The Tampa Bay Lightning finish off their back-to-back weekend series at the PPG Paints Arena where they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Tampa Bay Lightning continues to struggle both on and off the ice. A lack of consistency and a continual string of injuries have caused chaos on the Lightning roster. Unfortunately, the Lightning has reached a point in the season where excuses are no longer viable.
Tonight, as the Tampa Bay Lightning makes their way into the PPG Paints Arena to take on the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the Bolts officially make their way into the second half of the season. If the Bolts have any hope of making the postseason, they will have to make their move, and now.
Right now, the Lightning are 19-18-4 this season. This places the Bolts two points behind the Ottawa Senators for third place in the Atlantic Division and four points behind the Boston Bruins for the second place position in the Division. The postseason is not out of reach at this point, but it’ll to take a lot of hard work to get there.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Last night, the Tampa Bay Lightning kicked off their back-to-back weekend series with a painful 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately, the Lightning suffered a lot more than the loss of two points. Lightning forward J.T. Brown was the victim of a vicious hit to the head late in the third period.
There has been no word from the Tampa Bay Lightning as to whether or not J.T. Brown will be available to play tonight in Pittsburgh, but based on the look on Brown’s face after the hit, it will be a few games before he is back to 100% and really ready to get back to business.
This is the second time, and final, time these two teams will meet this season. The first meeting between these two teams didn’t exactly turn out the way the Lightning and their fans would’ve hoped for. The Lightning’s biggest downfall in this encounter was the insane amount of penalties they incurred.
While the Lightning’s Power Play unit has been spectacular this season, the Lightning’s Penalty Kill has not been near as successful. If the Lightning wants to limit the Penguins’ opportunities, they are going to have to limit the amount of unnecessary penalties they take.
The biggest key to success is going to be consistency. The Lightning has this horrible habit of starting off a game fantastically, only to fall apart in the second period. At the same time, the Lightning has also had times where they’ve gotten off to an awful start and spent the remainder of the game chasing their tails.
The Bolts need to come out of the tunnel ready to play and take control of the game from the first puck drop. Once they’ve set the pace of the game, they need to keep it going for a complete 60 minutes of hockey. If the Lightning can accomplish this, they’ll be able to shift the tide and start the second half of the season off right.
Next: Tampa Bay Lightning: Analyzing The First Half Of The Season
Do you want to be a part of the action tonight? Well, all you have to do is scroll down just a little to the comments section. We’ll be here with you all night long, and you can join like-minded Lightning fans in a spirited discussion about tonight’s action and the season thus far.
Topics: Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference