Todd Cordell
I think the Lightning could win a series without Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman but only because of the division they play in.
Assuming they don't catch Florida for top spot in the Atlantic the Bolts will face either Detroit or Boston, both of whom have struggled mightily down the stretch. The Lightning would have home ice advantage, too.
Both losses hurt significantly but even without those guys they still have the likes of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Victor Hedman and Ben Bishop, among others. That's still a pretty good core of high-end players.
I don't think they'd roll over anyone but I could certainly see them beating the Red Wings, for example.
James Tanner While anything can happen with a hot goalie in the Playoffs, the odds are that the lightning are done. Stamkos and Stralman are among the best players at their positions in the league and I just don't think any team can overcome losing two of their best three players.
Peter Tessier Aside from the obvious drama that comes with the Stamkos situation now that he is done for the next 1-3 months is the fallout with the Lightning. The playoffs are know as the second season for a reason and that simply means, anything can happen.
If the playoffs happened today the Bolts would face the Red Wings and the season series between them is tied at 2-2. That's a coin flip most times but right now it certainly favours the Wings. But anything can happen and that 'anything' usually means a hot goalie and that could be Ben Bishop. In fact it would have to be Ben Bishop because it would certainly take something dramatic for Vasilevskiy to see time in net.
Questions like this basically come down to the betting line and if you are putting money on this series or any other with Tampa, you have to handicap them hard without Stamkos and Stralman. That's what the smart money does and you should always follow the smart money.
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