Advertisement

Lightning Nuts and Bolts

 
Tampa Bay Times
Published Oct. 20, 2013

30 seconds with …

Defenseman Eric Brewer

Late-night snack: Raisin Bran

Musician you would like to play with: Garth Brooks

TV show you like to watch with your kids: Sofia the First

If you could have dinner with anyone: My dad, 'cause he lives a continent away and you never get enough time.

Celebrity crush when you were growing up: Cindy Crawford. That Pepsi commercial — 30 seconds that changed the world.

Helping hand

In one of the strangest situations this season, referee Gord Dwyer gave Lightning center Steven Stamkos a push to the bench when one of Stamkos' skate blades dislodged during the third period of the Oct. 12 game against the Penguins.

When Stamkos made it to the bench, he was replaced by Tyler Johnson, who assisted on Alex Killorn's goal that tied the score 4-4 with 3:02 remaining.

The Penguins won 5-4, but still, "I know the Pittsburgh bench was losing its mind, and we ended up scoring, too," Stamkos said. "I'm sure if we ended up winning the game, it would have been a little more."

There is no rule against what Dwyer did. Still, Stamkos trying to stand after his flat tire and Dwyer shoving him across the ice with Stamkos on one skate was quite a sight.

"I had never been in a situation like that before," Stamkos said. "He saw I couldn't move. He said, 'You want a push?' I was, like, 'Sure.' A weird situation."

R and R

One of the things Darryl Sydor remembers most about the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup run was the team housing the players at a hotel across from the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

"It was a mental break," said the former defenseman, now a Wild assistant. "One thing about playing in Florida, you leave the rink and mentally recharge yourself. You come in and it's business, but when you leave, boom, you don't think about hockey as much as you do in some of your hotbeds."

Damian Cristodero, Times staff writer

Quote to note

"They got some guy on defense there who plays 75 minutes in a 60-minute game, just a horse back there."

Lightning coach Jon Cooper, on Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, who averages a league-most 29:01 of ice time

Number of the day

8 Players with 900 points for a team other than the one with which they debuted: Johnny Bucyk (Bruins), Marcel Dionne (Kings), Phil Esposito (Bruins), Wayne Gretzky (Kings), Brett Hull (Blues), Marty St. Louis (Lightning), Teemu Selanne (Ducks) and Mats Sundin (Maple Leafs).