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Concussions, repercussions

New Lightning right wing Shane Willis tries to convince doubters that he has shaken off the effects of two brutal hits.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 8, 2002

TAMPA -- There are concussions and then there are concussions.

Shane Willis had two of the second kind in eight months. Maybe you saw them occur. You would remember if you did.

New Jersey's Scott Stevens caused the first in Game 2 of last season's Eastern Conference quarterfinals in April with a brutal but clean hit that caught Willis with his head down as he skated into the offensive zone.

The Hurricanes right wing was out on his feet and hit the ice with his face. He missed the rest of the six-game series.

The second came Nov. 9 courtesy of a vicious elbow from San Jose's Bryan Marchment. The dirty hit earned the defenseman a six-game suspension. Willis wasn't knocked out but was knocked to the ice, clearly dazed, and missed two games.

Willis, 24, who came to the Lightning on Tuesday with left wing Chris Dingman in exchange for goaltender Kevin Weekes, knows the talk is he hasn't been the same since those hits.

He knows they will not go away until he gets his game back to at least the level he enjoyed last season, when his 20 goals put him one behind Tampa Bay's Brad Richards for the rookie lead.

Even Willis said he has battled to overcome the unseen bruises that haven't healed as quickly as the two black eyes he got from Stevens' jolt.

"You're always trying to work through it," the Edmonton native said Thursday. "You don't want to get to a point you're not going in there tough or hard. If you do that, you start losing your edge."

It is an edge that will be invaluable considering coach John Tortorella's insistence his players battle along the boards and play with "desperation," a part of the game that has improved considerably of late.

It is an edge that was visible in tantalizing spurts, along with his great speed and sizzling shot, in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Oilers.

"One thing you can see with Shane, he has some good offensive instincts," Tortorella said. "He moved the puck very well and made three very good plays. We know he has those instincts. We want him to fall in line as far as the desperation of the game."

Willis had seven goals and 10 assists in 59 games for Carolina. A couple of factors contributed to his decline in production.

He missed three games coming out of training camp with a sore back. And he was pushed to the third line and lost ice time because of the exceptional play of rookie wing Erik Cole.

Willis was out of position on the third line, usually a checking unit. He played on center Vinny Lecavalier's line and on the power play against the Oilers and likely will get the same assignments tonight against the Flyers at the Ice Palace.

They are the kind of assignments he got regularly last season when he was second among rookies with 44 points, nine power-play goals and 18 power-play points and led all rookies with six game-winning goals.

"I know I have to put some numbers up," Willis said. "I put some pressure on myself to play well. Just take it one game at a time and at the end of the season let the chips fall where they may."

That the chips have collected in Tampa Bay is part of the whole small-world thing.

The 6-foot, 185-pound Willis was drafted in the third round (56th overall) by the Lightning in 1995. The sides could not agree on a contract, and Willis returned to the draft in 1997 and was selected by the Hurricanes in the fourth round (88th overall).

It was an uncomfortable situation, Willis said, as the Hurricanes' table, where he went to be introduced to general manager Jim Rutherford, was next to the Lightning's.

Reports are sketchy as to whether some members of the Lightning staff playfully made faces at Willis, who laughed at the recollection.

"Now," Willis said, "I have a good opportunity to kind of pay them back for drafting me."

TONIGHT: LIGHTNING VS. FLYERS

WHEN/WHERE: 7:30; Ice Palace, Tampa.

RADIO: WDAE-AM 620.

THE LOWDOWN: Philadelphia has won three of its past five games and is 4-3 in its past seven on the road. LW Simon Gagne has five goals and one assist in his past four games. C Jeremy Roenick has two goals and four assists. Lightning C Brad Richards has three goals and five assists in his past four games. He has three consecutive multipoint games, the first Lightning player to do that since Brian Holzinger in January 2001. D Nolan Pratt, out 24 games with a broken right leg, could play tonight. The Flyers have allowed five short-handed goals on the road, second-worst in the league. Going into Thursday's games, Roenick was tied for second in the league with 43 assists and was third at plus-33. Gagne's plus-35 was second. Lightning G Nikolai Khabibulin led the league with a .927 save percentage. The Flyers are tied with the Red Wings for most road points with 43 (20-10-3). Tampa Bay's power play has converted six of its past 20 chances (30 percent). Philadelphia is 28-9-3-2 against the East. The Lightning is 12-24-4-2. This is the third of four meetings. The Flyers are 2-0. Tampa Bay trails the series 8-25-7-1 and is 7-12-1-1 at home.

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