A state of panic is something that occurs to prematurely when it comes to sports. Too often, we believe the season is crumbling before our eyes when in reality the team is just going through a rough patch.
In the case of the Tampa Bay Lightning, however, placing your finger on the panic button is not being overdramatic. Honestly, it is the right thing to do at this point.
The month of January has not been kind to the Bolts thus far as they are losers of four straight and have been outscored 22-9 in those contests. A team that once appeared as though it was going to fight to stay in the playoff race now looks as if they have thrown up the white flag.
Of course, injuries have played a major role in Tampa's struggles but this is not the only reason. To put it bluntly, the Lightning have just been playing some pretty bad hockey. Every aspect of the game has looked shaky from offense to defense to goaltending. They have failed to maintain any sort of momentum in the past four games and have just dominated in every contest.
Unfortunately, Tampa Bay's poor play is beginning to show in the standings. They are headed in the wrong direction as they now occupy sixth place in the Atlantic with Detroit and Buffalo only three points behind them. The Bolts still are not too far behind playoff spots at this point but there are no signs that this team is going to experience a resurgence any time soon.
The truth is, something needs to be done by General Manager Steve Yzerman and it needs to be done quickly. The Lightning are in desperate need of a top-four defenseman to provide some assistance to a blueline that has been just atrocious lately. Unfortunately, making a deal won't be that easy. Tampa would love to deal away either Valtteri Filppula or Ryan Callahan but would need to have one of them be willing to waive their no-trade clause as well as find a team willing to take on their undesirable contract. In addition, the Lightning are strapped for cap space and will be for the next few seasons.
So the dilemma for Tampa Bay is that it is apparent this team needs a change but it will not be incredibly easy to pull off an impactful one. Still, something has to be done because the sky is truly falling for the Tampa Bay Lightning.