Tampa Bay Lightning 2014-15: A Month-by-Month Look at the Upcoming Schedule
Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
January
This month brings the pain. Starting right off the bat with the Penguins, in Pittsburgh, on Jan. 2.
A four-game road trip that started on Dec. 31 in Buffalo goes through Pitt, Ottawa, and ends in Montreal against the Habs on Jan. 6. The Bolts got some unfinished things to workout with the Canadiens, as we all know, after that four-game sweep in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this past April.
But Montreal isn’t the only tough Eastern Conference foe to meet up with the Bolts for the first time in January; the brutish Boston Bruins make their first 2014-15 season appearance against Tampa Bay on Jan. 13, at the TD Garden, on the tail end of a back-to-back (the Lightning play the Flyers the day before in Philly). So the Bolts have their work cut out for them on that day against what will most likely be a very good Boston team, once again.
This month does see a fair shake of home games for the Lightning to get some special home-cooking done against another slew of formidable foes, a bunch of which saw the playoffs this past year: the Colorado Avalanche (Jan. 17), the Red Wings (Jan. 29) and the Blue Jackets (Jan. 31).
I’d say this month is comparable to the difficulty level of December, with fewer games, but seeing the Pens and the Bruins in one month, under difficult settings, gives this month an added level of challenge that the Bolts will simply have to meet head-on.
February beckons… and February will be rough. This month needs to be successful because if there is any month where the Bolts might struggle to string together points, it will be February. So no flat-footedness in January will do. Not with the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the line.
Home/Away Breakdowns: 6/6; Total Games: 12
Toughest Matchups: Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche
Key Facts: three road trips (one four-game, one two-game b-t-b, one out and back to Carolina); one back-to-back; 24 possible points
Month Difficulty: Harder due to Boston and Pittsburgh games on the road.