Tampa Bay Lightning: Scouting the Competition

The Tampa Bay Lightning are getting ready to kick off the 2015-16′ NHL season in a few weeks time. That generally means a bunch of questions with few answers, at least for the time being.

For the defending Eastern Conference Champions, those questions are few entering this years training camp but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. One which will pop out often during the next month before the October 8th regular season opener is how certain opponents will match up with the team widely considered to be the East’s beast.

In this series I’ll take a look at all 30 of those teams one by one, taking into account their key additions and subtractions. I’ll then analyze how they may match up with the Tampa Bay Lightning. This week’s opponent: the Anaheim Ducks.

Being in the Western Conference, the Tampa Bay Lightning won’t face the Ducks often during the regular season but given their recent success it’s likely these two could find themselves engaging in a winner-take-all Stanley Cup Final sooner rather than later. A little knowledge might go a long way given that possibility.

During the 2015 offseason, the Ducks made a couple of big moves with the hope that would be enough to push them past the rest of the Western Conference and into that ever elusive Cup final.

One player they feel could help them in their quest is former New York Ranger Carl Hagelin. Traded for a second round pick and Emerson Etem at the 2015 NHL Draft, Hagelin’s expected to bring extra grit and Stanley Cup final experience to a Ducks team that hasn’t advanced to the biggest stage of all since raising hockey’s holy grail back in 2007.

While a member of the Blueshirts, Hagelin tallied 130 points, a plus-57 rating and 132 penalty minutes in 266 regular season games played. His postseason totals were 26 points and 39 penalty minutes in 73 appearances.

The Ducks also picked up forwards Mike Santorelli (Nashville Predators), Chris Mueller (New York Rangers), Chris Stewart (Minnesota Wild), Shawn Horcoff (Dallas Stars) and Brian McGrattan (Calgary Flames), plus goaltender Matt Hackett (Buffalo Sabres), via Free Agency. They also re-signed forward Jakob Silfverberg to an extension.

Each should bring size, toughness and grit to a Ducks team that’s known for their physical style of play. Stewart (36 points, 81 games, split between the Sabres and Wild), along with Santorelli (33 points, 79 games between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Predators) can also add a little offense. The same can be said for Horcoff who posted 29 points in 76 games played with the Stars this past season.

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Key losses included Etem, Matt Beleskey and Francois Beauchemin. Etem was a key piece in the deal for Carl Hagelin, while both Beleskey and Beauchemin signed multi-year contracts in free agency (Beleskey with the Boston Bruins, Beauchemin with the Colorado Avalanche).

Against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Ducks should match up fairly well. They have plenty of offense, highlighted by Ryan Kesler and Corey Perry up top, while a more experienced Frederik Anderson and John Gibson provide solid netminding.

The loss of Beleskey may hurt a little, though Hagelin’s experience on the big stage and respectable numbers while appearing in most Ranger games the past three seasons makes it a risk worth taking for the Ducks.

Looking at everything, I fully expect the Ducks to do better than last season’s 0-2 record against the Lightning. Their offense has been upgraded and goaltending has always been a strength of sorts.

This season shouldn’t be much different, all things considered. 1-1 is my season series prediction, but that doesn’t include a potential Stanley Cup final matchup which is entirely possible given the recent success both teams have seen in recent years.

What do you think? Could the Ducks pose a legitimate threat to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s hopes of raising Lord Stanley’s Cup sooner rather than later? Does the acquisition of Hagelin make them more or less of a threat going forward? Feel free to sound off in the comment section below.

Next: Tyler Johnson Should Be 'Ready To Go' By Training Camp

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