The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to make the dogfight for the final wild-card spot in Eastern Conference an exciting one. The Bolts traveled to Montreal on Friday for the second game of a back-to-back and defeated the Atlantic Division Champion Canadiens 4-2. The Lightning finished their four-game season series against the Habs going 2-1-1.
The Lightning are 7-1-1 in their last nine games and have won seven of their last eight games away from AMALIE Arena. Tampa is now only one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final playoff spot up for grabs.
Whatever it Takes
This Tampa Bay Lightning team continues to surprise me down the stretch, doing everything in their power to squeak into the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the organization facing so many obstacles such as injuries to incredibly important pieces to the puzzle, we have seen players like Yanni Gourde (who had two goals last night), Jake Dotchin, and Brayden Point blossom and take on bigger roles. Nikita Kucherov has shown how valuable he is to this franchise, scoring his 40 goals this season and putting the Bolts on his back when need be.
Tampa Bay has shown tremendous heart and it is paying off. Whether they make the postseason is still up in the air but nobody can deny that they merry band of players is leaving everything they have on the ice.
A Little Help From Their Friends
The Lightning HAVE to win their final game of the season against the Buffalo Sabres to get into the playoffs. Unfortunately, that is not all that needs to happen.
This battle for the final playoff spot includes the Maple Leafs and Islanders. Toronto plays the Penguins tonight and the Blue Jackets tomorrow. The Lightning need the Leafs to lose them both. The Islanders have two more games left as well, against the Devil and the Senators. The Bolts will need New York to lose at least one of those games.
So tomorrow's contest against Buffalo could still be meaningless for the Lightning. Tampa Bay will be Pittsburgh Penguins fans tonight, hoping that the final outcome of this playoff push can be determined after Sunday's games.
One thing is certain, this weekend is going to be exciting in hockey land.