We are just past the halfway point of the NHL season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are in the thick of things, battling for a playoff spot.
The Lightning are 24-16-3 with 51 points, good for third place in the Atlantic division. Last year, the Bolts were 19-17-3 at the break with 43 points.
Improvements over last season have been noticeable, even if they are slight. Nikita Kucherov is having another career year. He is on pace for 135 points, surpassing his career high of 128. He is also in the hunt for the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Trophy. Victor Hedman is on pace for 80 points.
The areas where the Lightning have improved the most are goaltending and 5-5 play. Andrei Vasileviskiy was coming off back surgery last season and was never 100 percent the entire season. Last season, Vasileviskiy and Jonas Johansson were 19-17-5 as a duo, with a .900 save percentage, ranked 30th in the league. This season, the Bolts goaltending tandem is 22-16-3 with a .918 save percentage, good for 9th in the league. Vasileviskiy should again be in the running for his second Vezina Trophy this season.
Every category, offensively and defensively, has improved over the last year. But there are two areas where the Lightning have improved the most over last year: goaltending and 5-on-5 play.
Jake Guentzel, acquired from Carolina in the offseason, has been a big part of that improvement. Guentzel has 23 points, notching 10 goals and 13 assists. Last season, at the halfway point, Steven Stamkos had 12 points with four goals and eight assists.
Although the Lightning have taken a step back on the power play, they are better this season during 5-on-5 play. Brayden Point does have 12 power play goals this season. For comparison, as a team, the New York Islanders have 11.
On the power play kill, the Bolts are at 81.5%, compared 80.5% last year. The Lightning also have eight short-handed goals this season.
In the second half of the season, the Lightning will look to improve the bottom six. The Bolts have gotten next to nothing from their bottom six, and although we don’t expect a 20 goal scorer from the bottom six, a goal once in a while would be admirable. Perhaps Julien BriseBois and the front office will look for a bottom-six forward or two at the trade deadline.
Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel have been key contributors. Cirelli has 18 goals and 19 assists (37 points), while Hagel is second in scoring with 20 goals and 29 assists (49 points).
Defensively, it’s all about staying healthy for the Lightning. JJ Moser is not expected back for a few weeks yet, and Erik Cernak went down with a lower-body injury against Anaheim on Tuesday night.
In conclusion, this Bolts team is better than last year’s team. But the regular season means little. It’s all what you do in the playoffs that counts. According to the Money Puck, the Lightning will finish the season with 98 points.
The Lightning are back home to play the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.