Going into the 23rd game of the season, the lightning will be icing a fully healthy team for the first time since opening night against the avalanch this evening. It will be exciting to see what they can do while everyone is healthy. However, in a somewhat surprising move Jon Quick will not be getting the start this evening as we are hoping to avoid fatigue at later dates and hopefully still be able to sneak out a win against a rebuilding team in colorado.

At just a little bit over the quarter point of the season the lightning are sitting with a 10-10-2 record and are 3 points out of a playoff spot. We are very happy with the record, however we feel it may be a little big misleading. Although we do have some very nice pieces in the lineup, we are not fooling ourselves to believe that we are a playoff team. If the team stays at a .500 pace and has a chance to make the playoffs, then great! However, at the end of the day, we have a goal of puting a real solid contender for multiple years together and if come the trade deadline and teams are making solid youthful offers on our vets, we won't be afraid to pull the trigger. I will say this though, if the players decide to play out of their mind from now until the deadline and are comfortably in a playoff spot and not hovering around one, I guarenty I will give them a chance to stay together and see what they can do in the playoffs!