Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2022 11:28:44 GMT -6
Well I think it's fair it's fair to say that no one saw this coming. The Tampa Bay Lightning consider themselves to be contenders. Not playoffs contenders, but contenders for the Stanley Cup. And anchored by Andrei Vasilevskiy, Alex Pietrangelo, and Erik Karlsson, they darn well should be. Sure, the team has their detractors, and there's been some fair debate surrounding whether they belong in the upper echelon of the PFHL. But their thin forward group has been far more problematic than anticipated.
The Bolts lost James van Riemsdyk, Jamie Benn, and Dustin Brown to unrestricted free agency in the summer, and replaced them with Brett Ritchie, Craig Smith, and Marcus Johansson, along with some internal turnover. We knew that, beyond Ryan O'Reilly, this forward group lacked scoring punch. But the level of disfunction at the start of the season, as the Bolts stumbled out of the gate to the tune of a 2-11 start, has shocked the coaches and management in the Tampa Bay area.
But the last 5 games have looked more like Tampa Bay Lightning hockey. Whether it was spawned by the splitting of the Pietrangelo/Karlsson pairing, or the team's re-commitment to physical play, something appears to have changed. The Bolts have absolutely dominated the shot clock in the last 5 games. A 3-2 record is nothing to write home about, but the version of the team looks like a Contender. Like the team we thought they were. But can they keep it up? This is a team that needs scoring help to be a sustainable winner.
Rumours have surrounded the team, and it's repeated attempts to acquire a forward upgrade. They've certainly been working the phones. But the league is deft of sellers and full of buyers, making it challenging to pull off a big acquisition. Maybe it has to wait until the deadline. Maybe it has to be a rental. But will that be too late? This team shouldn't be looking at the Cup right now. It should be trying to make the playoffs.
The Bolts lost James van Riemsdyk, Jamie Benn, and Dustin Brown to unrestricted free agency in the summer, and replaced them with Brett Ritchie, Craig Smith, and Marcus Johansson, along with some internal turnover. We knew that, beyond Ryan O'Reilly, this forward group lacked scoring punch. But the level of disfunction at the start of the season, as the Bolts stumbled out of the gate to the tune of a 2-11 start, has shocked the coaches and management in the Tampa Bay area.
But the last 5 games have looked more like Tampa Bay Lightning hockey. Whether it was spawned by the splitting of the Pietrangelo/Karlsson pairing, or the team's re-commitment to physical play, something appears to have changed. The Bolts have absolutely dominated the shot clock in the last 5 games. A 3-2 record is nothing to write home about, but the version of the team looks like a Contender. Like the team we thought they were. But can they keep it up? This is a team that needs scoring help to be a sustainable winner.
Rumours have surrounded the team, and it's repeated attempts to acquire a forward upgrade. They've certainly been working the phones. But the league is deft of sellers and full of buyers, making it challenging to pull off a big acquisition. Maybe it has to wait until the deadline. Maybe it has to be a rental. But will that be too late? This team shouldn't be looking at the Cup right now. It should be trying to make the playoffs.
