47-27-8 102 points (2nd Atlantic, 3rd conference, tied 7th overall) 3.56 GF/GP, 1st; 2.53 GA/GP, 4th 25.9 PP%, 5th; 81.6 PK%, 6th Key losses: F Ike Howard, F Luke Glendening Key additions: F Jakob Pelletier, F Pontus Holmberg Expected lineup: Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Oliver Bjorkstrand Conor Geekie - Yanni Gourde – Gage Goncalves Zemgus Girgensons – Pontus Holmberg – Mitchell Chaffee Victor Hedman – J.J. Moser Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak Emil Lilleberg – Darren Raddysh Andrei Vasilevskiy Jonas Johansson Brandon Halverson PP1: Guentzel - Point - Kucherov - Hagel - Hedman PP2: Cirelli- Bjorkstrand - Gourde – Goncalves- Raddysh 5x5: Scoring goals certainly is not a problem for Tampa Bay, who led the league. The Lightning had six in-house players top the 20-goal mark season and added a seventh when Oliver Bjorkstrand joined the team at the trade deadline. Even with Nick Paul undergoing surgery in mid-September to address an upper-body injury and sidelined until early November, offense should not be an issue. If you need us to tell you targeting Tampa Bay forwards is a good idea, maybe fantasy hockey is just not your cup of tea. The top-three is as good as it gets in the league while the second line, especially Brandon Hagel, is not too shabby as well. Tampa Bay also has a winger who should take a step forward this season in Gage Goncalves, especially with Paul out. The same with Conor Geekie. Victor Hedman remains an elite blueliner. The return of Ryan McDonagh lengthened the blueliner while Darren Raddysh is the third best offensive blueliner and worthy of a look in most deep leagues. Each of those three d-men pair mates will be more of a defensive ballast, enabling their partners to rush the puck offensively. PP: The Lightning’s offensive prowess certainly is not limited to just even-strength. Tampa did fall from first in league in 2023-24 at 28.6 per cent success rate to sixth with a 25.9 conversion percentage. The net difference was drop of 11 goals, from 71 tallies to 60, which is still a more than respectable number. The names on the first grouping stand out. Jake Guentzel (who led the league with 17 goals) – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov-Brandon Hagel and Victor Hedman. That unit is deadly and can beat you from the point, down low, on the rush and via cross ice passing, led by Kucherov. On the second unit, with Paul out, Anthony Cirelli, Bjorkstrand and Goncalves should see additional opportunities. The penalty kill took a small step backwards, dropping from fifth in league at 83.3 per cent to 81.6 and sixth overall. Cirelli and Hagel made a dynamic duo shorthanded. Pontus Holmberg should slot onto the second unit, aiding that penalty kill. All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.
