Let's regain some perspective here....

I've been reading all morning about the Lightning's 8 am practice, and how most of the local media is ready to scrap the season - all after last night's game. Personally, I don't get it. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't think it's all that bad right now. It's not great, but it's certainly not rock bottom, either.

Let me try to put it all in perspective. Right now, the Lightning are 9 points out of playoffs in the standings. Not just 9 points out of 8th, but 9 points out of 3rd - that's right, they can still win the Southeast Division. Besides that, they still have 36 games left in the season - and 12 of those against Southeast Division teams.

Sure, if they keep on playing inconsistently, they're not going to make it. But, really - 9 points out and 36 games left to go? With Dan Boyle coming back in the next week or so? I think it's still a little early to be pulling the plug on these guys.

As for last night's game, I honestly think they played alright. Really, the only thing they didn't do was shoot the puck. They were skating, hitting, winning faceoffs - the whole bit. Yeah, they were shut out, but they did have 22 shots in the third. Let's give Theodore a little credit here - he played an outstanding third period. The way Theodore played the third, who's to say that the Lightning would've gotten anything the rest of the game anyway?

My only problem with the game last night was the lack of shooting. That's it. And the score, of course - but that goes without saying. It's my personal belief that at least the forwards ought to be getting 3 shots on goal every game - legitimate shots on goal, too, not just attempts. But I'm not the coach, so it's not for me to be making that call.

So, seriously, let's all take a step back, take a deep breath, and support these guys. There's still time to turn things around. Trust me.

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