Jannik Hansen (San Jose), Blake Comeau (Colorado), Kevin Hayes (Rangers), Michael Raffl (Philadelphia), Andrew Copp (Winnipeg), Trevor Lewis (Los Angeles), Ryan Reaves (St. Louis), Josh Anderson (Columbus), Curtis Lazar (Calgary), Ryan Strome (Islanders), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa)

Defense - Adam McQuaid (Boston), Ian Cole (Pittsburgh), Sami Vatanen (Anaheim), Slater Koekkoek (Tampa Bay), Martin Marincin (Toronto), Trevor van Riemsdyk (Chicago), Brandon Davidson (Montreal), Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton), Stephen Johns (Dallas), Alex Biega (Vancouver)

Goalies - Philipp Grubauer (Washington), Eddie Lack (Carolina), Louis Domingue (Arizona), Scott Wedgewood (New Jersey)

Remembering the Whale - 23 years later

By Mark Pukalo

I made it to my seat behind the goal at the Civic Center on April 23, 1992 for the pre-game skate, just trying to squeeze the last bit of enjoyment out of another disappointing season for the Hartford Whalers.

It was a little over a year after Hall of Famer Ron Francis was shockingly traded and the only reason the Whalers made the playoffs was that the Quebec Nordiques were more dreadful in a five-team division. Hartford won 15 games fewer than they lost in the 1991-92 regular season and were no threat to the mighty Montreal Canadiens in the first two games of the postseason.

The Civic Center looked about half full for Game 3, with only the diehard fans in the seats - even the most hopeful expecting to see two more games before moving on to the offseason.

A funny thing happened though. The Whalers came at the Canadiens in waves that night. They hit - even Andrew Cassels. They created. They used their speed. Whether Montreal had assumed the Whale would just roll over or not, the Habs could not get a handle on the game. Murray Craven scored twice while Patrick Poulin, Zarley Zalapski and John Cullen also got the puck past Patrick Roy.

I had always enjoyed hockey and especially liked going to games with my group of friends. But I wasn’t totally invested. Basketball was still my favorite sport and soccer was probably second.

When I walked out of the building that night after a 5-2 victory, I was a true hockey fan. I had never seen a more exciting sporting event. Hockey was No. 1. It has been for almost 28 years since.

I remembered days like that this week with the 20^th anniversary of the Whalers’ final game upon us. It’s hard to believe it’s been two decades since political stupidity and greed took the team away from the community and its loyal fans.

You think about the sorrow and the joy of the 20 years. Unfortunately, many of the memories are painful. One playoff series victory. Many tough days on and off the ice. But there is still something that makes you smile when you hear Brass Bonanza.

I was in the Civic Center for the college basketball game the day before the roof collapsed, but there would be many more close calls for the Whalers when they reached the NHL.

I laid on the floor listening to the radio for Game 7 of the 1986 second-round series with Montreal when Claude Lemieux went high to the glove side on Mike Liut in overtime. The Whalers were probably a better team that season and could have won it all if they had gotten past that game. How much would a Stanley Cup have changed their fortunes?

Hartford won the Adams Division the following season - the only time they finished better than fourth - and lost in the first round, but the most gut-wrenching defeat came in 1990.

The Whalers led the hated Boston Bruins two games to one and owned a 5-2 lead after two periods in a raucous Civic Center. Ray Bourque wasn't skating onto that ice. He was injured. But mistake after mistake led to goals against. Bob Beers scored. Yes, Bobby Beers. Randy Ladouceur was minus-4. Dave Poulin’s shot on the winning goal was traveling so slow it barely got over the line, but somehow it eluded Peter Sidorkiewicz. At least that’s how I remember it. Bruins 6, Whalers 5. Final.

I’ve never been more crushed walking out of a sporting event. It took every ounce of restraint to not punch one of the many disgusting Bruins fans in our face as we left the Civic Center. This night came about a month after Christian Laettner beat UConn at the buzzer in the Eastern Regional final. Crazy.

The Whalers would take that series to seven games, but lose. Same thing happened in 1992. Yvon Corriveau missed the net on a breakaway in overtime and Russ Courtnall scored from the slot to win the last playoff game in franchise history. Whether it was a joke or not, I heard second hand later on that Whalers goalie Frank Pietrangelo told reporters he thought the shot went under the ice to beat him. It was the Montreal Forum. So, who knows?

The team could never win the big game. It was frustrating. But they were the lovable losers. When people went to games, they were hooked. The city would have gone nuts over a long playoff run.

Like any smaller market professional teams, the stands were full when they were winning and attendance went down when they hit tailspins. No offense to the amazing UConn women’s basketball program, but Connecticut doesn’t love that sport. It loves winners.

For most of us, though, the Whalers became a big part of our lives. We got season tickets as a group, sometimes scalped when we didn’t pick that game in our preseason draft, got together before games, got together after, and often cried in our beer.

You remember the great wins like in 1992 and some of the crazy moments, the time freezing rain prevented me from going to a game against Minnesota on a Sunday night after I did a 360 on the highway. Somehow, I got home driving 2 mph with one wheel on the side of the road that night. I wasn’t around for some of the great moments in the mid-80s with Bill, Doug, Chip, Bob and others, when they would talk to players as they walked by at the Chuck’s Steak House bar after games. I was told the story about Ray Ferraro, who would always acknowledge the group in the glory days at Chucks. One night Bill Calhoun, my good friend who passed away suddenly in 2010 and I miss every day, was not at the game. Ferraro, I was told, walked by that night and turned back to say, “Hey, where’s Billy?”

It was that kind of a relationship with the fans. It could have continued.

I remember hearing the story of the group seeing Claude Lemieux at a bar in the late 80s and, after the hockey villain took some verbal abuse from Whalers fans, he simply showed them his 1986 Stanley Cup ring. His brother Jocelyn Lemieux later played for Hartford and became a crowd favorite for a short time. We told him the story of his brother one day and he laughed.  We urged him to help get the team to win one for us in Boston late in a lost season. They went out and won the game. Lemieux was quoted afterward that they wanted to win this one for the loyal fans.

One night the players and officials stood for the national anthem and there was a bit of a delay before the singer started. Frenchy, standing five seats or so to the left of us behind the goal wearing his green Whalers jacket and looking disheveled as ever, took the opportunity to send a message to referee Denis Morel - often noticeable for puzzling calls - who was facing us from the red line. “Hey Morel,” Frenchy wailed for everyone to hear. “What are you looking at?” There was also time that the Whaler mascot made an unintended obscene gesture while riding the Zamboni, but we won’t go too deeply into that.

Those were the days. You thought they’d go on forever. But Eddie Johnston, with the approval of coach Rick Ley apparently, traded Ronnie “Franchise” and Ulfie Samuelsson for Cullen, Zalapski and some guy named Jeff Parker. It was the beginning of the end. They missed the playoffs the final five seasons.

Owner Richard Gordon didn’t know what he was doing. They were always flailing. The Whalers drafted a superstar defenseman named Chris Pronger. But, although you could see his great talent, you remember the day when he put his coat over his head to hide who he was (like no one could figure it out) after several players were arrested in Buffalo. Pronger didn’t want to be in Hartford after a while. When Peter Karmanos bought the team, GM Jim Rutherford dealt him to St. Louis for Brendan Shanahan. Shanny said all the right things at first. But after one of the quietest 40-goal seasons (44) in NHL history, he wanted out.

I went from being a fan to one of the beat writers for the Hartford Courant in the Whalers final two seasons. I learned a lot. It took me to some great or interesting places that I will always remember - Barrie and Kitchener, Ontario, Ottawa, Los Angeles, St. Louis, the pond in Anaheim, Dallas, Toronto, Landover, Mary. and Tampa.

I should have known something was going on when I saw the look on Shanahan’s face in the locker room after the final contest of the 1995-96 season. It was the last game for the Sabres at the old barn called "the Aud" in Buffalo and the teams settled scores with brawl after brawl. There were 156 penalty minutes and eight 10-minute misconducts. Shanahan and goalie Jason Muzzatti were ejected. Shanahan was probably thinking - the Whalers are never going to get any breaks.

“I don’t get it,” Shanahan said to me that night. “Someone has to have more (power plays), but nine to two? I kind of thought the Sabres were just as willing as we were. That’s a pattern that’s developed with us and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop.”

Hmm.

On came another embarrassment when he asked for a trade. The easy excuse was the “uncertainty” of the franchise’s future. He was dealt to Detroit for Keith Primeau, who was a true pro and one of the most genuine athletes I had met at that point. But future Hall of Famer Paul Coffey also came in the deal. That created more drama. Coffey didn’t want to be in Hartford, either. He asked for a trade.

I remember standing outside the visitor’s locker room in Tampa after Coffey’s admission and asking Kevin Dineen about the situation. Dineen simply said, “I don’t want to talk about anyone that doesn’t want to be on this team.”

This only would happen to the Whalers - Shanahan opposed Coffey (Philadelphia) in the 1997 Stanley Cup finals.

Dineen’s return for parts of the final two seasons made those last days more tolerable. He was John Wayne on skates, blowing around Hall of Famer Larry Robinson for a big goal in the 1986 playoffs and decking Mike Milbury - who I heard would need smelling salts to be awoken. But, most of all, he was blood and guts. He was a leader - the kind of player who was easy to root for and gave the media time when it was needed.

Those last few seasons didn’t seem like they would be the last. We all thought they would figure something out. Heck, they almost made the playoffs as a lame duck. State and city officials had to know this was going to be the only chance Hartford had to house a major-league franchise, right?

There is plenty of blame to go around. Karmanos was likely asking for too much. The State wanted to be stingy with the deal and didn’t value the team. Gary Bettman didn’t try hard enough to help broker a deal.

Isn’t it funny how Bettman has spent years and years trying to keep the Coyotes in Arizona and hardly lifted a finger for the Whalers? Heck, he’d probably lay down on the road to stop the Yotes from leaving. In Hartford, he virtually loaded the trucks for Karmanos.

Yes, Karmanos is a very unlikable figure and he deserves it. He didn’t deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame. But, all things considered, he was just a businessman. The Whalers were his business and he wanted to get the best deal possible. If he really planned to move the team to some great spot, why did he chose Raleigh? It was just the best of a lot of bad options.

One local sports host once said to me he was told state officials opened the vault for Karmanos, and pesky Pete did not want to stay. It depends who you believe or want to believe. I can’t imagine that was true.

The main culprits for the demise of the Whalers - after Gordon, Ley and Johnston took out their heart away - were the politicians. Governor John Rowland, who later went to jail as I proudly predicted, did not grasp the fact that the Whalers were going to be the only major franchise a city like Hartford could have.

Rowland and the others were easily played by Robert Kraft, who threatened to move the New England Patriots to Hartford if he didn’t get a better deal in Foxboro. Just move the Whalers out, clear the decks and Patriots are coming. Simple, right?

The politicians all fell for it. Kraft was never coming to Hartford. Not then. Not ever. Rowland and the state legislature could not have been more stupid and own less foresight. Democrats, Republicans, all of them. Joe Leiberman couldn’t be bothered. One of his advisers once told me, there was “no clear advantage to the state to have the Whalers in Hartford.” That’s total crap. The tax money alone would have made them viable. But Rowland’s advisers and some politicians apparently clapped when he announced the Whalers were leaving. What were they cheering for? Did they want to rub more dirt in the wounds of loyal Whalers fans?

Just thinking about the way the state mishandled the situation still infuriates me. Time doesn’t heal wounds. Just think about what it would have been like if the Hurricanes had won the Cup in Hartford instead of Raleigh. All of the state’s “petty fiefdoms” would have been just as in love with the Whalers as the epic UConn women’s basketball team.

Connecticut is a great hockey state. Just look at the NHL rosters. Jonathan Quick, Nick Bonino, Cam Atkinson, Kevin Shattenkirk, Max Pacioretty, Ron Hainsey, Adam Erne, Ben Smith are all from the Nutmeg State. I once had to pick the high school player of the year between future NHLers Bonino and Mark Arcobello. UConn has a Hockey East team now. If the Whalers ever came back, they would thrive with a new state of art arena that could also house UConn sports.

But it will almost certainly never happen. The only way is if an ultra-rich person who loves the Hartford area and the state of Connecticut wants to put together a project. Someone like Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, who knows what he is doing and embraces the situation like he did here in Tampa. Someone who could convince Bettman he is wrong about Hartford.

But Whalers fans shouldn’t give up their dreams. This week they should remember the good times. They should smile when major hockey pundits talk about how they miss the Whale.

I will remember high fives with Bill, Doug, Mary, Bob, Chip, Alison, Dave and many others after big goals. I will remember sitting in Maple Leaf Garden peering down on the fabled ice covering the team and driving through the snow to Kanata, Ontario. I will remember interviewing great people like Dineen, Adam Burt, Geoff Sanderson, Stu Grimson, Glen Wesley, Jeff O’Neill, Sean Burke, Primeau, Jason Muzzatti, Sami Kapanen, Skip Cunningham, Paul Maurice and many, many others. I will remember getting on the team charter the day the team announced it was moving from Hartford and not knowing what to do except glare at Rutherford (I later apologized). Of course, we were headed to Tampa Bay that day. That’s where my hockey soul ended up. And I remember the last game on April 13, 1997 when tears fell freely, when Dineen scored the winning goal - against the Lightning.

We still bleed green. Never forget. It’s been 20 years. But the Whalers will forever live in our hearts.

The King of A Year in Movies - 2016

By Mark Pukalo

Somewhere toward the end of 2015, I took the 40-minute ride to AMC Veterans 24 out past the Tampa airport to see a movie that was only showing there at the time. It gave me a chance to see the most amazing performance by an actor under 10-years-old I had ever seen.

His name was Jacob Tremblay and he could not have been better in the emotional movie "Room." About a year later, I made my way to the same theater for the same reason and a young boy from India named Sunny Pawar somehow topped Tremblay.

Pawar dominated the screen throughout the first hour of 2016's best movie "Lion," as a lost child named Saroo trying to find his way through the dangers of Calcutta (now Kolkata) - thousands of miles from his home. Pawar's triumphant performance led you into an equally-emotional second half of the movie where the older Saroo (Dev Patel) searches for his home through Google Maps.

There were many solid films in 2016, but none came close to moving me like "Lion." It is based on a true story and it was told with grace and wonderful pacing. It is about the power of family, love, home and the human spirit. Nicole Kidman is outstanding as Saroo's adoptive Australian mother and the beautiful Rooney Mara plays his girlfriend, who is actually a composite of his female friends. Patel starred in my pick for the worst of 2015 (Chappie) and one year later he provides a strong performance in the best.

Have some tissues available if you are going to see Lion. You will need them - unless you do not have a heart.

I wondered if 2016 was going to be a dud of a year for movies in late summer - after 2015 was the best in my lifetime - but it ended up producing a number of entertaining films in the fall and winter with a variety of subject lines. Some were fun, others had deep, thought-provoking story lines and a few were quite unique. It ended up being a pretty good year, with some of the best performances including Pawar, Ruth Negga (Loving), Bryan Cranston (The Infiltrator), Andrew Garfield (Silence), Mila Kunis (Bad Moms), Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Miles Teller (Bleed for This), Emma Stone (La La Land), Jeff Bridges (Hell of High Water), Jessica Chastain (Miss Sloane), Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Emilia Clarke (Me Before You), Viola Davis (Fences), Colin Farrell (The Lobster) and Marvin the dog (Paterson).

Here's my annual look at the year in movies:

Did not get to see: Queen of Katwe, Elle, A Man Called Ove, Moana, Rules Don't Apply.

Worst: 13 Hours (see the entire list on my worst of the year blog)

Not great, but these films have something redeemable - Demolition, The Purge: Election Day, Get a Job (Bryan Cranston and Anna Kendrick get it over the line), Captain America, Equals, Race, Independence Day- Resurgence (only because the first one was good), The Lobster (so weird it almost became compelling), Mother's Day (great cast), The Accountant (mostly blah, but a few decent moments), The Girl on the Train (glad I didn't spend money at the theater), Cafe Society, Love & Friendship (Kate Beckinsale is great as usual), Bridget Jones' Baby, Sausage Party (not a kids cartoon, adult cringe-worthy laughs), The Legend of Tarzan, The Birth of a Nation, Allegiant (worst of a great series), Keeping up with the Joneses, Masterminds (goofy, stupid, but a few laughs), Doctor Strange, The Founder (Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, who started McDonald's), Paterson (interesting, but not real exciting), Yoga Hosers (funny and Johnny Depp's daughter is adorable).

Honorable Mention - Jason Bourne (underwhelming, but fits in the series. Alicia Vikander is great as usual), Denial (interesting movie on the trial of a Holocaust denier), Deepwater Horizon (nothing special, but it was better than expected), Eight Days a Week (Beatles doc), Where do we Invade Next? (interesting Michael Moore documentary everyone should see, but won't), Free State of Jones (good Civil War story, but dragged a little), Finding Dory (cute cartoon that held my interest), Star Trek Beyond (first half is confusing, second half pretty good), Allied, Hacksaw Ridge, 20th Century Women, Bleed For This (Vinny Paz story was better than expected), War Dogs, Money Monster (Clooney and Roberts are good, but just didn't hit a home run with me), Me Before You (tearjerker), 13th (Documentary on Racism), Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping (funny stuff)

Joe Lunardi's first five out: Collateral Beauty (somewhat hokey and hard to believe, but enjoyable), Bad Moms (more laughs than expected), Nocturnal Animals (strange, strange movie, but keeps your interest), Loving (strong, important story), Patriots Day (well-done movie on the Boston Marathon bombing)


TOP 25


25. Captain Fantastic - Viggo Mortensen shines as the father of a family which lived outside of civilization for years before making a trip to their mother's funeral.

24. Eddie the Eagle - The interesting and likable story of Eddie Edwards, the unusual and inexperienced ski jumper from England who made a splash at the 1988 Winter Olympics

23. Fences - Denzel Washington and Viola Davis provide amazing performances as complicated characters in this film adapted from a play. The strong ending helps get it over the top.

22. Zootopia - Enjoyable cartoon with an underlying racial theme that educates about the advantages of diversity and the problems with stereotyping.

21. Arrival - Amy Adams stars in the science fiction story about a race of aliens who arrive with a message that only she can uncover. It is a powerful movie about seeing the future, but I wasn't as blown away as most people.


20. Everybody Wants Some!! - It's Animal House with a bunch of college baseball players instead of Bluto and Flounder. Director Richard Linklater (Boyhood) does a good job keeping it fun.

19. Moonlight - The Academy Award winner follows a young African American boy struggling with a mother hooked on drugs and confusion about his sexuality. I would have liked to see more of Mahershala Ali's character. Thought it was a good film, just not a great one.

18, Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds is terrific as a superhero with a wild sense of humor. Thought it was a lot of fun, although it got a bit too cartoonish at the end.

17. Jackie - Natalie Portman hits it out of the park with her portrayal of Jackie Kennedy in the aftermath of her husband's assassination. I was in my first year of life while this was going on, so it was educational for me.

16. Silence - Two young Jesuit priests from Portugal in the 17th century go in search of their mentor in Japan, which had outlawed Christianity. Martin Scorsese directs the long (2 hours, 40 minutes), but emotional film and Andrew Garfield is terrific as one of the padres.

15. Sully - Tom Hanks plays hero Chesley Sullenberger, who miraculously saved every passenger by landing a damaged airplane on the Hudson River but ends up facing serious questions about his decision.

14. Manchester by the Sea - The second time watching the film made me understand its power a bit more. The acting from Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, among others, is outstanding. But it is still a bit too depressing for a top 10 pick.

13. O.J. Made in America - You would need a truck load of popcorn to watch this in a theater but since the Academy made it Best Documentary, why not include it here? Ezra Edelman did an amazing job putting this all together. It is fascinating and sad.

12. The Edge of Seventeen - Hailee Steinfeld, a terrific actress, plays a high school student trying to weave her way through life's problems in a one-parent family. Woody Harrelson is great as her sarcastic, but helpful teacher.

11. Miss Sloane - Jessica Chastain is a win-at-all-costs lobbyist who finds herself in the middle of a political fight over a new gun-control bill. Chastain should have been nominated for Best Actress for her powerful performance.


10. Hell or High Water - Brothers Chris Pine and Ben Foster go on a bank robbery spree to help save the family farm, which they are in jeopardy of losing because of the same financial institutions. Jeff Bridges is outstanding as the local sheriff.

9. Passengers - It may be a stretch to put this film here ahead of other more meaningful movies. But I enjoyed the heck out of it. What would you do if you were alone and had a chance to wake up someone else in suspended animation to keep you company? Yes, I'd wake up Jennifer Lawrence. Sorry Jen.

8. Eye in the Sky - An interesting film starring Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Helen Mirren that makes you think about the military's use of drones. It was the great Alan Rickman's last action film before he passed away.

7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Low expectations turned into high praise for this film that works as a prequel to "A New Hope" - the first of the saga released - and a follow to "Revenge of the Sith." Everything fits and it's fun.

6. Snowden - Joseph Gordon-Levitt does an outstanding job playing the enigmatic Edward Snowden, who becomes disillusioned and releases classified information about illegal mass surveillance programs in the United States. Director Oliver Stone does not overdo it this time.

5. Hidden Figures - Tells the untold story of a group of African-American women mathematicians who aided NASA in the 1960s - in racially-divided Virginia. Janelle Monae, Octavia Spencer, Taraji Henson are terrific in the educational and entertaining movie.

4. La La Land - Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling make this musical drama go as an aspiring actress and musician, respectively, trying to make it in Hollywood. It was more of a story than a musical, which made me enjoy it much better.

3. Sing Street - Director John Carney provides another enjoyable movie with music as the theme. A young Irish lad (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) puts a band together starting from scratch to impress a complicated, beautiful girl (Lucy Boynton). Mark McKenna is brilliant in a supporting role. It is fun, smart and heartwarming. Line of the movie - "No woman can truly love a man that listens to Phil Collins." LOL.

2. The Infiltrator - Bryan Cranston plays US Customs agent Robert Mazur, who goes deep undercover to end Pablo Escobar's money-laundering operation. How Cranston did not get nominated for Best Actor, I will never know. Beautiful Diane Kruger and former Law and Order star Benjamin Bratt are great, too.

1. Lion - An amazing story and an amazing movie about Saroo Brierly's incredible journey. It was Director Garth Davis' first feature film and he makes it all work without adding any fluff. It should have won something at the Academy Awards, but anyone who saw it knows this was by far the best of 2016.

Previous picks for Best of the Year

2015 - Spotlight

2014 – Birdman

2013 -- Nebraska

2012 – Silver Linings Playbook

2011 – The Descendants

2010 – The Social Network

2009 – Inglourious Basterds

2008 – Frost/Nixon-The Wrestler (tie)

2007 – Once

Best of Decade 2000-2009 – Almost Famous

The Worst Movies of 2016

It would be nice to unveil my list of the top movies of 2016 before the Academy Awards Sunday, but there are still too many interesting films to watch before I can make the final decisions.

I'm hoping to find a way to see at least some of the following movies in the next month - Nocturnal Animals, Allied, Fences, Miss Sloane, Loving, Silence, 20th Century Women, Queen of Katwe, Elle, Doctor Strange, Moana, Hacksaw Ridge and The Edge of Seventeen.

So, we will start with another countdown. Other critics can do it. Why not me? My list of the best movies of 2016 will be posted in late March or early April, but now it's time for the very worst of the year among the 80-plus movies I have seen. And there were several good choices.

Barely worth a red box rent, but only if you are desperate - The Boss, The Finest Hours, Ghostbusters (Why?), Inferno, London Has Fallen 10 Cloverfield Lane, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, The Nice Guys, The Whole Truth (Keanu as a lawyer?), Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Joe Lunardi's first five out of the top 10: The 5th Wave (Cute Chloe Moretz saves it from the worst 10), Zoolander 2, Hologram for a King (Hanks in a stinker), Batman vs. Superman (come on, man), A Bigger Splash (Dakota Johnson's brief nudity saves it from ninth or 10th worst).


Worst 10 of 2016

10. Into The Forest - Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood can't save this movie with an apocalyptic story line.

9. Approaching the Unknown - A mission to Mars that is quite boring.

8. Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising  - The first one wasn't very good and this one wasn't much better, if any.

7. Marauders - Bruce Willis and Christopher Meloni (Stabler) wing it in this confusing, uninteresting crime drama,

6. Broken Vows - Jamie Alexander is quite attractive, but the Fatal Attraction-styled movie is cliched and unwatchable.

5. Run Lola Run - Bad film about bad people, but the somewhat surprising ending pushes it from worst of the year to fifth worst.

4. Midnight Special - Probably would be my pick for most disappointing of the year, because it's the only one of the 10 that I spent money on in the theater. There was a lot of nothing before an unsatisfying ending.

3. Hail Caesar!! - George Clooney can't rescue this totally dull film, which provided no laughs or interesting dialogue.

2. Point Break - Why? Sort of a remake of the classic film in a different local. After about 15 minutes, you are just waiting for it to end.

1. 13 Hours - Went in with an open mind wanting to learn a little bit more about what happened in Benghazi, but left not having an idea what was going on.


HOPES FOR OSCARS  

Best actor - Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea (but Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic was really good)

Best actress - Emma Stone, La La Land (Natalie Portman did a strong job in Jackie, too)

Best supporting actor - Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water (but Dev Patel, Lion would make me happy)

Best supporting actress - Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures (but Nicole Kidman, Lion is close)

Nothing Should Change Yzerman's Plan

By Mark Pukalo

The Tampa Bay Lightning are showing signs of life the last four games. They might not be dead yet.

There has been more energy, much more support defensively and a spirit - that has been inconsistent at best all season – resurfacing during the current 3-0-1 stretch. I don’t think the Lightning are playing defensively. They are just playing better in their own end and forechecking with more purpose to take pressure off their defense.

So, how should this latest run of solid play change Steve Yzerman’s mindset with two weeks left before the trade deadline?

Not one bit. Zero, zilch, nada, nil.

Three things can happen before the end of the season for the Lightning and two are good while another may be acceptable in a way. They could go on a historic run into the playoffs and be a real contender to get to the final four. Yzerman can take advantage of teams in or on the playoff bubble to clear salary cap space and get a jump on smoothing out the rough edges of this team. Lastly, the postseason run can end at three years and the team gets much-needed rest and re-evaluation time for another go in 2017-18.

There are many reasons why this season has not gone as expected. It’s many issues loaded into a big stew that does not taste very good. Captain Steven Stamkos was playing the best hockey of his life before going down with a knee injury. Ryan Callahan (hip) has also been absent much of the season and, although many would like more production from him, he is key as a leader, penalty killer and physical force. Throw in the fact that the Lightning had the most players in the World Cup during the preseason and they participated in the most playoff games the last two seasons. Then, there’s some underachievement. But we’ll get to that later - on both the players and the coach.

It has all led Yzerman to the point where change has to be made. But it’s not a rebuild. It’s a makeover. Doing nothing before the trade deadline would be silly and that doesn’t mean he has to make rash moves. He’s been fishing around for months already and there’s plenty of groundwork done. Now, it’s all about what other teams are going to do. It’s about timing.

There are things Yzerman can do now and other possibilities he should probably wait on until the morning of the trade deadline March 1.

These are all good players who have given their hearts to the organization and if there were no salary cap you might not mind keeping them around until the end of their deals. But salaries have to be moved to create space for next season and beyond.

Center Valtteri Filppula and defenseman Jason Garrison could probably help a playoff team or one on the edge. They can be dealt at any time - although Filppula owns a no-trade clause - and what the Lightning get back is not important as long as they don’t bring back a player with big contract past this season. They can even take back a little salary for next season if needed. The Bolts can still compete without them. Brian Boyle can move over to center to replace Filppula until Stamkos returns and Slater Koekkoek would step in for Garrison.

The big move they could make now is to deal Tyler Johnson. I know some fans out there won’t like it, but Braydon Point’s play at center makes Johnson expendable, especially with his contract up after this season. You could see St. Louis, Nashville, Los Angeles, Anaheim or even Vancouver taking a run at T.J.

It would not be surprising if center Vladislav Namestnikov or defenseman Andrej Sustr were moved either. They are still young players and they show flashes, but neither has taken a step forward this season and it has been one of the least talked about issues with this team. Namestnikov needed to emerge as a consistent performer at center when Stamkos went down and Sustr needed to raise his level of play with Garrison’s performance declining. Neither accomplished the goal.

The Lightning will probably have more evidence of whether they are legitimately in the playoff race on trade deadline day and that’s when you might see a few late deals.

It has been reported that teams have made some unsatisfactory offers for Ben Bishop already and Yzerman must decide whether to take what he can get or hope a team sweetens the pot on March 1. There are teams that could use Bishop down the stretch like Calgary, even Carolina or Dallas if they are still in the race. If the best offer is a fourth-round pick or worse, it’s probably not worth it. Teams might offer that before July 1 for negotiating rights.

The other much tougher question is what to do with Boyle if teams are offering tempting deals. In my opinion, the Lightning need Boyle on the team next season. But if you can get something good for him and sign him as a free agent on July 1 anyway, it could be a nice daily double. Yzerman must gauge what it will take for Boyle to stay before then. It appears the big forward loves it here. Could you tell him we’ll resign you for $9 million, three years on July 1? The risk is some team with cap space like New Jersey or Carolina may throw five years $20 million in his face? That’s a tough question to answer. To be honest, I’d just try to sign him now and find a way to protect him in the expansion draft.

Yzerman always seems to get more than expected in deals. But this time around, he probably has to lower his expectations and prepare for next season. Jonathan Drouin must be re-signed - soon. Ondrej Palat, too, although anything could happen if trading him might bring back a solid top-four righty defenseman.

Now, back to underachievement – one of the issues that has driven Lightning fans crazy all season. I called their play stale at times through the first half of the season, with virtually the same group as the previous two seasons. It seemed at times it was more mental than physical. Things have always seemed to fall in place for them the last two seasons. Nothing came easy this season and it seemed they failed to have the proper energy to push through.

I may be the only one out there that does not blame the goaltending at all. Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy have not been great, but most nights they have given the team a chance to win. Bishop’s mental game can’t be 100 percent knowing he’s likely somewhere else next season and the team played so poorly in front of Vasilevskiy when he was in net for nine in a row it was impossible to judge him. The Lightning are just fine in net with the big Russian. Those talking - some on radio - about keeping Bishop don’t understand. Even if they were to trade Vasy, they’d have to give Bishop $6.5-7 million and there’s no way they meet the salary cap offering him that much. It makes no sense.

One local columnist even mentioned that Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Drouin had underachieved in some ways. With all due respect, that’s crazy.

Hedman is having his best offensive season, was a serious Norris candidate until the team took a dive in early January and has been the best player on the ice for more than half of their games. Kucherov’s head seemed to be somewhere else for a few weeks in January, but he seems to be back in gear and headed toward a 30-goal season. While no one will argue that Drouin is still a “work in progress” like any 21-and-under player other than Connor “McJesus” McDavid, he has been one the team’s best three players all season long - in every zone on the ice. He will make a bad pass from time to time and have a quiet game once in a while, but Drouin has worked hard on his defense and is far better than he was as a rookie - and far better than anyone seems to want to give him credit for.

You can’t really blame the decline on any one of their core players. Some have performed better than others, but it has been more about consistency than anything else. While Palat hasn’t had the season you hoped for, he was probably the best player on the ice against Minnesota last week. It’s still my opinion that it all starts with the bottom four on defense. It’s not good enough over the long run. They’ve played better the last four games and Jake Dotchin has been a surprisingly nice addition. But that shouldn’t change Yzerman’s mind about fixing the group for next season. Braydon Coburn has been fine, but the other three spots are up for grabs.

It seems like I’m being too easy on them. Maybe I am. But taking a few steps back and missing the playoffs this season could be a positive in the end if Yzerman can create some cap space and make a few heady deals.

It does not appear one of his moves will be changing the coach. Jon Cooper can’t be blamed for the team’s demise due to injuries and the other issues, but there are still reasons why intelligent Lightning hockey fans who “know the game” can think maybe a different coach could bring a fresh outlook the Lightning needs.

You can’t take away the success from Cooper. He took the team within two wins of a Cup two seasons ago and within a pair of goals of the finals in 2015-16. But you can also say this: He had very, very good players. Lots of them.

I’m reserving opinion on whether Cooper should be fired after the season if the Lightning fade out of the race down the stretch. We’ll see. But there are many reasons to make the call to sack him.

*His forward lines don’t make sense sometimes and he has always seemed to play favorites, allowing certain players to make mistake after mistake while others are damaged by one. How can Erik Condra ever play on a scoring line?

*Cooper tends to throw out the second-best unit to start the power play too often. There are times when players on the better unit have just been out for a long shift. Understood. But, in my opinion, Kucherov and Drouin should be out first every time unless there is a major reason why they can’t be. There’s been too many times the other unit went out and had little pressure, but due to circumstances used up 90 seconds of the power play without Kooch or Drouin getting a significant chance.

*It was strange sometimes that Nikita Nesterov was scratched for a game or two because of poor play and the first game back he got the third or fourth most ice time. You can blame Rick Bowness for throwing Nesty out too much, but it’s Cooper’s job to manage that in the game plan.

*Cooper burned out Vasilevskiy during the rough stretch when Bishop was out. Kristers Gudlevskis should have played in the “scheduled loss” at Washington and Vasy could have sat in another third period or two when his defense was imploding.

*There are a few reasons to use seven defensemen in the lineup occasionally - especially in a back-to-back situation. But Cooper does it too much. It leads to constant line switching and no flow. Several times, a forward has gone down when he has started seven D for no reason and they’ve had to go with 10 up front.

*His constant line adjusting has often been due to injuries, but sometimes needless changes have come after one or two losses. Last season, it seemed that the Drouin-Stamkos-Callahan line was off to a nice start and were growing together. One or two so-so games from the trio and they were broken up – never to skate together again.

*Koekkoek was solid when he first came up from Syracuse this season and his play dipped slightly after about 10 games. Instead of realizing young defensemen are going to have a few rough games from time to time and letting him play through it, the former first-round pick was benched. With him sitting for a few games, Yzerman felt the need to send Koekkoek down so he could play. There were way too many nights Lightning fans had to watch Nesterov make gaff after gaff with Koekkoek enjoying popcorn or skating in a Crunch sweater.

*There are times when he seems to make quick, inaccurate decisions on who is at fault on the ice. This might have cost the Lightning a game against the Bruins recently. Cooper and every Lightning fan were livid over the goal given up at the end of the second period that gave the hated Bears a lead. He seemed to blame the Boyle-Filppula-Drouin line that was on the ice and severely limited their ice time in the third period. But when you look at the play, most of the fault lied with Sustr and Garrison. Drouin was down the ice and came back to help, but David Krejci had carried the puck 1-on-4 into the zone way too easily. The two defensemen had every chance to make a play and didn’t. Sure, you can’t bench two defensemen and play with four the whole third period. But you needed Boyle and Drouin on the ice and they were not a factor in the third.

Cooper has won plenty of games and he’s been a good coach when you look at his entire resume. But it is not out of the question to think about a change. Lightning fans have reasons to come to that conclusion.

The message to Bolts fans after the “bye week” is this. Enjoy the final two months. It could bring you something special. It could bring a fresh change or an exciting new player.

Taking one year off from the playoffs may give you a half dozen postseasons in a row and the Cup in the near future. The frame of this team is solid. It just needs a touch up and some luck.

But Yzerman cannot sit on his hands the next weeks, no matter whether his team continues to munch points or not. He needs to think about the future.

Lightning Need to Find Answers Soon

By Mark Pukalo

It’s pretty easy to figure out the Tampa Bay Lightning’s biggest problems this season.

It’s not that difficult to name the many viable excuses for their position in the standings, either.

However, the best solutions for their dilemma are not going to be so simple to find.

The good news is the Bolts are just a few points out of a playoff spot with half a season to go. The bad news is they don’t look like a team just biding its time before making a big run. Honestly, they haven’t all season long – except for a few brief stretches.

It’s not just one thing, but it starts with the bottom four on defense. While the forwards have been inconsistent and not as interested defensively at times, the level of play from the five regular blue liners aside from Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman has not been good enough. Not even close. When the puck isn’t getting out of the zone efficiently, it does not allow the Lightning to use their speed and creativity. They look disjointed. Their energy is sapped.

So, what can they do?

Make a few minor trades? Change the coach? Make a big gutsy deal? Wait it out?

Right now, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is probably stuck with the fourth option while having a chance to get a look at some of his young players in the system. The difficult thing for him to consider is that if the Lightning can just get healthy enough and play a little better to sneak into the playoffs, the route to the Eastern Conference final is not all that difficult in the Atlantic Division. But if you just go with the same crew because they have gotten the job done before, you risk a lost season.

Yes, we’re talking about a 19-17-4 team here. In a way, that’s not too bad with all the injuries they have suffered. But the Lightning have higher expectations. Their fans do, too.

As critical as I have been of coach Jon Cooper at times, I’m not sure it’s fair to evaluate his performance this season with all the injuries he has had to deal with. His constant line shuffling and affection for Nikita Nesterov has been perplexing at times, but for the most part it has been the players who have not produced. Cooper should probably get at least the rest of the season to right the ship. … but, Gerard Gallant is out there.

Yzerman does not like to trade draft picks or players in their first two years with the team – except when there is a character issue like Anthony DeAngelo. That may have to change if he is going to fill the Bolts’ most pressing needs. They made some excellent picks the last two years, and giving up a No. 1 in the 2017 or 2018 draft won’t kill them if what’s coming back is substantial.

It is probably the time to make some type of minor or middling move just to shake things up. Pick up right-hand shot rearguard Frank Corrado from Toronto for a fifth-round pick or something similar to that? Make a serious play for right-hand D man Michael Stone (assuming he’s healthy) or even better Connor Murphy in Arizona? Dangle Vladislav Namestnikov to teams that might need center or skill up front? Offer veteran defenseman Jason Garrison cheap to clear cap space and acquire a younger No. 3-4 D man?

It’s all easy on paper. But it is very difficult in this day and age to make a trade with the salary cap – especially a major deal.

While I don’t believe Jacob Trouba has rescinded his trade demand, Winnipeg is not going to be in any rush to deal him as long as he’s in the lineup. They will wait for someone to blow them away. Trouba is the absolute perfect player for the Lightning to add. He’s a smooth, composed, a two-way defenseman who shoots right-handed. You could slip him nicely behind Stralman and Hedman on the blue line depth chart. But the Jets are probably asking for Jonathan Drouin and some of Tampa Bay’s top prospects. A package of Namestnikov, Dylan Blujus and a second-round pick won’t get it done. Aside from Drouin and perhaps Brayden Point, the “almost” untouchables are probably Dominik Masin, Taylor Raddysh, Brett Howden and Libor Hajek. I’m sure Yzerman would rather not deal Adam Erne or Mathieu Joseph at this time, either.

It doesn’t look as though the Blues are interested in trading Kevin Shattenkirk and Calgary isn’t dealing fellow defenseman Dougie Hamilton, either. While it’s not out of the question Colorado would trade Tyson Barrie, I’m not sure he’s the type of defenseman that would help Lightning right now. Yes, he could aid the offense but he is not all that good in his own end – which is the Bolts’ biggest weakness. While a legitimate power-play quarterback would be nice, they are third in the league with a man advantage without one this season. It’s possible someone like Cody Franson of Buffalo or Stone could help if the price is right.

Carolina has a host of defensemen, needs forwards to fill out its lineup and owns loads of cap space. Vancouver could use more depth up front, but might not have the right pieces (or want a center) to make a deal work for someone like Tyler Johnson – who is from Spokane, Wash. New Jersey also has plenty of cap space. No doubt, Yzerman is turning over every stone.

Goalie Ben Bishop becomes a major chip soon, but there only seems to be one logical destination for him – Dallas. The two problems are, the Stars would need to send a goalie back that makes at least $4.5 million for another year and they are probably not interested in trading major defense prospect Julius Honka or John Klingberg – a pair of righties.

By the way, Andrei Vasilevskiy is fine. He was outstanding in five of the first six games after Bishop went down and probably shouldn’t have started the Washington game when his team was out of gas. Vasy wasn’t good against Nashville on Thursday, but his teammates were downright awful in front of him against Winnipeg. There is no cap room for Bishop, Lightning fans. Live with it.

Yzerman must also think of the expansion draft. Not counting Namestnikov, there are nine forwards for seven spots on the list he must submit to keep – assuming there’s no deals between now and then. If Yzerman cannot get Ryan Callahan or Valtteri Filppula to waive their no-move clauses, they will have to be protected. Assuming that worst-case scenario, you likely add Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Drouin to make five. That leaves Ondrej Palat, Johnson, unrestricted free agent Brian Boyle and Alex Killorn for two spots – in my opinion. It would be hard to imagine Las Vegas taking Callahan with his injury concerns and big contract or Filppula with one year at $5 million left, so exposing the two forwards would allow them to stay and help the team long term. But it’s their decision. You could take a chance and expose Boyle, assuming that Vegas wouldn’t pick UFAs.

Evaluating the forwards this season is difficult. They have all been up and down – even Kucherov, who was a turnover machine last week against Toronto. Palat has had a rough season, but he is so versatile it’s hard to let him go. The thought of replacing Boyle after this season seems silly now. He’s so darn important to this team. You can complain about Killorn’s so-so play and his penalties occasionally, but he’s a big-game player and is on pace for a season high in goals. Filppula started the season strong, but has struggled lately. Johnson has been either really good or invisible. Drouin has been one of the best three forwards in probably 75 percent of the games, but turned the puck over a little too much lately. Cedric Paquette can’t stay healthy. J.T. Brown is a solid complimentary player you like to have around, but not necessarily vital. Namestnikov only seems to produce when he plays with Stamkos. They are all good, valuable players. But at some point you need change.

It’s time for Yzerman to make some moves. He’ll probably start small. But he must be bold eventually.

No doubt, there are a few huge decisions coming. They may hurt. They may disappoint fans who love certain players that head out of town. This franchise has the depth young talent to compete long term, though. That is the comforting thought during the most difficult stretch for the Lightning in four seasons.

"You're not going to see this team fold," Hedman said. "You're going to see this team rise to the occasion. We've seen it so many times before."

Bolts’ fans just have to hope solutions can he found this time.

Something is Missing with the Bolts

By Mark Pukalo

Let’s be honest. Aren’t you a little worried about the Tampa Bay Lightning from what you have seen through the first month of the season?

The numbers don’t lie. The Lightning would be a .500 team without the three games against the New York Islanders – the first of which the former Fish Sticks looked about as interested in playing as going to the dentist. Don’t forget they were also rescued by a miraculous shot by captain Steven Stamkos in the final seconds of regulation in a win against Florida at home.

Perhaps our expectations are too high this early in the season, but there just seems to be something missing. Oh yes, there are excuses. The Bolts haven’t had Jonathan Drouin the last five games, heart and soul Ryan Callahan was not here for the first 10 and top-pair defenseman Anton Stralman has been battling injuries since the start of the season. There is enough talent in the lineup to play better though, and they are not – on a consistent basis.

There have been periods in which they have looked like the Lightning of the past few seasons. They were solid in the win at Ottawa and took control in the second and third periods against New Jersey at home. They scored seven goals at Toronto, thanks in part to Frederik Andersen, but got outplayed for more than half the game. Monday's victory against the Islanders was a good sign, but Andrei Vasilevskiy had to be too good again.

No doubt, even the best teams can’t play great every night. But there seems to be a stale nature to their play at times. They fall back into old habits – overpassing, no-look clears – more often. Perhaps, it is mental. With almost the same roster the last two-plus years, even in bad times they feel that it’s just going to happen for them. Because, it almost always seems to work out. The great thing about this team the previous two seasons is they have often responded to a bad stretch with a winning streak. Unfortunately, at some point, it may not happen.

It’s not time to panic. It’s just getting to a point where GM Steve Yzerman has to sit down with his staff and seriously evaluate his roster. Does it need a minor shake up to add a spark? Do they have to overpay slightly to go out and get a top-four defenseman, preferably on the right side?

Brayden Point becoming an true NHL player one year ahead of expected has given the Lightning the ability to move a forward for a defenseman. No one is going to want to deal for Valtteri Filppula, and I’m not sure he isn’t needed through this season after watching him raise his game a bit through the first 15 games. Yzerman must make a decision on Vladislav Namestnikov. Is he continuing to get better? Or is this what he is? Vladdy is a good hockey player and a smart young man. He has value. But he could be a nice trading chip as well.

Yzerman also must decide what he has on the back end. Victor Hedman is an elite defenseman and Stralman is a perfect complement. But when the forwards are not playing at their top level for the Lightning, their bottom four defensemen are exposed. Slater Koekkoek might be a top-four defenseman, but we’re not 100 percent sure are we? Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn are solid veteran rearguards. Andrej Sustr even has his moments. But when your second “shutdown” pair is Garrison-Sustr, that just may not be good enough in the long run. That duo was spun in circles by the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

The other concern is will we ever see the Tyler Johnson of two seasons ago again? The Bolts second-line center has had a few productive games, but has been a ghost in others. It may be time for coach Jon Cooper to just put the Triplets back together and let them go.

Top-four defensemen are not growing in the orange groves in Florida. They are hard to get -- because, the really good ones are either expensive to pay or to acquire. Two right-hand shooters might be available and they are both young – Dougie Hamilton of Calgary and Jacob Trouba of Winnipeg. Word is that Trouba was coveted by the Lightning on draft day and went just before they picked Koekkoek. St. Louis’ Kevin Shattenkirk could be a rental down the road. I have no doubt Yzerman has been on the phone working on improving his defense. At some point, he may have to trade some high picks and/or a prospect to get something done.

Something makes me believe Ben Bishop is here until the end of the season and will leave as a free agent. But there is always potential that the Dallas Stars will find a way to make it worthwhile that the Lightning deal the big goaltender to them.

Plenty can happen. There is time, but if the Lightning come home from this road trip at less than 3-1-1, Yzerman may have to do something. The Eastern Conference is too competitive. Perhaps the 2016-17 Bolts won’t be able to just turn it on when they need it.