It has already been mentioned over and over again, but the Tampa Bay Lightning are not living up to the lofty expectations given before the first puck drop of the 2016-17 season.
After getting as far as Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals without their biggest star and captain, Steven Stamkos, the Lightning were picked as one of the franchises favored to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2017.
37 games into the regular season, the Bolts are struggling to enter the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference and do not appear to be a team destined to be Stanley Cup champions. They are 18-15-4 (40 points), which is only good enough for fourth place in the Atlantic Divison. As of right now, they only sit two points behind the third-place Bruins but are not far ahead of the Maple Leafs (39 points) and Panthers (38 points).
Of course, entering the postseason as a wild card team is always an option. However, all signs point to both wild card spots being occupied by the lethal Metropolitan Division. There is always the chance that some of the Metropolitan teams experience a decline in performance, such as Philadelphia who has lost three in a row. Still, Tampa Bay should keep the mentality that they need to be one of the top-three teams in the Atlantic to advance to the postseason.
This means that there are essentially five teams battling for two playoff spots in the division, assuming that Carey Price stays healthy enough to keep Montreal on top.
The reality is that the Lightning are a playoff team, even without Steven Stamkos who isn't expected back until the middle of March. They have the talent necessary to get hot and make some serious progress in the Atlantic Division. All it really takes is a decent win streak and the worries about not making the postseason will escape the minds of most.
Unfortunately, the team has failed to be anything but mediocre to this point. Tampa has looked strong in games but then comes out the next game and underperforms. This has prevented the Bolts from gaining any ground in the chase for a playoff spot and has essentially kept them in the same position for weeks.
With the new year less than a day away, the Lightning hope that the 2017 part of the season brings more excitement and progress. If this can happen, we will once again see this team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this Spring.