“They’re ending up in the back of our net and that’s killing us in games where, for the most part, we’ve played well. Then we have nothing to show for it.”
It’s no secret the Lightning are struggling, but it’s not in the way you’d expect. Nationally, the media has been trying to predict the “downfall” of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the past three years.
With a salary cap crunch this summer and the loss of multiple veteran players, you’d expect some decline in play. We’ve seen teams around the league miss the playoffs year after year with no end in sight. That isn’t necessarily the case with the Lightning though. A week ago, we watched them storm into Carolina and absolutely dominate, leaving with an 8-2 victory.
We’re now at the point in the season that we can measure where they are as a team. Right now, it’s a bit of a roller coaster ride. The Bolts mostly outplay their opponents time and time again, at a fast pace and without a break in rhythm. Then at some point, a turnover happens and they start to fade away.
It happened again last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Lightning came out aggressive, playing some of their best hockey. Then turnovers led to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin getting the puck and both ended up in the back of the net.
“I think it’s just the same story the past couple of games. We’re playing some of our better hockey in spurts,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said.
“Structurally, I think we’re playing some of our best hockey. That was probably the best hockey we played all year in the first period, smothering them skating, back-checking, it was the recipe.”
“And then, just a couple plays that lead to chances for some really good players, and they make you pay and then it’s a whole different feel of the game and they gain some momentum. Another game where we get 40 shots and you don’t have any points to show for it.”
The Lightning locker room is filled with most of the same characters. The energy is upbeat and the players are excited. The chemistry is good. That is, until one of the routine losses happen. The lows are low.
Head coach Jon Cooper addressed the issue again last night.
“It’s tough, because the guys care. I went into the locker room and basically told the guys, ‘I’ve given this speech eight times this year.’ And I asked them what the speech was, and they knew exactly what it was,” said Cooper.
“If it was a structure thing or a work-ethic thing or something like that, but at times, we make crazy poor decisions, and every time we make it, they end up in the back of the net.”
One of the issues the Lightning have had over the past few years is the natural ability to complicate their game, making over-skilled passes that rarely make it to the intended destination.
“They’re ending up in the back of our net and that’s killing us in games where, for the most part, we’ve played well. Then we have nothing to show for it.” said Stamkos.
“It’s a collective effort, it’s not one guy, it’s all of us. We just have to simplify sometimes.”
The Lightning finished the night with a 41-29 shot advantage.
'It comes now within the room," said Cooper. "Would you make those decisions in a playoff game? Or are you making them in game 24? At some point, and I think that point has hit us now, we're going to have to treat every game like a playoff game or we won't be there.”