Tampa Bay Lightning Third Line Quietly Continues To Impress

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, having depth is always a necessity. The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to prove that their depth is one of the many reasons why the team is playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.

In their series against the Chicago Blackhawks, the line made up of J.T. Brown, Cedric Paquette, and Ryan Callahan has quietly proven to be a reliable option for head coach Jon Cooper to turn to in any situation.

Whenever you see the Tampa Bay Lightning’s supposed “third line” on the ice, you see non stop pressure on the opposition as the forwards crash down on their opponents with an impressive forecheck usually led by Ryan Callahan. Time and time again Callahan rushes the defender going for the puck and causes the defender to rush the outlet pass or cause a turnover before laying a bone crunching hit. The same can be said by J.T. Brown who’s speed gives defenders zero time to react before playing the puck.

As stated in a previous article, J.T. Brown continues to a key piece to the Lightning lineup and he continues to prove it time and time again. Though he had a costly turnover in Game One of the series that gave the Chicago Blackhawks a 2-1 advantage, Brown put that play behind him and played a phenomenal Game Two.

Brown’s willingness to sacrifice his body continues to be valuable, and has sliding block on Brent Seabrook late in the third period was a key moment in the game. The 5’10 forward also had many scoring opportunities with many of them coming from, you guessed it, Ryan Callahan causing Chicago’s defenseman to rush the outlet pass and turning the puck over.

As for Cedric Paquette, a slow start to the Playoffs let to a lot of criticism begin to come his way. It was not the fact that he wasn’t scoring, but the fact that the sturdy forward was basically a ghost when on the ice. However, as the team got deeper and deeper into the playoffs, Paquette slowly continued to raise his level of play and began to play the role of the teams pest and penalty killing specialist that coaches and fans expected. Contributing the teams first goal in game 2, Paquette raised the team’s record to 10-1 when scoring first, and broke his 13-game goal scoring drought.

There’s just something about this blend of physicality and speed that continues to give the opposition fits. Whether it’s the relentless forecheck or the ability to matchup against the other teams best line, this line continues to impress, and rounds out an impressive group of forwards looking to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Stay Strong And Take Game 2 From The Blackhawks

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