Tampa Bay Lightning Report Cards: The Defense

The Other Guys

Aside from those listed, a handful of other defensemen suited up for a significant amount of games with the Lightning this season. Most notable among them is Mike Kostka, who’s quickly turned himself into a regular on coach Cooper’s blue line. In 19 games with the Lightning, Kostka scored an impressive 8 points while logging nearly 16 minutes in icetime.

Keith Aulie had a rough season. At season’s open, it looked like he would be the team’s seventh defenseman, but with the emergence of Andrej Sustr, the sporadic good play of Mark Barberio, and the late-season acquisition of Mike Kostka, not to mention a hand injury thrown into the mix, Aulie wound up playing just 15 games this year. Aulie will be a restricted free agent at the end of the playoffs and it’s unknown what the Lightning’s plans are for him.

Jean-Philippe Cote was a feel-good story mid-season. Cote, a 31 year-old rookie, was called up to play with the Lightning, and was solid in 19 games played. He registered 4 assists in that time. While Cote provides great organizational depth and leadership in Syracuse, and is a great option to bring up when the injury bug strikes hard, his lack of speed will always hurt his chance to be a regular in the NHL. Regardless, he remains an important part of the organization in his role in Syracuse.

Thanks for reading. Tune in next time when I’ll review the forwards.