Tampa Bay Lightning: How Can The Team Get Back On Track?
By: Tasha St. Pierre – Bolts By The Bay Site Expert
The Tampa Bay Lightning has definitely had their ups and downs this season. Unfortunately, it is the downs that seem to have taken hold in the minds and hearts of both the Tampa Bay Lightning and their fans.
The 2016-17 season is shaping up to be one of the worst seasons in recent history. The injuries continue to pile up and the team can’t seem to put together a decent winning streak of their life depended on it. The main reason this is so disturbing is the pure amount of raw talent the Lightning have in their system.
Players like Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, and Alex Killorn have all played at the highest level in the National Hockey League, while players like Slater Koekkoek, Luke Witkowski, and Brayden Point have all just tasted the higher level action. What is it that connects all these players…talent and a desire to win.
So, why have the Tampa Bay Lightning been experiencing the deep-rooted issues they have this season, and what does the team need to do in order to get back on track. From where this Lightning fan is seated high on the terrace level of the Amalie Arena, the answer is quite simple.
The biggest detractor from the success of the Tampa Bay Lightning this season has been consistency. Out of the 51 games the team has played thus far, the Lightning has allowed their opponents to score first a whopping 32 times. This means 62.7 percent of the time, the Lightning allows their opponents to score first.
While this may seem pretty consistent, mainly for the wrong reasons, it is actually a staggering blow. The Lightning tends to find themselves in one of two categories. They either come out of the tunnel with a vicious aggression only to fizzle out somewhere in the second period or they come out of the tunnel very lackadaisical and find themselves chasing their tails in the third period hoping to wrestle a win away from their opponent.
In order for the team to find their center, get back to basics, and most importantly, start winning games, the team simply must find some semblance of consistency. How can they accomplish this? Well…
The first thing will be to come out of the tunnel prepared to win a game. While we would hope this is a no-brainer for a player, sometimes it seems as if they need to be reminded.
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The second is to set the tone very early. They don’t want to set the bar too high in the beginning as to not burn themselves out around the halfway point in the game. At the same time, the team wants to establish some sort of dominance or their control of the pace of the game will be quickly taken away.
The third, and this is more than likely the most important aspect of the entire plan, they need to continue to play at this pace for a whole 60 minutes. There have been far too many times this season when the Lightning has gotten off to a magnificent pace only to put on the brakes in the second or third and watch as their lead dwindled away to nothing.
The only thing more heartbreaking than a loss is a loss in a game you should’ve won.
Another thing the Lightning needs to do in order to get back on track is to be much more aggressive with the puck. As the old saying goes, “the best defense a team can have is a strong offense.” In other words, if the opponent doesn’t have control of the puck, they can’t very well put it in the back of the net, can they?
There have been far too many times this season where Lightning netminders Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy have been hung out to dry by their teammates. While the goalies have made 40+ stops in any given game, the Lightning’s offense has had trouble mustering 1-2 goals.
The netminders seem to always catch the brunt of the negativity when it comes to a loss, but the simple fact of the matter is, the goaltender can make 60+ stops every single game, but if the offense can’t manage to put the puck in the back of the net, they have absolutely zero chance of bringing home a victory.
Despite the injuries to the team, the Lightning has everything they need in order to be successful at their disposal right now. It will be on Jon Cooper to put the puzzle pieces in the right order, and it will be on the players to lace up their skates and get the job done.
If both sides can handle their little piece of the puzzle, the Lightning may have a chance of salvaging the season. If even one piece of the Lightning’s well-oiled machine falters, it could prove to be the end of the line for the once dominant Tampa Bay Lightning.