Last you heard from me, I was in a limerick sort of mood, inspired by St. Patty’s Day and the Lightning’s own Facebook contest which, apparently, I did not win. (To that I say, “Fiddlesticks!” And to any mid-week St. Pat’s, by the way, a double “Fiddlesticks!” as well.)

I’ll return to prose today, in an effort to sort out my jumbled thoughts on this and that.

—We’ll start…

Since we’re a step closer to the official death of the 2009-10 Tampa Bay Lightning after last night’s overtime loss in Toronto left them six points out of the playoff picture with 16 games left to play, I thought I’d forgo anything serious today, in an effort to lighten the mood a bit.

Through their official Facebook page, the Lightning are promoting a limerick contest and offering ticket…

The hot topic right now for the Tampa Bay Lightning might be Steven Stamkos, thanks to the hot hand that has him on pace for a 51-goal sophomore season.

The impact of Steve Downie as a well-rounded force, offensively, physically and otherwise, might be the surprise story of their season.

And a reinvigorated Vincent Lecavalier down the stretch, sparked by the under-the-radar arrival of Teddy…

So, the Jeff Vinik era as owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning got off to an 0-1 start with Thursday’s loss to Washington.

So what?

The Caps are, well, the Caps. And, though there was certainly some sloppiness, the Lightning hung tight in that game, battling back from several deficits and showing some real character throughout.

A timely save or two down the stretch would have aided the cau…