Bolts By The Bay Mailbag: Which Team From Each Division Will Give The Tampa Bay Lightning The Biggest Challenge?

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Welcome to this week’s Bolts By The Bay Mailbag, the place where we take any questions you may have about the Tampa Bay Lightning and give you answers.

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John asks: Which team from each division will give the bolts the hardest time? Why?

As most of you know, division realignment has made it so that each team will face the other 29 teams around the league at least twice during the regular season. This is mostly for non conference opponents who will play one game against the team from the opposing conference on home ice and once on the road.

The NHL did this so that fans can see players from teams like in Edmonton, a team we usually wouldn’t see, and vise versa. That way, Tampa Bay Lightning fans get to see Connor McDavid play at Amalie Arena while fans of the Edmonton Oilers get to watch Steven Stamkos light it up at Rexall place.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will go into the season with a target on it’s back as Eastern Conference Champions and have a tough schedule with back-to-back games against tough opponents on both nights. With the emergence of Andrei Vasilevskiy as the team’s backup goaltender, the team will fare much better than they did in back-to-back situations than when Evgeni Nabokov was between the pipes.

With that, lets take a look at which opponent from each division will give the Tampa Bay Lightning the most trouble during the 2015-16 NHL regular season.

Next: First, the Atlantic Division

With upgrades made to both the forward unit and the defensive blue line, the Detroit Red Wings will challenge the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Atlantic Division title.

Last year, the Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in a thrilling seven game series during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series saw Detroit close to a date with the Montreal Canadians in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but the Lightning led by goaltender Ben Bishop staged a comeback that saw the team take game six in Detroit and game seven at home to advance to the next round.

The Red Wings realized that their scheme to put their best defensive line on the triplet line led by Tyler Johnson was working to an extent, but their inability to put the puck past Bishop in the final two games of the series was their ultimate downfall.

You can’t keep the triplets out of the game for too long, and even with captain Steven Stamkos struggling to put the puck in the back of the net, the Lightning were able to solve Petr Mrazek and slip a few pucks past the Czech netminder.

Going into the offseason, the Red Wings knew they still had plenty of star power to make another Stanley Cup run. With Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg still playing at an elite level and new up and coming stars Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist taking on much more of the load during the season, the Red Wings are still a dangerous offensive team. The addition of Brad Richards in free agency to go along with young scorers Landon Ferraro, Teemu Pulkkinen, Anthony Mantha, and Dylan Larkin will also add to the offensive threat.

Back on the blueline, the addition of Mike Green to the group will make the back-end deadlier than it was last season. With Jonathan Ericsson having a fantastic series against the Lightning and Danny DeKeyser molding into a fantastic top pair defenseman, the Red Wings blue line has a solid group of top-4 defenseman with Green and Niklas Kronwall rounding out the group.

In goal, Jimmy Howard has had his ups and downs with the team, but is still a former Olympian that was apart of Team USA just a few seasons ago. Though Howard is still the team’s number one option between the pipes, Czech netminder Petr Mrazek had his coming out party against the Lightning in their first round playoff series.

His 2.11 GAA and .925 SV% in his first ever NHL playoff series is absolutely amazing. Just like the Lightning, the Wings have a solid option as the team’s backup and can go into the second game of a back-to-back with confidence knowing they have a goaltender that can help what could be a tired team come away with at least a point.

The Lightning were 7-4 against the Red Wings last season and outscored Detroit 29-24 during those 11 match ups (including playoffs). The Lightning seem to match up really well against the Red Wings on paper due to their impressive speed, but players like Luke Glendening were able to help shut down some of the team’s big stars. With the additions they’ve made, the Red Wings will challenge the Bolts for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

Next: Next, the Metropolitan Division

A team that can match the Tampa Bay Lightning goal for goal and stride for stride, the Washington Capitals may be the team that challenges the Bolts for a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.

In a division with the President Trophy winning New York Rangers, Sidney Crosby led Pittsburgh Penguins, and young up and coming teams in the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets, there are many tough opponents that the Tampa Bay Lightning will need to face if they want to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals once again next season. However, a former division rival before conference realignment may be the team’s biggest challenge when the puck drops for the regular season opener in October.

The Washington Capitals are a team that can score and skate with the top teams in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning are a team built on speed and Washington is built similarly. With both teams being strong down the middle at the center position and having deadly scorers in Alexander Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos captaining their respective team’s, there is no doubt that other teams around the league will have trouble stopping these two formidable offenses.

While they are built strongly down the middle, the team’s also have skillful wingers that can distribute and put the puck in the back of the net. Nicklas Backstrom and Nikita Kucherov are just two of the names that make up the talent these two team’s have at that position.

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On the blue line, both team’s have a solid core of defenseman that can shut down the opposing team’s offensive attack. The Lightning have Anton Stralman, Victor Hedman, Jason Garrison, and Braydon Coburn as their top-4 while the Caps counter with John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, and Carl Alzner. These two blue lines can make life difficult for their opponents forward unit, and can make these two high-powered offenses sometimes seem non-existent.

In goal, both team’s have superstars that along with their strong blue lines can cause offenses to stagger. Braden Holtby, fresh off a career season and a new five-year, $30.5 million dollar contract, has moved himself among the league’s top puck stoppers. His career 2.44 GAA and .921 SV% are fantastic for someone entering just his fifth full year in the league. On the other side of the ice, Ben Bishop has shown that he has what it takes to lead a team to the Stanley Cup Finals. With these two superstars in net, it may be a long night for goal scorers.

No matter what, whenever the Bolts and Caps play head-to-head, it is must see television. The game could be a 6-5 shootout or a 2-1 offensive struggle due to the amount of talent that is on the rosters of both teams. Look for these two teams to top their respective divisions next season and possibly meet up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the chance to battle for who will represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Next: Next, the Central Division

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Feb 12, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman (6) and St. Louis Blues left wing Alexander Steen (20) skate after the puck during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Over in the western conference, the St.Louis Blues are a powerhouse in what is a tough Central Division.

There are only a few teams that I dread watching the Tampa Bay Lightning play against and one of them is the St. Louis Blues. Every time the Bolts fly into St.Louis it seems like they are just outmatched and don’t play like they are capable of.

The two teams met twice last season with the Blues coming away victorious in both games. The Lightning first traveled to St.Louis and came face to face with a red-hot Brian Elliot between the pipes. Elliot stopped 31 of the 32 shots that came his way with the only goal being scored by Cedric Paquette off a Alex Killorn rebound. Paquette couldn’t have put the shot any better than he did as he placed the puck right over Elliot’s left shoulder and gave the Bolts their only goal of the game.

From there, a wicked Vladimir Tarasenko off the face off during the last few minutes of the third period and a beautiful Jaden Schwartz end to end goal where he danced around three Lightning defenders eventually gave St.Louis the win. The Lightning out shot St.Louis 31-18 in that game, but Elliot was just too strong.

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In their final meeting at Amalie Arena, the Blues big three took over from the start. St.Louis scored two early goals to pull out in front and later tallied three more goals in the second. It was pure domination from start to finish and St.Louis left town with two more points in their pocket. The Lightning, however, could breathe a sigh of relief knowing they wouldn’t face the Blues again unless they were to meet up in the Stanley Cup Finals.

If there was one team I did not want the Lightning to face in the Cup Finals, it was St.Louis. Their mix of size and speed to go along with a strong back-end makes them hard to defeat. Brian Elliot and Jake Allen make a fabulous tandem in net and they are not a team I would want to face four or five times per year or compete with in the division.

Any team that has Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester, and Kevin Stattenkirk on the same blue line is usually pretty good. Combine that with solid offensive production from all four lines along with solid goaltending and you have one of the best teams in the NHL. Look for them to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a run for their money once again when they face off during the upcoming season.

Next: Last but not least, the Pacific Division

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Nov 19, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning left wing

Ondrej Palat

(18) and Los Angeles Kings right wing

Matt Frattin

(21) in the third period of the game at Staples Center. The Kings won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Though the Lightning played well against the Pacific Division, a tough road trip on the west coast can challenge even the NHL’s best teams.

Anytime a team from the east coast travels to the opposite side of the country to play hockey games, it is always difficult. You could have a team with Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr in the primes of their career on the roster and it would still be a difficult task. Especially with how much better the teams in California have been over the past few seasons, games on back to back night’s against these tough opponents would lead to some issues.

Though the Lightning finished the regular season with a 10-4 record against the division as a whole, the team did go 0-2 against the Los Angeles Kings. Now, what you may be wondering is out of all of the teams in the Pacific Division the Kings were not at the top when it comes to their record. However, the way the Lightning schedule worked made it difficult to play a good Kings team coming off of a tough game against the Anaheim Ducks the night before.

The Lightning went 2-0 against the Ducks last season (as well as the San Jose Sharks) but could not put it together against the Kings. The Ducks play a physical style (as most Western Conference teams do) and teams tend to be a little tired after leaving Honda Center. The next day, they must travel to Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles to face a Kings team waiting to face its weakened prey.

With massive skaters at the forward position, it is hard to take away the puck from players like Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik. With the addition of Milan Lucic and the emergence of Tyler Toffoli, the Kings offense may even be better than what it was a season ago.

On the blue line, even with the loss of Slava Voynov to a domestic violence arrest, the group still preformed very well. Drew Doughty is arguably the best defenseman in the NHL, Jake Muzzin was a solid top pair defender, and the bottom four of Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb, Matt Green, and Jamie McBain rounded out what was a nice group of defenders in front of goaltender Jonathan Quick.

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Speaking of goaltending, when you think of the Kings (other than their recent success and Stanley Cup championships) the first thing you think of is Jonathan Quick. Though his stats were not as good as they were in seasons past, his 2.24 GAA and .918 SV% still rank him among the leagues best at that position. The addition of Jhonas Enroth as the team’s new backup behind Quick was a great addition after Martin Jones was traded to the Boston Bruins (and later again to the San Jose Sharks).

The Pacific Division continues to get better as the divisions worst teams continue to infuse young talent into their rosters, but right now the Los Angeles Kings will be the toughest opponent the Lightning will face when they take on a Pacific Division foe.

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