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

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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.

Around The Site: Tampa Bay Lightning Prospect Profile: Brayden Point

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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