Tampa Bay Lightning: 5 Things We Learned From Round 2

Be Prepared For A Physical Game

One of the things the Tampa Bay Lightning learned from their second-round series against the New York Islanders is the Lightning is going to have to be prepared to step out of their comfort zone a little bit and play a much more physical style of hockey.

It is no secret the Tampa Bay Lightning are not exactly what one would refer to as one of the most physical teams in the league. While players like Victor Hedman and Andrej Sustr have more than their share of size, the Lightning have always relied on their incredible speed and tremendous puck handling skills to make their way to the top of the league.

As you can imagine, this is something the Lightning’s opponents are going to try and leverage against the team. This was made apparently clear by the New York Islanders.

Players like Travis Hamonic, Thomas Hickey, and Casey Cizikas took more than a little privilege when it came to lying questionable hits on some of the Lightning’s better players.

One incident that comes to mind almost immediately is the incident involving Tampa Bay Lightning rookie winger Jonathan Drouin and New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey. Drouin was attempting to play the puck along the boards when he was absolutely drilled in the head by Hickey. Drouin was forced to leave the game for the remainder of the period. Thankfully, he was able to rejoin his team on the bench at the start of the third period.

Judging by what we saw in the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, the Penguins have no problem barreling into another player if it means they have an opportunity to get ahold of the puck and make a play on the net. The Lightning will need to be ready to give it back to the Penguins just as hard as they give it to us if the Bolts want to emerge from the next series victorious.

Next: Shoot the Puck, Hard and Often