Lightning G Antero Niittymaki has shunned the artistic interpretations of dragons and bikini-clad women generally found on the side of goaltenders' masks for one of the usual suspects: former Chicago gangster Frank Nitti. This is not a homage to the thug life as much as part of a joke started by Ken Hitchcock, Niittymaki's coach with the Flyers. It was natural that Niittymaki would be called Niitty by his teammates, but Hitchcock, a history buff, started calling him Frank — Frank Nitti, get it? "Some people still call me Frank, and that's where it came from," Niittymaki said. The mask portrait shows Nitti firing a gun. "I mean, he killed everybody. He wasn't a great guy," Niittymaki said. "It's just because of my name. People call me that, so I thought it would be cool."
Table-top fun
What do some Lightning players do after practice?
Play pingpong. And it's quite a competition. As of Friday, LW Stephane Veilleux topped the rankings, with LW Ryan Malone a close second, followed by C Vinny Lecavalier and G Mike Smith. Veilleux said he began playing as a warmup for his high school tennis matches.
"He's the undisputed champion," Malone said. "He's a complete player. He's got the forehand and the backhand."
Veilleux praised Malone as well, and actually predicted his teammate would beat him — at some point.
"It's a long season," he said. Responded Malone: "I will be No. 1 before the season is over."
5 questions C Zenon Konopka
How was pumpkin carving at the Children's Home in Tampa? It was great. It's been a few years since I carved pumpkins.
How did it come out? I tried my best. I don't know if I had the prettiest pumpkin.
Bring back memories? It was fun for us, kind of get back to our roots and remembering your childhood.
Did you do intricate designs back home? No, I kept it pretty simple.
What's the key to doing it right? I would say patience and time, and I'm not very good at either.
Quote to note
"I think there's another level, or crank the volume up a little more. We have potential on this team. I think there are certain guys who have not played to how they want to play and how we want them to play."
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