By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2010
TAMPA — Coach Guy Boucher has said a key to G Dan Ellis playing well throughout a recent stretch of five straight starts is his improved positioning in net.
And Ellis, who is 3-1-1 in his past five games with a 2.33 goals-against average, couldn't agree more.
"It's a night-and-day difference," Ellis said. "I was playing the whole first half of the season thinking about where I was. I started out being deep (in the crease), then I went out high, then I just said, 'You know what? I can't play where I'm not used to.' So I got back to playing my own distances and stuff. You know where the pucks are around you.
"When you're changing that, it's a huge adjustment that people don't think of, and you don't always get the results you want. So I've been getting back to my comfort zone in positioning and stuff and have felt a lot better and been able to put up better results."
Though Ellis would like to have some shots back, including the winner by the Bruins' Mark Recchi on Tuesday, he believes the string of consecutive starts helped him develop a comfort zone.
"The more you get in, the more rhythm you get," he said. "The legs and conditioning all get stronger, and you kind of roll with it from game to game."
MEDICAL MATTERS: RW Steve Downie (high ankle sprain) skated with the team Thursday for the first time since sustaining the injury Dec. 2. Boucher said there's a "high probability" he could be ready to play in a game on next week's road trip to Washington and Pittsburgh.
Downie said it was fun being back on the ice with his teammates but acknowledged he needs more hard practices to get his legs back into game shape.
"No matter what you say, I was in a cast for a week. I've been in a (walking boot)," Downie said. "My legs have got to come. It won't take too long, but I definitely need some time to get skating; some more hard practices. Time will tell."
THANK YOU: Rookie G Cedrick Desjardins was gracious before making his NHL debut against the Canadiens on Thursday even though he never got a call-up during the four seasons he spent in the organization.
"I respect Montreal. It's one of the greatest organizations in the league," Desjardins said. "They were the only team that gave me a chance when I was 20 years old, and I'll always be thankful for them as well. I never played for them, really, but … I had a great time there, met great people."
MISCELLANY: D Pavel Kubina's second-period goal gave him the most goals by a defenseman in franchise history (67), passing Dan Boyle. … D Randy Jones returned to the lineup after missing one game due to an upper-body injury. The Lightning went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen with D Matt Smaby in and C Mattias Ritola a scratch.
Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@sptimes.com.
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