All Departments Players harbor playoff hopes Familiarity with coach Steve Ludzik's system and a pair of eager goaltenders raise hopes high in Lightning camp. A formidable gap. He then declared with a straight face that the gap can be overcome. Last year we had 19 wins and Buffalo had 35, so we have to go for 40 or 50. Every game we have to play to win.
Every game has to be do or die.
We have great team spirit, and I think we can do it. We just have to understand what we're going to accomplish by playing together right from the beginning. Svoboda's reasons for optimism are varied. Much of the team has a year of coach Steve Ludzik's system under its belt. Everyone is a year older and the goaltending pairing of Dan Cloutier and Kevin Weekes has the potential, if it gets hot, to lift the entire squad.