Tampa Bay Lightning: Best of the Bolts – vote for your favorite play of the 2016-17 season

Tampa Bay Lightning fans will soon be able to vote for their favorite play of the 2016-17 season. The first round, consisting of 16 plays, kicks off at noon on Friday, May 12, on the team’s official website. Voting for the first round will end at noon on Monday, May 15.

Which play do you think deserves top honors for the Lightning’s 2016-17 campaign? According to Bolts beat writer Brian Burns, you’ll soon have your chance to make your voice heard.

Friday at noon, you’ll be able to select your favorite from among 16 plays from the past year. They’re paired up against each other in eight races in the first round — hopefully the playoff format doesn’t trigger any disappointed fans. Friday opens the Lightning Region of the eight-race bracket.

The first race of round one pits Lightning all star Nikita Kucherov’s sick shootout goal from March 4 against the Buffalo Sabres against another Kucherov goal, this one one a beautiful pass from then-healthy captain Steven Stamkos. The shootout stunner is considered the No. 1 seed, and it’s easy to see why. But what kind of magic did fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning miss out on with Stamkos sidelined?

Can’t get enough Nikita Kucherov? Read about his brilliant play in the IIHF Worlds!

The second match-up features the No. 8 seed, Lightning rookie Yanni Gourde’s game-winning, glove-side wrister to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime on March 27. That tally is up against No. 9, another goal from Kucherov — is this a theme? — on April 7, on the road against the Montreal Canadiens. This one came off Ondrej Palat’s stick in the area of the defensive zone face-off circle and landed about half a rink away, right on Kuch’s tape. Notably, it was Kucherov’s 40th goal of the season.

Stay tuned to Bolts by the Bay to find out when the next round of voting opens up.