"The thought of Pierre-Cedric Labrie sniffing the NHL seemed like a pipe dream eight years ago.

Labrie was a 17-year-old undrafted wing cut by the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He toiled on the midnight shift at a convenience store five nights a week while trying to catch on with another junior team. Sometimes he'd nod off on boxes in the back trying to catch up on sleep between his games at night and morning practices.

After a couple of months, Labrie returned home to Baie-Comeau, Quebec, eight hours from Montreal and light-years from the NHL. He planned on being a fireman. His hockey career?

"Was going nowhere," he said.

That's what has made these past three weeks with the Lightning so special for Labrie, 25, a bruising forward who isn't afraid to drop his gloves — and opponents. But it was Labrie's fight to revive a career he thought was going nowhere that made him the most jovial player, and inspirational story, in the Tampa Bay locker room the past seven games, with teammates affectionately calling the long-haired long shot "Nacho Libre.""