Nick Paul finds a home on the power play for the Tampa Bay Lightning

Opening night for the Tampa Bay Lightning had its ups and downs. The Bolts took the lead, only to surrender the lead, only to retake the lead, only to lose it again, before finally putting away the Nashville Predators in a 5-3 victory.

While one shouldn’t overreact to one night of hockey (unless you’re an Oilers fan after last night), one key lineup decision Jon Cooper made could pay dividends all season long.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Better call Paul

Last season didn’t quite go the way Nick Paul would have wanted. After starting out the season hot and scoring 16 goals during the first half of the season and looked like another steal for the Lightning. But then Paul only scored one goal over the final 38 games of the season.

With the departures of Alex Killorn and Corey Perry though, Tampa needed someone to fill the role of their down-low guy on the top power play unit.

Given his size, Paul seems like the perfect fit for the role. He is capable of scoring, he’s not afraid to be physical, dig the puck out of the corners, or when chaos erupts in front of the net.

For his first goal, Paul stayed firm putting the rebound into the net while two Nashville players crashed into him.

On his game-winning goal, Paul retrieved a puck from the left corner before heading back to the net unafraid he might get crunched again.

After the game, Paul stayed humble despite his big night. He sounded like a man who understands his role for the 2023-24 season.

"“When you’re with good players, you just try to get them the puck. And then my job is just stay in there, take the goalie away and then the trash in front, put it in. Just got to keep it going and build confidence.”"

It was one night for the Tampa Bay Lightning with 81 to go. But if what we saw on Tuesday is sustainable, Tampa should be just fine once again on the power play this season.