The white flag has been raised and the end is nigh. For the Tampa Bay Lightning, the season came to a close at the Olympic Break, when changes in coaching staff and inactivity at the deadline ruined team chemistry and sent the hockey club into a tailspin they could not recover.
With a 5-2 shellacking at the hands of their rivals, the Florida Panthers, the Lightning lost their fifth straight and fell to 2-8-1 since the two week sabbatical and 2-11-1 in their last 14.
During the break, General Manager Brian Lawton fired a popular assistant coach, then failed to secure a puck moving defensemen at the deadline, making only one minor deal for an underachieving winger.
The fissure between Head Coach Rick Tocchet and Lawton widened as Tocchet felt undermined by his General Manager's move on ass ...
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Article written by JC De La Torre
Tampa Bay Lightning’s Post Season Hopes Doomed By Post Olympic Break Swoon
Posted: 22nd March 2010 by JC De La Torre in NHLComments Off on Tampa Bay Lightning’s Post Season Hopes Doomed By Post Olympic Break Swoon