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Tampa Bay Lightning: Who Is The Toughest Competition Next Season?

By Tasha St. Pierre |
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Jun 8, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop (30) makes a save against Chicago Blackhawks center Antoine Vermette (80) in the second period in game three of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Bennett/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

In this edition of the Bolts By The Bay Round Table, we take a look ahead at the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2015-16 season and try to identify their toughest competition.

The world of professional sports is never what one could call a “stable” place to be. There will always be trades, free agent signings, buyouts, and many other ways in which a player can changes hands or simply leave the game all together.

At the same time, the 2014-15 off-season has seen more than its fair share of major transactions. The Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks have traded away some of the larger pieces of their winning formula to be able to afford to continue to play their stars, while teams like Edmonton Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres seem to have won the lottery in terms of the NHL Draft.

No matter which way you look at it, things are a changing in the National Hockey League.

In this edition of the Bolts By The Bay Round Table, we take a look at what on the outside may seem like the simplest of questions, but could actually have a pretty big impact on the success or failure of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2015-16 season.

The question we posed to our staff is Which NHL team do you think is the biggest competition for the Tampa Bay Lightning next season?

Over the course of the next couple of pages we are going to hear from the members of the Bolts By The Bay staff as they break down who they think the Tampa Bay Lightning should be preparing for next season and what makes that team such a formidable opponent.

After you have heard what our staff has to say, head on down to the comments below and let us know if you think there is someone we are overlooking who could cause trouble for the Lightning next season? Maybe you’d like to expand on one of our reasons? Let us know in the comments below.

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By: D. Frederick Cook

The Eastern Conference is going through a lot of transition right now.  You have the big bad Boston Bruins, intentionally taking a step a step or two backward; you have the Detroit Red Wings dealing with life after Mike Babcock; you have the Pittsburgh Penguins salivating over the idea of a legit top-end goal scorer (Phil Kessel) to play with Sidney Crosby.  

Then you have teams like the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs who, while taking solid steps for their future, are likely not quite ready to compete with the best in the East.  

The New York Rangers, meanwhile, aren’t exactly distraught over losing Martin St. Louis, and should remain somewhere near the top of the standings.  The Washington Capitals always seem to have the Lightning’s number, but let’s not even go there.  And then, of course, there are the Montreal Canadiens, but let’s be honest: they’ll go only so far as Carey Price can take them (which might well be a very long way). 

I’m not sure if this is an off-the-radar pick or the current sexy pick, but I would not be surprised at all to see the Columbus Blue Jackets take a huge step forward and possibly even come out of the East.  Injuries cut the legs off their season last year, and even so, they were always a dangerous opponent.  It’s hard to imagine they’ll get so unlucky two years in a row. 

John Davidson has proved himself a shrewd manager since taking over as the Blue Jackets’ President of Hockey Operations in 2012.  The David Clarkson-for-Nathan Horton trade shows he’s capable of getting outside the box to improve his team. 

Recently, he took advantage of the Chicago Blackhawks‘ cap crunch and got away with Brandon Saad, and then solidified his bottom six by adding Gregory Campbell.  This was a team that would likely have made the playoffs last year had it not been for injuries, and now, a year older and a year wiser, with fresh blood in their ranks, they might well be the biggest threat the East has to offer. 

Maybe it’s the Lightning fan in me who’s intrigued by the Blue Jackets.  They remind me a lot of where the Bolts were a couple of years ago.  That Lightning team was short on accomplishments, but the talent, young and hungry, was obvious.  If, of course, you were paying attention. 

The Blue Jackets have a roster full of players, similarly to the Lightning, who aren’t necessarily well-known, but when healthy, they get the job done just as well, if not better, than some of the league’s superstars. 

Ryan Johansen is the very blue print of a hulking #1 Center, Nick Foligno scored 31 goals last year, and Sergei Bobrovsky, while sometimes inconsistent, has shown the ability to play at a level few goalies can match.  Then you have a veteran like Scott Hartnell, who picked up 60 points last year, projected to play on their third line next season.  

For me, it comes down to the Blue Jackets and the Rangers.  I don’t think the Rangers’ window is closed quite yet, but if they slip up at all this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Blue Jackets are the team to replace them as the East’s most consistent contender (excluding our Lightning, of course) moving forward.  And when it comes to the Lightning, specifically, the Blue Jackets are the team I fear most moving forward.

Next: Will the Tampa Bay Lightning Be Seeing Stars Next Season?

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By: Tasha St. Pierre

When posed a question like the one that stands before us today, one is almost always inclined to choose the opponent that gave the Tampa Bay Lightning the biggest challenge last season. As most Lightning fans would agree, that would be the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Chicago Blackhawks are the team that finally put an end to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup dreams in the 2014-15 season, and put the biggest wrench in the Lightning’s system all season long. At the same time, the Chicago Blackhawks have seemingly chosen to dismantle their winning core a little bit during the off-season.

The Chicago Blackhawks shocked much of the National Hockey League when they traded left wing Patrick Sharp along with defenseman Stephen Johns to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Trevor Daley and Ryan Garbutt.

This isn’t the only player to make the jump from the Windy City to the Lonestar State this year. After winning the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, defenseman Johnny Oduya signed as a Free Agent with the Dallas Stars.

Could it be that the Tampa Bay Lightning will be seeing Stars next season?

Granted, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars only cross paths two times during the regular season. It is highly unlikely that a loss to the Stars in one of those two games is going to greatly impact the Tampa Bay Lightning’s chances of making their way to the Stanley Cup Finals once again, but a loss at the wrong time in the season can seriously derail a team’s “mojo” and set them back a notch.

Also, there is always the off-chance that the Dallas Stars could in fact be the Chicago Blackhawks next season and find themselves face to face with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals. At that point, the Lightning’s ability to overcome would have a serious impact on the season.

The Dallas Stars have not exactly had the greatest record when it comes to the post season. In fact, with the exception of the 2013-14 season, in which they lost to the Anaheim Ducks in the Quarterfinals, the Dallas Stars have not qualified for the post season since the 2007-08 season.

I have never been one to go along with the notion that a particular team is “due” for a win, but with the pieces that the Dallas Stars have been able to put together in the off-season, the Stars may just have everything they need to have a successful season.

Another piece to their puzzle is what could be known as the “Finnish Connection.” During the 2015 NHL Draft, the Dallas Stars acquired the rights to goaltender Antti Niemi from the San Jose Sharks. Niemi has tasted success in his career, having won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010.

Niemi played in 61 games with the Sharks last season, giving him a record of 31-23-7 with a Goals Allowed Average of 2.59 and a Save Percentage of .914.

The addition of Niemi to the mix will only serve to compliment the goaltender the Stars already have in place, 31 year old Kari Lehtonen. Lehtonen played in 65 games with the Stars last season giving him a record of 34-17-10 with a Goals Allowed Average of 2.94 and a Save Percentage of .903.

When you think about this realistically, these are not the kind of numbers that were put up by players like Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop, who finished off the regular season with a 40-13-5 record; however, they aren’t all that different either.

We have all seen how important having a solid goaltending tandem can be, and if Niemi and Lehtonen can find a way to make their pairing work, they could be a formidable opponent for all of the teams in the National Hockey League, including the Tampa Bay Lightning.

At the end of the day, it will be interesting to see how everything plays out. At the same time, if I were the Tampa Bay Lightning, I would keep a watchful eye on the Dallas Stars when the 2015-16 season kicks off in October.

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By: Kyle Barber

The Washington Capitals are the greatest threat to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference. Whether it be the team’s impressive offensive firepower, strong blue line presence, or great play in between the pipes, the former Southeastern Division rival is one of the best build teams from top to bottom in the NHL.

Where do you want to begin with this team? Do you start with the best pure goal scorer in the league in Alex Ovechkin, one of the best playmaking forwards in the league in Nicklas Backstrom, or one of the top goaltenders in the NHL last year in Braden Holtby? Pick your poison with these three players to deal with, and that does not include the strong depth the team has on every line.

A team that possesses both size and speed, the Washington Capitals have the ability to win either a one goal game or a shootout that many teams in the league just cannot keep up with. We all know the Lightning have a high powered offense, but there is no doubt Washington can keep up with them in the scoring department.

One thing the Capitals possess that is a real weapon for them is their ability to capitalize on the Power Play at such a high rate. The team led the league in Power Play percentage at 25.3%. Most of that scoring came from Alex Ovechkin wiring shots from the left circle past the opposing goaltender, but the amount of skill on the ice that the Capitals have at one time is unbelievable.

Ovechkin, Backstrom, Joel Ward, John Carlson, and Marcus Johansson on the ice all at the same time is just unfair. Ward has left in free agency and is now with the San Jose Sharks, but the addition of T.J. Oshie on the powerplay is actually an upgrade.

Their ability to quickly read the opposition and make quick passes that seem to always go from tape to tape makes them deadly. Basically, if you want to beat the Washington Capitals, try to stay out of the penalty box.

We haven’t even gotten into the team’s blue line yet. The additions of Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen transformed what was a shaky defense core at best to a solid group of blue liners that can limit the scoring of their opposition. The team went from 21st in the league in goals allowed per game to 7th in just one year’s time shaving off almost .5 goals per game from the oppositions goal total.

Now, a lot of this credit goes to Braden Holtby also who had an incredible season with a 2.22 GGA and .923 SV%. Scary thing is he is only 25 and will only get better, and will be in Washington for a long time after he agrees to a long term deal with the team.

If there is one team in the Eastern Conference that you can match up with the Tampa Bay Lightning it would be the Washington Capitals. Though they lost some key pieces from last year’s team in free agency, the addition of Jason Williams from the Los Angeles Kings and T.J. Oshie from the St.Louis Blues makes up for the losses.

If the two teams somehow meet up in the Eastern Conference Finals next season for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals, it may be one of the most entertaining series in playoff history.

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Jan 9, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) defends Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

By: Lauren Burg

Who will pose the greatest challenge to the 2015-16 Tampa Bay Lightning is a bit of a toss up, more so when discussing divisional matchups.

There are near perennial playoff contenders, such as the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Then you have teams on the rise like the Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders. The final category consists of teams looking to turn their fortunes around. The Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers fall here.

Analyzing these teams, I find the Lightning have had success against a vast majority recently. They went a combined 16-2-2 against the Canadiens, Rangers, Red Wings, Senators and Panthers. Delving deeper into the numbers, it becomes clear that the only two teams the Bolts have seen minimal success against are the Penguins and Islanders.

Even more alarming, they have not won a game at Consol Energy Center or Nassau Coliseum in at least two seasons. The good news here is the Islanders no longer play in the Coliseum, instead moving to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for 2015-16 and beyond.

Now that we’ve looked at the Lightning’s record against top Eastern Conference foes let’s peek at whether they’ve done anything to better their team for next season. Red Wings? They look to have finally found a starting goaltender in Petr Mrazek but not much beyond that.

Canadiens? They inked former Bolt Mark Barberio and re-signed power play specialist Jeff Petry but little past that. Keep going and it becomes clear that few teams improved during the offseason. In saying that, each of them will still pose a threat to the Bolts chances of making the playoffs and possibly advancing deep again in 2015-16′.

One team still sticks out to me, however. That would be the Buffalo Sabres. Yes, those Sabres. The ones who purposely tried to tank midway through last season in hopes of landing the 1st overall draft pick this summer. It didn’t completely work, as they ended up receiving the second pick in the draft, but Jack Eichel is certainly a piece that can assist a defense that struggled at times over the past two seasons.

Eichel’s addition, coupled with a healthy Evander Kane and the recent acquisitions of forwards Ryan O’ Reilly, Jamie McGinn and David Legwand, should make the Sabres a team capable of scoring more than two goals per game.

In net they boast the tandem of Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson who, put together, are better than last seasons starters Jhonas Enroth and Anders Lindback. Lehner was the go-to guy in Ottawa until the emergence of Andrew Hammond late last season, so it’s fairly safe to say he still has the ability to steal a few games when the offense struggles to score.

To conclude, even though it probably seems crazy to a large majority of Bolts nation and the NHL nation, I strongly believe the Buffalo Sabres present the toughest test to the 2015-16 Tampa Bay Lightning. With that being said, the Bolts must bring their A+ game versus every opponent if they have dreams of playing into June for the second straight year.

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