Rookies Bring Youthful Energy To Tampa Bay Lightning Lineup
The kids are alright.
© James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports - Rookies Bring Youthful Energy To Tampa Bay Lightning LineupThe Lightning have won seven of their last eight games. Over those last eight, they have allowed an average of just 2.25 goals a game.
The stars of the Lightning have led the way, with Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov all finding momentum in the second half of the season. When the roster was hit with injuries to Mikhail Sergachev, Haydn Fleury, Erik Cernak and Tanner Jeannot, the Lightning had to rely on players from AHL Syracuse.
After a rocky first half of the season, the team is starting to find their identity and the energy the rookies are bringing to the lineup has been welcomed.
“The youthful energy that has been brought into this room in the past few weeks has been great and not for just the way they played on the ice,” said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos.
“They've done an amazing job on the ice but just that anxiousness, that nervousness, that energy that you have in the room for these young guys. They are all great, young guys. I think that has been a help as well, maybe a little jolt. They've certainly played extremely well for us.”
In years past, the Lightning locker room was filled with veteran players, many of whom have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. Cracking the roster was incredibly difficult and oftentimes, short term.
With Austin Watson now out for a few weeks, the Lightning recalled Mitchell Chaffee again on Wednesday, putting him on a line with Luke Glendening and Waltteri Merelä. On Thursday night, Chaffee scored his first career NHL goal with his Syracuse Crunch teammates, Max Crozier and Emil Lilleberg assisting. “It's awesome,” Chaffee said. “I walked to the rink with them today. I'm close with them and they are great guys and it just makes it that much better.”
The line of Merela, Glendening, and Chaffee had a 7-3 edge in shot attempts, and a 2-0 edge in goals scored while they were on the ice. The Lightning had four Syracuse players on the ice in total Thursday night, all four factored into the 6-3 win against Arizona.
“You talk about some of the winning we've done lately, I think you can attribute some of that to the energy the kids from Syracuse have been bringing us,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “Guys are really cheering for them on the bench, so when they score like that, the guys are pumped.”
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