The Tampa Bay Lightning soundly defeated the Florida Panthers by a score of 6-1 on Monday night. In their final outing before the Christmas break, the Bolts played a great game from start to finish. Strong goaltending from Ben Bishop and a plethora of offensive contributions from up and down the lineup ultimately added up to make a dominant performance. Tampa’s fifth win in a row moves the team’s record to a sparkling 23-11-3, good enough for third place in the Eastern Conference.
Rather than sit here and give you a standard play-by-play recap, I’m going to take a few minutes to pick out individual storylines from Monday’s contest and then link them to the bigger picture. As the team hits the break, it’s a good time to reflect on what has happened through 37 games and ponder what can happen with the remaining 45.
* Monday’s Lightning win moves the team’s record to 23-11-3 overall (as mentioned), 11-6-3 without Stamkos (excluding the Boston game), and 7-1-2 in the last ten games. To say the least, the 2013-14 Lightning are performing marvelously. Not only is the group staying alive without 91, but it’s thriving. The work that Jon Cooper has done in partnership with the players has paid off in spades. ‘Impressive’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.
* Marty St. Louis notched one goal and two assists against the Panthers, moving his season totals to 16 goals and 37 points in 37 games. For those of you who aren’t mathematicians, that puts Marty on pace for 35 goals and 82 points this season. When Stamkos went down, many were left to wonder what the 38-year-old would do without his go-to linemate. Well, he’s done more than his fair share over the last few weeks. Marty’s off-ice leadership and on-ice performance have combined to help keep the Lightning right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; there is no reason that number-26 shouldn’t make Team Canada’s squad for Sochi.
* Another player who had a big night on Monday is Victor Hedman; he tallied two assists. In three games since returning from injury, the big Swede has compiled five points while eating tough minutes. Now with 20 points through 31 games played, he is almost a lock to make Team Sweden’s Olympic roster. Whenever I open up the mailbag, the number one question from non-Lightning fans is always this: Don’t you think the Bolts expect/want more from Hedman? The answer is no. VH77 is a legitimate top-pairing defender with limitless potential. The fact that he is on pace to score approximately 50 points even with missed time is just a bonus. With Steven Stamkos at center, Hedman on defense, and Ben Bishop in net, the Bolts have three very talented pillars to build around moving forward.
* Speaking of Ben Bishop, he had another great night at the office on Monday. While the Lightning’s offensive outburst will almost certainly dominate the morning headlines, Big Ben’s 28 save performance shouldn’t go unnoticed. He allowed only one goal on the night, and moved his season record to 20-5-2. His 1.93 goals-against average and 0.936 save percentage are fifth league wide in each respective category. He’s second in the league in wins with 20, and tied for first in shutouts with three. If Team USA’s management people aren’t taking note, they’re foolish. Bishop is giving the Lightning a chance to win nearly every night. He’s been simply brilliant.
* The Tampacuse guys continued to impress Monday, as JT Brown, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson, JP Cote, and Ondrej Palat were all credited with at least one point each. In the wake of countless injuries to key Lightning personnel, the young guns have stepped up in a big way. Specific to the Florida game, JT Brown scored two Kucherov-assisted goals, while Killorn and Johnson each scored once. Balanced offense is the name of the game for the Steven Stamkos-less Lightning, and it’s working right now.
* I’ve got one final note on one of the young players, specifically Tyler Johnson. With his goal on Monday, the undersized forward now has 19 points through 37 games. That puts him fourth in rookie scoring, ahead of the likes of Mark Scheifele, Aleksander Barkov, and Valeri Nichushkin, among others. Could he work his way into the Calder discussion? A strong second half of the season would certainly make that a possibility.
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The Lightning are now off until Saturday the 28th, when they’ll take on the Montreal Canadiens. That divisional contest is shaping up to be a very important one for both clubs. I’ll be checking in periodically over the Christmas break with a blog or two, but things might be pretty quiet around here for the next few days.
As always, thanks for reading.