Tampa Bay Lightning: New ‘Triplets’ Line Shines In Postseason
Since being combined over the course of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s new ‘Triplets’ have been making a big impact.
10 goals total, 3 game winning goals, 10 assists, and a 47.2 face off percentage. What do all of these stats have in common? The answer: The Tampa Bay Lightning’s new “Triplets” line or the “Triplets 2.0” as they have been affectionately coined. This line of Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson, and Nikita Kucherov has been on fire since the start of the hunt for Lord Stanley’s cup.
At the start of the playoffs, the Bolts were dealt a huge blow when their Captain Steven Stamkos was sidelined for 1-3 months with a blood clot. It was evident that if the Bolts were going to make another deep playoff run, they would need a dangerous scoring presence in their Captain’s absence. That presence has been found in this fast, dynamic, and talented line.
The key to this electric line is their speed. They generate their scoring chances based on quick movement and shifts in the offensive zone. It seems as if this line knew exactly how to dismantle the Detroit Red Wings defense. Quick, off puck movement and cuts to right in front of the cage led to great deflection opportunities and more often than not it seemed, a goal.
There is only so much a goalie can do when the puck changes direction quickly in front of the net with such little time to react. This was made painfully aware (for them at least) to both Red Wings goaltenders Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek.
This is also a scrappy line. None of its members are afraid to hit or put themselves in valuable offensive opportunities that will result in them getting hit. Detroit was probably the most aggressive team that the Lightning will play and they weren’t shy about taking any opportunity they saw to lay out anyone in a blue sweater. This physicality was caused by the modern day rivalry these two teams have created and that rivalry won’t go away anytime soon.
The entire Bolts roster knew this going into the series and if they were going to score they knew they couldn’t rely on slapshots from the blue line or dekes in front of the net, they would have to scrap for opportunities and the Triplets 2.0 did just this. The combination of speed, quick movement, and scrappy goals led this line to become the highest scoring in the Stanley Cup Final so far.
As the saying goes, the best offense is a good defense. Killorn, Johnson, and Kucherov provided this too. While these skaters where on the ice seldom did a puck leave the offensive zone without it being contested. The grinding mentality kept by this trio, especially on the forecheck, led to loose pucks, an out of position defense, and quick scoring opportunities.
The high pressure forecheck led to opportunities where the Red Wings were either involved in a full line scrum for the puck or setting up their offense and didn’t have the manpower to defend against an offensive rush.
When all of these factors are put together in one line, the perfect storm (pun intended) is created. The Triplets 2.0 provided much of the force that sent the Bolts to the second round, and the Red Wings to the golf course, much earlier than anticipated by most of the hockey community as a whole.
Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Needs To Come Out Strong In Round 2
As we may have witnessed the last NHL game of a hockey legend Pavel Datsyuk, things may be looking a little bleak for Detroit right now. But hey, it isn’t all bad, I hear Crystal Downs is a great course this time of year.