Lightning Nuts & Bolts

30 seconds with …

LW Ondrej Palat

Best thing you can cook: Goulash with dumplings, my mom's recipe.

Favorite breakfast food: Oatmeal

Something you are scared of: Bugs and spiders

Favorite TV show: Dexter

Celebrity crush: Jennifer Aniston

Charitable giving

One of the nicest moments of Vinny Lecavalier's first visit to Tampa since he was bought out of his Lightning contract and signed with the Flyers was him being named a Community Hero during Wednesday's game. That came with a $50,000 donation from the Lightning to the Vinny Lecavalier Foundation.

"It's unreal," Lecavalier said. "I don't even know what to say. It's just a great honor. Everyone knows how I feel about Tampa. It's a great community. I have to thank the Lightning for that."

Lecavalier, who left in the offseason, is well-known for his charitable work in the Tampa Bay area. He donated $3 million through his foundation to help build the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.

But he also gave his time.

"When I go to the hospital and see these kids, they teach me just by being with them, just how strong they are," he said. "They've been through so much, and they're still smiling."

Good times

Asked about something he particularly misses about playing with the Lightning, Vinny Lecavalier talked about the one-on-one puck battles he used to have with Marty St. Louis during practices.

"Playing one-on-ones in practice, we just couldn't stop laughing," Lecavalier said. "That's just the way it was."

It was like that, St. Louis said, because Lecavalier is 6 feet 4 and St. Louis is, as he said, "5-foot-8, whatever."

"It was pretty comical," St. Louis said. "I miss that. I do. Those were fun."

Quote to note

"It was just really good to see him. You see Vinny, you get good feelings. Vinny's a guy you want to walk up to and say, 'Hi, how are you? How are things?' "

Jon Cooper, Lightning coach, on former Tampa Bay captain Vinny Lecavalier's return with the Flyers on Wednesday

Stat of the day

Victor Hedman on Monday became the first NHL defenseman this season, and eighth Lightning defenseman all time (Dan Boyle did it twice), to have a three-point game with two goals, Stats Inc. says.