From: wilson@cs.ucf.edu (tom wilson)
Subject: LIGHTNING NEWS: Minnesota vs. TB 11/19
Organization: University of Central Florida, Orlando
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 07:51:13 GMT

MIN - 3 1 0 - 4
TB  - 0 0 1 - 1

1 - MIN Craig 7    (Modano, McPhee)     0:13
    MIN Duchesne 7 (Courtnall, Broten)  1:06
    MIN B. Smith 2 (Tinordi, McPhee)    7:32 (pp)

2 - MIN Broten 3   (McPhee)             4:50

3 - TB  Bradley 13                     12:09

Shots on goal: MIN 16-13- 6--35
               TB  11-14-14--39
Power plays:   MIN 1 of 2
               TB  0 of 6
Goalies:       MIN Casey 9-5-2, 39 shots, 38 saves
               TB  Jablonski 6-4-2, 19 shots, 15 saves
                   Young, 4:50 2nd, 16 shots, 16 saves
Attendance:    9,278

-----

* North Stars give Lightning a lesson

History, be it brief as in the case of Tampa Bay's fledgling NHL franchise,
would show the team that has done the most of the early ambushing at Expo Hall
has been the Lightning.

Thursday, in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota North Stars, the Lightning were the
team ambushed. About one minute was all it took, and Tampa Bay was left seeing
stars.

Two goals in the game's first 66 seconds provided Minnesota an early edge and,
with Jon Casey (38 saves) playing strongly in the goal, the 59 minutes that
followed seemed little more than a formality.

Yes, this was a drubbing, expansion-style, the kind the Ottawa Senators have
been receiving on a regular basis and the kind Tampa Bay (9-11-2) had avoided.
It was easily the most lopsided of Tampa Bay's 11 defeats, and the team must
embark on a five-game road swing with nary a ripple of momentum.

"Some guys tonight took the night off, and we can't afford that," Tampa Bay
Terry Crisp said. "We cannot win individually. We cannot have anybody on a
given night take the night off, because we're built in a way that if you take
one card out of that house, it will fall down."

After winning its first two games of a five-game homestand, Tampa Bay has
dropped its last three, and Thursday's loss leaves it in fifth place in the
Norris Division. Minnesota is 10-8-2 and has the best road record (5-5-0) in
the Norris.

With the fresh ice surface hardly nicked by skate blades and many in a crowd
of 9,278 still getting seated, the Lightning twice left Minnesota forwards
alone in front of the net and paid and early -- not to mention HEAVY -- price.

Mike Craig and Gaetan Duchesne each scored on backhand shots from close range,
and 66 seconds into the game, Tampa Bay was in dire trouble.

"We got a couple of early breaks on our first couple of shifts, and I was
surprised we got ahead, 3-0, so early," said Minnesota's Neal Broten, who had
a goal and an assist. "I thought they were a little flat at first. They weren't
at the top of their game."

Believe in omens? Minnesota is unbeaten in the last 23 games in which it gets
a goal from Duchesne, so one could say things were looking bleak for the
Lightning.

And if the early 2-0 wake-up call wasn't reason enough to deflate team spirits,
then a pair of sparkling, first-period power-play opportunities the Lightning
failed to capitalize upon certainly did.

The Lightning failed to score on a 5-on-3 advantage when they trailed 2-0, and
later in the period, after Bobby Smith had tacked on a third goal for
Minnesota, Tampa Bay could not get the puck past Casey on a 5-minute power
play.

Minnesota's Shane Churla received a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for
checking Tampa Bay's Ken Hodge from behind, but the Lightning did not make the
Stars pay. In fact, Casey was hardly tested in the spell.

At the other end, Tampa Bay's Pat Jablonski had his hands full. Jablonski, who
was 5-1-1 in his last 7 starts, faced 19 shots and had 15 saves.

Tampa Bay averted the shutout with 7:51 left on a great individual effort by
center Brian Bradley. Bradley split two defenders and, as he fell to the ice in
the slot, took a desparate whack at the puck, knocking it between Casey's pads.

The goal kept Bradley's points streak alive at 10 consecutive games and
provided a spark of optimism on a night that featured few others.

Tom