Five Things The Tampa Bay Lightning Need To Do To Get Back On Track

Oct 29, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) shoots on goal as Colorado Avalanche center Carl Soderberg (34) defends during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

5. Kick Up The Intensity

We have all been to those hockey games when the Tampa Bay Lightning come out of the gate like a tornado ready to wreak havoc on every single thing that stands in its way to victory, only to have the team fall flat on their face in the second period and somehow finding a way to come out on the losing end of the stick after having a three-goal lead.

At the same time, the Tampa Bay Lightning has also had those games where they would be sluggish and almost downright disinterested in the first period, only to come out after the first intermission like someone had stuck a firecracker up their backsides and were ready to take on the world over the course of the next 40 minutes of play.

While these circumstances may not be an everyday occurrence, it does happen a lot more than any fan in the Bolts Nation would like to admit. If the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to be successful this season, they are going to have to kick their on-ice intensity up a notch. In addition to this, they need to find a comfortable pace they can maintain for 60 minutes of hockey and not die out somewhere right around the middle.

The Tampa Bay Lightning is stacked with some of the most talented players in the National Hockey League. Our captain, Steven Stamkos, is a two-time Rocket Richard winner and a two-time NHL All-Star. In addition to Stamkos, the Triplets (Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, and Ondrej Palat) absolutely dominated the NHL last season and accounted for almost 1/3 of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s total points in the 2014-15 season.

When you have this much offensive firepower at your disposal, there is absolutely no reason the team can’t make like award-winning chef Emeril Lagasse and kick it up a notch on the ice and maintain for a full 60 minutes of play.

Next: 4. Keep Your Eyes On The Puck

Nov 1, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vladislav Namestnikov (90) skates with the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes during the 3rd period at PNC Arena. The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

4. Keep Your Eyes On The Puck

Ok, so maybe we don’t want the Tampa Bay Lightning to take this one too literally. If they consistently kept their eyes on the puck and not where they are headed on the ice, there is a good chance the players would end up running face first into the boards or worse – being slammed into them by the opposition.

At the same time, the Lightning’s puck possession as of late has been absolutely atrocious. This was made all to evident on Halloween Night when the Tampa Bay Lightning battled captain Zdeno Chara and the Boston Bruins in their final game before heading out on their current four-game road trip.

In the course of maybe 15 minutes, the Tampa Bay Lightning would turn over the puck at least five times resulting in a breakaway by various Bruins players forcing Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop to scramble to keep the puck out of the net with little to no assistance from the Lightning defense.

As we mentioned on the previous page, the Tampa Bay Lightning is filled to the brim with some of the most talented players in the National Hockey League. While we completely understand the Lightning is a very young team right now, they set the bar awfully high for themselves with the tremendous play they displayed during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In other words, we know they are capable of much, much better.

Yes…we are totally aware the team is dealing with a multitude of injuries at the moment, whether it be players who have been relegated to the sidelines or players who continue to take the ice every night, playing through some minor nagging injuries. At the same time, if they are going to be successful this season, the Lightning are going to have to find a way to keep their heads in the game and adapt when things get thrown in their path.

As we said just a few moments ago, we know they are capable…they just need to find a way to execute.

Next: 3. Shake Things Up A Bit

Oct 29, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA;Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) skates with the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Francois Beauchemin (32) defneds during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

3. Be Unpredictable

When a player charges down the ice with the puck and their teammates are bringing up their flank, the onus of making the stop ultimately falls on the defense and the goaltender to make the stop. At the same time, the onus of putting the puck in the back of the net falls on the sticks of the team charging down the ice into the offensive zone.

Unfortunately, where things get a little difficult for the team charging down the ice is when their execution is quickly halted by the opposing team. How does something like this happen so easily? It is when the team (the Lightning for example) are entirely too predictable.

One of the main reasons the Boston Bruins had the Tampa Bay Lightning beat dead to rights on Halloween Night at the Amalie Arena is because they were entirely too predictable. Play after play, the Lightning would continue to set things up directly in front of the net. After the first couple of times, the Bruins knew exactly what they were going to do and when they were going to do it. This made their job like taking candy from a baby.

One of the best things a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning can do to blow through their opponent’s defenses and beat even the most elite of goaltenders is to be completely unpredictable. What does this mean, you may ask? This means making the ugly goals, coming at the net from all sides, and taking the shot that absolutely no defenseman would ever believe they would take.

In addition to this, when they shoot the puck the Lightning need to be ready and waiting for the rebound. A goaltender like Montreal Canadiens netminder Carey Price or Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford may be able to make the initial stop, but when the puck continues to come at them like a flurry of bullets in an all-night battle of Call of Duty, one of them is bound to make their way into the back of the net.

Next: 2. More Bombs From The Blue Line

Oct 8, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison (5) skates with the puck during the third period at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in 3-3 overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

2. More Bombs From The Blue Line

This is something that goes entirely hand-in-hand with our previous point about being unpredictable. Most scoring plays come into fruition from right in front of the net, whether it is the approach of a player streaking across the ice on a breakaway or a player who is digging hard for a rebound in front of the net hoping for their opening to give their respective team the advantage.

One thing that not every defenseman is prepared for is a player to get the puck near the blue line and fire off a bomb headed right for the head of the opposing goaltender. This is a place where the Tampa Bay Lightning could use some of their incredible firepower to their advantage.

Allow us to elaborate a little bit for you. In the Tampa Bay Lightning Home Opener, the Bolts took on the Philadelphia Flyers, a hard-hitting team that is well-known for knocking their opponents off the puck and even dropping the gloves on occasion. (Shocker, right?) The Lightning and Flyers would have one period already in the books and neither team would be able to strike first blood.

This is where Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison comes into play.

As you can see, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers were both determined to be the first one to strike. Lightning right wing Ryan Callahan would play the puck into the Flyers’ zone and make his way up the boards towards the net. Unfortunately, there was no clear shot for Callahan as three Flyers quickly made their way into the zone and in the path between Callahan and Flyers goaltender Steve Mason.

Quickly, Callahan turns and sees Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison ready and waiting at the Blue Line. Callahan passes the puck which heads right for Garrison’s stick. Without hesitation, Garrison draws back his stick and fires off the puck, sending it flying right past Mason’s stick side and into the back of the net.

It would not be unreasonable for the Tampa Bay Lightning to take more shots like this from the Blue Line. Something like this would come as second nature for someone like Jason Garrison or a sniper like Steven Stamkos. Adding this kind of shot to their repertoire would only increase the danger a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning presents.

Next: 1. Pass, Pass, Shoot!

Oct 29, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Ryan Callahan (24) shoots on goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

1. Pass, Pass, Shoot!

If there is anything that has become the absolute bane of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s existence this season, it is their propensity to pass the puck a million times despite having every opportunity in the world to fire off a shot that would more than likely find its way to the back of the net.

There are no words to accurately describe how frustrating this has become for Tampa Bay Lightning fans here in the Bolts Nation as well as those whose only opportunity to see their Bolts play is from the bright lights of their television screens. I cannot elaborate to you how many times a night the lady who sits behind me at the Amalie Arena screams “Shoot!” at the top of her lungs in any given night.

While there are some people who would find this annoying (not I), she makes a very valid point. There are plenty of times when the Tampa Bay Lightning will charge into the offensive zone with little to no opposition, but because of their constant overpassing and their split second hesitation they find themselves stripped of the puck and chasing it back down the ice into their defensive zone.

We have a little rule of thumb us here at Bolts By The Bay think the Tampa Bay Lightning should take to heart, “Pass, Pass, Shoot!” In most cases, after the puck has been passed twice in the offensive zone, the third player to touch the puck should have some sort of opportunity to make their way to the back of the net.

We digress, not every single one of these shots is going to find their way to the back of the net. That’s ok. This is where the little thing we mentioned earlier about digging for rebounds comes into play. It doesn’t matter if you are Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask or New York Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist, if you pepper them with shots long enough, one of them is bound to go in.

After all, you don’t score on 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.

At the end of the day, we know the Tampa Bay Lightning has all of the pieces they need to be successful in the 2015-16 season. After tasting success and playing at the highest level possible last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning are determined to taste that very same success again. If they can make a few minor adjustments and find some consistency in the coming games, they could very well become one of the most dominant teams in the National Hockey League.