Tampa Bay Lightning Clinch Spot In Stanley Cup Playoffs
By Josh Russell
The Tampa Bay Lightning have clinched a playoff spot for the third year in a row and what a relief it is.
The Tampa Bay Lightning needed just 1 point to clinch a spot in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bolts got the help they needed when the Boston Bruins lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in a shootout last night at TD Garden.
Considering the parity in the NHL in this day and age it is pretty impressive that the Lightning have clinched a playoff spot for a third consecutive year. It is only the second time in the Bolts 24 year history that they have had such a playoff streak.
The Lightning have their work cut out for them if they intend on remaining the Eastern Conference Champions.
The Bolts have struggled to find consistency this season. They have had trouble with trying to regain their championship form from last season. There has been a lack of urgency at times, a lack of focus, a lack of effort. There has been the typical ebbs and flows of an 82 game regular season. Why would any of this change come playoff time?
Simply put, This is the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
With the Stanley Cup Playoffs comes a brand new season. A season that brings new life to a struggling team. Where a team finished during the regular season is no longer important. All that matters is the game at hand. Every single game is just as important as the next one.
There is no mercy for any team that is not up to the task. There is no room for error. The weak ones will be devoured and only the strong survive.
The fact that the Lightning clinched their spot in the playoffs is the most important piece to the puzzle at this time. Home ice advantage in the first round would be nice as well, but, the Bolts have clinched and that’s what matters. I am fully confident in this team and what they can achieve and here is why.
The Bolts have been here before. This very team has been here before. When the Lightning lost captain Steven Stamkos to a broken tibia back in the 2013-2014 season, despite everybody in the hockey world counting them out, they stuck together and made the playoffs. I know, they were swept in the first round. Oh well. Let’s chalk that up to their inexperience.
To band together and overcome the loss of the star player on your team and still make the playoffs says a lot about the will of this team.
Last season in the first round against the Detroit Red Wings, Stamkos failed to register a goal and only had 3 points. Forwards Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, and goaltender Ben Bishop were the ones to step up in that series. I understand that with Stamkos in the lineup the opponent has to account for him but Stammer only had 7 goals in the entire postseason last year and the Bolts still made it to the Stanley Cup Finals.
My point is the Lightning have survived without Stamkos before.
This postseason will come with a more challenging complex in that defenseman Anton Stralman and captain Steven Stamkos are both out with injuries for the time being. This still doesn’t mean the Lightning is going to fall short of expectations.
The Bolts are either going to face the Boston Bruins or the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs. Even with Stralman and Stamkos out the Lightning are favorites to beat either team in a best of 7 series, in my opinion.
Anton Stralman could very well be back in the lineup for the second round of the playoffs. If he is not, the Lightning still have the experience of making it to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. That experience will go a long way in keeping the Bolts in any series.
The amount of time Stamkos will miss has yet to be determined. The initial timetable for his recovery is 1-3 months. If it turns out to be just 1 month Stammer could be back late in the second round. Again, The Lighting has the talent, the goaltending, and the experience to carry this team without Stralman and Stamkos.
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The Lightning is in the midst of a rough patch, there is no denying that. It’s going to be a fight to survive come playoff time. The Bolts will have to dig deep each and every game to give everything they have and leave it out on the ice. This team will have to come together now more than ever if they want to succeed.
There is hope for the Bolts because there is a new season on the horizon in Tampa Bay. That season is called the Stanley Cup Playoffs and once again the Bolts have the privilege of playing in it. We as fans have the privilege of watching our favorite team battle every night while other teams sit at home.
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For the third consecutive season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have earned the chance to call themselves Stanley Cup Champions. The Amalie Arena will be rocking! The energy in the building will be overwhelming and Bolts Nation will once again need to Be The Thunder!
This is what hockey is all about and I trust that the Lighting will rise to the occasion.