Tampa Bay Lightning Needs To Make A Statement Against The Boston Bruins
The Tampa Bay Lightning desperately needs to make a statement against the Boston Bruins and bring home a much-needed two points.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been through all manner of adversity this season. From injuries to illnesses and even a trade thrown in the mix, the Lightning has seen it all. Unfortunately, the chaos wreaked upon the Lightning lineup has caused the team to spiral into a deep, dark hole.
Well, the time for excuses has come and gone. If the Lightning has any desire of salvaging the remainder of the season and even the slightest possibility of making their way back into the playoff picture, the time for action is now. The good news is, they have an opportunity right in front of them to embark on this journey.
Thanks to the NHL All-Star break, by the time the Tampa Bay Lightning take the ice, they will have had four consecutive days off. Well…unless your name is Nikita Kucherov or Victor Hedman. Hopefully, this has given some of the Lightning players a chance to heal their bodies; especially those who have been playing through the pain.
Considering almost everyone currently on the injured list is scheduled to be there slightly longer-term than one would like, there is a very slim (if any) chance the Lightning will be able to get any of their injured players back into the lineup, but one can still hope.
Unlike the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Boston Bruins are coming into tomorrow night’s contest on a two-game winning streak. While this may give the Bruins an ever-so-slight upper hand, it should be noted these wins weren’t exactly blowouts. In fact, there were mere one point victories, one of which came in overtime.
While the entire team is dangerous in their own way, there are two players, in particular, the Lightning need to be weary of when they take the ice on Tuesday night. Leading the way for the Bruins in all manners scoring is forward Brad Marchand.
In the 52 games he’s played with the Bruins this season, he has brought home 21 goals and 28 assists for a total of 49 points to accompany a plus-7 rating. As we mentioned before, this puts him in first place on the team in all manners scoring.
Not too far behind Marchand is his teammate David Pastrnak. Pastrnak has played in 45 games with the Bruins so far this season. In that amount of time, the 20-year-old Czech forward has amassed 20 goals and 18 assists for a total of 38 points. These numbers place him in second place in goals and overall points.
On the other side of the ice, it’s Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov holding things down for the Bolts. In the last five games, Kucherov has picked up two goals and an assist for three points. Overall, in the 43 games he’s played so far this season, Kucherov has brought home 19 goals and 25 assists for a total of 44 points.
Right behind Kucherov is one of the best two-way defensemen in the National Hockey League right now, Victor Hedman. In addition to his defensive duties, Hedman has managed to bring home seven goals and a whopping 31 assists for a total of 38 points. These numbers place him in first place in assists and second in overall points.
It may not seem like it based on the way things have turned out for the team as of late, but they do have everything they need in order to salvage their season and elevate themselves back into playoff contention. This is a road the team has traveled before and will undoubtedly travel again at some point.
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The only thing the Bolts need to do in order to get back in the game is keep it simple, stick to their system, and most importantly, be aggressive and consistent. If the team can accomplish this, then there is still hope for a postseason. If not, their sights will soon turn to the off-season and the 2016-17 season will be a constant reminder of what might have been.