Lightning Week 1 Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning, less than a week into their season, have opened it in dramatic fashion. By picking up all six of the available points in come from behind victories, the team has shown a trend very different from last year where they had difficulty closing out games. They also join a group of only five other Bolts teams to get off to a 3-0 start. With the exception of the disastrous 07-08 team (which was cursed from the moment a skate fell on Dan Boyle before a preseason game), every roster in that group has made found themselves playing into May. It is a bit too early to plan the parade, but so far so good.
The most exciting revelation is that despite returning a very similar roster to last season, there is a distinctive change in the forward group. Last year the Lightning had a clearly defined top six and bottom six. The undoing of the Bolts, and everyone else’s, postseason came at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ third line which gave Pittsburgh a chance to exploit matchups. This season Tampa has come out rolling three very talented offensive lines, but the real difference is in the dynamic play of the third line combination of Namestnikov, Filppula, and rookie Brayden Point. Point has already shown a strong feel for the NHL game with excellent positioning and playmaking. Coming off a stellar Junior hockey career, he is showing why he was tapped to wear the C for Canada’s under 20 team. His vision and skill are paying off for linemate Valterri Filppula who has already scored a quarter of last year’s goal tally through two games. A strong offensive year for Filppula would be a huge bonus heading into the uncertainty of next off season.
Another big positive is the scoring distribution. The Bolts already have contributions from twelve players on the scoresheet. Though that is the same as last season, the second game against New Jersey really highlighted the offensive depth. The team had nine players, eight of them forwards, combine to generate the three goals. Steven Stamkos appears more settled following the endless contract speculation of last season, and Alex Killorn is showing that same level of big bodied play that earned him an eye-opening seven year contract. Tyler Johnson’s wrist finally seems to be back to normal, and his performance on faceoffs has dramatically improved. The lone negative spot has been Nikita Kucherov who appears to have some rust despite participating in the World Cup of Hockey during the preseason. Even Cedric Paquette, who was some amalgamation of dreadful and freakishly injured, has been shining brightly on the nicely constructed fourth line.
Finally, the focus. From day one this is a team working on a return to the Finals. No other outcome that will satisfy this group. The window is here and now, and the team seems to be playing with a uniform purpose and energy. It starts with Stamkos who has stabilized the team’s leadership position with his long term deal and the steady presence of Victor Hedman on the back end. Some guys are playing for new contracts, but they all seem to know there is an opportunity in front of them right now, and those can be few and far between in an NHL career. It isn’t about setting too much burden of expectation, as much as it is a simple fact. For this group it is a Cup or bust.
The Bolts finish their four game homestand on Thursday before starting a six game roadtrip including a stop next Thursday against quasi-rival Montreal. It has been over 1000 days since all-world goaltender Carey Price recorded a regular season victory against Tampa, we will see what next week brings.
