It's hard to believe sometimes that it's only been four years since the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup.

The years since then have been rough on the Lightning and their fans. First off, it was anything but fair for the faithful in Tampa to have to wait a whole extra year before they got to scream their lungs out as the championship banner was raised to the rafters after the lockout.

But it's been all downhill since then, with salary cap considerations forcing painful changes to the lineup as the team fell in the standings. The coup de grace came just a few weeks ago as the team was forced to deal former Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards as the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

But help is on the way now that the Lightning have won the draft lottery and won the right to pick first in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. But while everyone in the hockey world has known that Steve Stamkos was the presumptive #1 pick for some time now, getting that message out to a non-traditional market like Tampa can be something of a challenge.

The solution? The Lightning have gone viral.

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

It may not be much of a made for TV event, and especially not when the outcome's as predictable as it was, but don't let anyone tell you the NHL's lottery draft is an insignificant happening.

Those little lottery balls can determine the course of a franchise, who gets a stud or a dud, a process that can result in millions of dollars and reshape the fortunes of a team down on its luck.

Just take the 2004 draft.

In 2003-04, the two worst teams in the league were Pittsburgh and Chicago, and between the two of them, they had nearly a 70-per-cent chance of drafting first overall.

That didn't happen, the balls went third-place Washington's way, and Alex Ovechkin became a Capital.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had a 48.8-percent chance of winning the NHL Draft Lottery; yet given the year they've had, GM Jay Feaster told the St. Pete Times that there was "no way in hell" the Bolts would snag the top pick. Reverse psychology appears to work on Lady Luck, as the Lightning were announced tonight as owners of the top pick in the draft this June in Ottawa.

The prize of the draft class is Steve Stamkos from the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League -- a center whose two-way game has scouts drooling. Times beat writer Damian Cristodero quotes Dave Andreychuk, who represented Tampa Bay at the lottery and seems to indicate the Bolts are ready to make Stamkos the Malkin to Vinny's Sidney up the middle. It sure doesn't sound like Tampa is looking for a mini-Lindros deal to fill some of its considerable holes:

"As an organization we're very happy. We have a kid who is going to be a superstar. We're excited. We're really looking forward to that."

Check out more draft coverage from the NHL and more on Stamkos in our coverage of the phenom last year. TSN polled some scouts before the lottery and found Stamkos was still atop their draft boards; New York native and Peterborough Pete defenseman Zach Bogosian was No. 2. That pick belongs to the Los Angeles Kings; Rich Hammond of Inside the Kings is running a poll to see which player Kings fans would like to see taken second overall. Bogosian trails offensive defenseman Drew Doughty in the early voting.

UPDATE: Hammond has some late comments from Kings GM Dean Lombardi, who seems to be influenced by a certain franchise in Anaheim when it comes to building a champion with quality defensemen.

Interesting story in the Tampa Bay Business Journal today (h/t The Biz of Hockey) regarding Miami Air International, the carrier that charters road trips for the Lightning, the Miami Heat, Florida Marlins, Florida Panthers and other professional and college teams. Last Thursday, 84 percent of the ballots cast by crewmembers approved a strike against the company; a battle over wages and benefits has continued for 18 months. The strike, however, shouldn't affect the Lightning, as the Journal explained:

The Lightning has one road trip remaining after tomorrow's return from Fort Lauderdale. The team is scheduled to fly on April 1 to play Carolina, Washington and Atlanta, returning on April 5. Miami Air assured the team that any action from the union would come after the Lightning season ends, said Bill Wickett, team spokesman.

You'd expect the same courtesy to be extended to the Panthers, who travel to Tampa Bay on Tuesday and have the same trio of stops as the Lightning in April. But should Florida make the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- and the Panthers are three points out as of Monday -- they'll certainly be traveling north (and perhaps over the border) for the first round. Will the crewmembers wait it out? If a strike hits, I imagine the Panthers will make other air arrangements ... then again, as "Slap Shot" taught us, nothing builds team unity better than a few days on the old team bus. Hey, if it's good enough for the Niagara Ice Dogs, it should be good enough for the Florida Panthers.

After Andre Roy went bat-poop crazy during a game against the Flyers earlier this month, Tampa Bay general manager Jay Feaster announced the 33-year-old enforcer would be sent home for a week as the team's "internal discussions and overall review continues" regarding that incident and others involving Roy this season. Well, the banishment is over, and Roy was scheduled to return to practice today with the Lightning. This begs the question: Why?

Why, when Tampa Bay's season has had a fork in it for weeks, is Roy even being considered for a slot in the lineup? Why, after blowing his stack in Philly and "also other situations that have taken place this season involving Andre" according to Feaster, does Roy come back? The most obvious answer is for a further audition: He's got one more year left on his deal at $1 million per season; if the Bolts want him out of town, it doesn't do Tampa any good if he ends the season stewing at home rather than showing an iota of professional competence on the ice.

The more complicated answer is that no matter how crazy Andre Roy might have become, his teammates won't hold it against him.

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

As the playoffs near, NHL hockey typically gets more conservative as standings points become dearer, and last night was a good example. Of the five games played, four of them went into overtime, two on the strength of last-minute tying goals. Nine of the ten teams came away with standings points, which will agitate some idle teams, but at least it presented a good opportunity for some heroics. Who was willing to step up and grab that extra point?

In New Jersey, that hero was Patrik Elias, who fired a shot past Lightning goaltender Karri Ramo in the final minute of 4-on-4 overtime. The 2-1 overtime win helped the Devils vault over the idle Canadiens and Penguins into the top spot in the eastern conference, and the overtime loss pulled the Lightning out of a last place tie with the Los Angeles Kings.

Sean McCormick of Sportsnet.ca doesn't like the NHL's scoring system and its "charity point" for losing in overtime or in a shootout. While I can appreciate that three-point games make it tougher to gain ground in the standings, I do support that the system rewards a team's 5-on-5 results. Points act as a playoff qualifier, and it makes sense that they reward teams that are playing the best regulation hockey. How a team performs in 60 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey should matter more in determining playoff pedigree than a team's 4-on-4 or shootout success.

After the break: Four more one-goal games further complicate the standings, plus what will the Ducks do without Corey Perry? (My guess is they'll dive less.)

With just about everyone still staring with jaws agape at Alex Ovechkin's one period hat trick last night, another story seems to be slipping under the radar. Why has everyone else neglected to notice that the best player in hockey is returning to the ice in a few hours?

Sidelined with a high ankle sprain since January 18, Sidney Crosby will return to action tonight in Tampa Bay when the Penguins face the Lightning. Coincidentally, Crosby was injured in Pittsburgh in a game against Tampa Bay after taking a hit from Paul Ranger and falling awkwardly into the boards.

Safe to say, more than a few things have changed in his absence.

When a Toronto newspaper runs a headlines that reads "Tortorella: 'I don't know who Mike Smith is,'" the automatic assumption is that the most outspoken coach in the NHL has placed foot into mouth. But the thing about Torts -- besides the striking Winkler resemblance -- is that there's usually truth behind the bombast: From his criticism that rules changes have created a "ballet" in the NHL to his infamous run-in with Larry Brooks of the NY Post.

His comments about Smith, acquired by Tampa Bay in the Brad Richards trade, fit the same mold. On the surface, they might seem insulting to a 25-year-old that has a 2.36 GAA in 45 career games; taken in context, the full quote makes perfect sense coming from a coach that's been burned by every goalie he's seen try to fill Nikolai Khabibulin's skates (*cough* Marc Denis *cough*). "I don't know who Mike Smith is. Maybe some time next year you can talk to me," he told the Globe & Mail. "I talked to so many people about Smith and they tout him as a guy who can do the job. But he's never done it before so there's always risk, we understand that."

Even if you don't believe Tortorella is an outstanding coach -- and even though he has a Cup ring -- there's always something refreshing about his candor. Like, for example, when someone asked him if his personality could affect his job security with the Lightning's new ownership:

"That's part of the business. Listen, I'm not going to do my job to please people. My job is to do the job the correct way, and I'm going to stay with the way I feel it's supposed to be done. And people above, (if) they don't like it, get me the hell out because I'm not going to change as far as what I think is best for the hockey team. It is never been, will be a popularity contest for me. I work for the team to push the players, to make the team the best they possibly can. If people don't like how I'm doing it, or if I'm doing it, they can move me on."

So far, so good for Tampa Bay GM Jay Feaster and pending owner Oren Koules: Salary dumped, depth built and perhaps a goaltender found. The Bolts found a taker for Brad Richards and his contact in Dallas, as the trade reported this morning by Ross McKeon of Yahoo! Sports has come to pass and was expanded: Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and Mike Smith from Dallas for Richards and goalie Johan Holmqvist. Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail provides perspective:

Richards ended up with the Dallas Stars, after the Columbus Blue Jackets wouldn't put goaltender Pascal LeClaire in the deal, a tipping point for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who needed a goalie going back and not a prospect a la Steve Mason or Cory Schneider, both of whom have a big upside but aren't ready to make a difference at the NHL level just yet.

Tampa Bay is doing exactly what it needs to do at this deadline. Smith could be the solution between the pipes, Jussi Jokinen is the kind of depth player this team needs to go beyond one good line every season, and the salary it cleared will allow the new ownership -- should it choose to spend the money -- to find a cheaper alternative at center than Richards. As for Dallas, it's like I said on Deadspin this morning: If the Stars have unable to pair Modano with a winger to get him going, how on Earth do they expect Richards to light it up? He's not a self-starter.
Three Milburys. I don't like Richards on the Stars. It's an odd fit. But I think the Bolts have made a smart, economically sound move here for some depth and the kind of goalie they'd be in the market for this off-season anyway. Mike Smith on TSN: "It's mixed feelings ... in the long run, it's going to be best for me and my future in the NHL."