Under the Spotlight... Tampa Bay Lightning

It's very difficult, being a British fan of ice-hockey, to write about it. Not very many people understand it. With that in mind this attempt to educate those reading it on the Tampa Bay Lightning will try and stay simple.

That provides a problem. The Lightning are anything but a simple concept. Based deep down in sunny Florida, at the St. Pete Times Forum (named after the St. Petersburg Times, a Tampa broadsheet), the Lightning are an improbabile proposition that has thrived in recent history.

Founded in a 1992 NHL expansion after being awarded a Franchise in the late eighties, the Lightning were managed by legendary hall-of-famer Phil Esposito for their first six years. They would achieve very respectable results in this time, far exceeding the achievements of fellow '92 expansion team Ottawa Senators.

The Bolts, as they are commonly known, reached the Stanley Cup play-offs for the first time in the 1995-96 season, although they would lose in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers by four game to two. Starring for the Lightning was all-star Roman Hamrlik, who was the Lightning's first ever draft pick in the inaugural season.

The next season saw the Bolts move into St. Pete's Times Forum (then known as the Ice Palace), but it would be seven years until the new Arena saw playoff hockey.

During this time, Tampa acquired Vincent Lecavalier first overall in the 1998 draft, who after just two seasons with the Lightning became captain aged just 19, an NHL record at the time.. He would later lose the captaincy in 2001 after a clash with head coach John Tortorella, but Lecavalier became the central figure for the Lightning's success.

Alongside him, Brad Richards, his boyhood friend, was becoming a force to be reckoned with, along with Martin St. Louis, who went undrafted in 1998.

The three combined with winger Fredrik Modin and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin to shock the NHL by winning the South-East division in the 2002-2003 season, and beating 90 points for the first time. They would lose to the eventual Stanley Cup winners New Jersey Devils in the conference semi-finals, but set a benchmark to beat the next season. They crushed it.

Beating 100 points for the first (and only) time with 106, only Detroit scoring more, the Bolts surged into the play-offs, thanks in no small part to a great season from Martin St. Louis, who bagged the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player.

They beat the Islanders in the first round of the play-offs, then Montreal in the next before reaching the finals with a four games to three series win over Philadelphia Flyers. They faced Calgary Flames, led by future hall-of-famer Jarome Iginla, and prevailed four games to three, winning game seven 2-1, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in Franchise history. Brad Richards was the post-season hero, his 26 post-season points crucial.

It was a remarkable victory for a very unfancied team, the Stanley Cup win a result of ten years of planning, of developing the team's key stars and working around them. It gave veteran Dave Andreychuk his first Stanley Cup win after 22 years in the NHL.

The next season was the infamous NHL lockout, where contractual and rule disputes resulted in no hockey being played, and when the champion Bolts returned to the ice for the 2005-06 season the hockey scene had changed greatly. The Lightning squeezed into the play-offs but went out in the first round to the team who they were founded alongside, Ottawa.

The following seasons have seen the departure of 2004's hero Brad Richards, and whilst Lecavalier and St. Louis have chipped in with decent points totals since, they've struggled to find the form they were once capable of.

The future, however, is bright. The recent low finished has resulted in high draft picks, and young livewire Steven Stamkos is slotting in nicely, currently on a fifteen game point streak, and defenceman Victor Hedman was picked up as second pick in 2009.

The Lightning may be in a slump at the moment, but the form shown by the first generation of stars and the new kids of block before the Olympic break tells the story, expect to see the Bolts move towards a second cup soon.

Can Russia Crash the Canadian Party?

Anybody watching the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics, or reading the stream of coverage emanating from the BBC, will know that of all the medals up for grabs, the one they really want Gold in is the Men's Ice Hockey tournament.

Vancouver very much expects Team Canada, led by Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, to deliver Gold. However whilst the Canadians appear to be the bookies favourites, a very strong challenge will come from the team that beat them in Turin's Bronze medal game, Russia.

The Russian set-up is by far the most intriguing out there. Centric around the stars of Russian Hockey, expect to see a team strong in the top lines, but with an Achilles Heel evident in it's lack of depth.

When it comes to the forwards, Canada are certainly matched. Megastar Alex Ovechkin will battle for the honour of being the teams top scorer with Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeni Malkin from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Malkins involvement could well hand the Games it's major story. Should the much vaunted final between Canada and Russia actually take place, then the clash of Pittsburgh's two top centers could be the focus of the media. Malkin will want to prove to Pittsburgh that he is is the top center, and not his club captain Sidney Crosby. What better way to do it than on the biggest stage of them all, and on Canadian territory.

Support comes in three-time all-star Ilya Kovalchuk, recently traded to the New Jersey Devils, and Ovechkin's Caps teammate Alexander Semin, who had scored north of 70 points in two NHL seasons.

Completing a triumvirate of Capitals we also see Semyon Varlamov filling a spot as third goalie, behind Evgeni Nabokov from San Jose and Ilya Bryzgalov from the Phoenix Coyotes. Nabokov has been a stalwart for the Sharks for ten years now, and flies to Vancouver as favourite to fill the net for the Russians.

In front of him will be veteran Sergei Gonchar, who faces his last Olympics at the age of 35, and will be keen to add to last year's Stanley Cup success with the Penguins.

The rest of the squad is a bit thin on top level experience, many of the lower lines will be occupied by players from the Russian Leagues. Don't expect them to be hapless though, the league has a great reputation, and many NHL stars moved out there to compete during the famous NHL lockout of the mid-2000s.

Overall, we can expect the Russian team to be very high scoring. Imagine taking a penalty and seeing Datsyuk, Ovechkin and Malkin all climbing over the boards for the Powerplay. Whoever wins the battle between Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur to take the net for Canada will be having nightmares at the prospect.