Record - 51-23-8 (110 points), 3rd in the Atlantic Division
Goals For: 287 (8th in the NHL), Goals Against: 233 (6th in the NHL)
Leading Goal Scorer - Steven Stamkos (42)
Leading Point Scorer - Steven Stamkos (106)
We're now down to the last two teams who were left standing this past June. The first of which came into the finals having won the previous two Stanley Cups. The Tampa Bay Lightning have been what many would call a dynasty for a better part of the past decade. Since Jon Cooper took over as the full time head coach in 2013 the Bolts have made the playoffs all but one year. In those eight appearances the Lightning have made the Conference Finals six times and the Stanley Cup four times. Just complete dominance over the rest of the Eastern Conference. They may have come up short in this year's Finals, but they still have everything they need to continue making runs in the future.
It's funny, the Lightning won 50 games for the third time in five years, but they didn't seem like a 50 win team. They had lost their identity line of Barclay Goodrow, Blake Coleman, and Yanni Gourde the offseason prior and it seemed like they were trying to piece the depths of their lineup back together. It took most of the season to find that identity again and they had to make some moves at the deadline to do so. The Bolts just didn't look like their normal selves for most of the year, but were still able to get great seasons out of their top players. Andrei Vasilevskiy was once again one of the best goalies on the planet. Victor Hedman finished top three in Norris voting for the sixth straight season. Steven Stamkos put together his first 100 point season after going off in the final stretch of the season. He had 12 goals and 33 points in the team's last 15 games helping them secure the third seed in the division. Though they didn't look like the Lightning of the past couple of seasons, they played well enough to make the playoffs which was all they set out to do.
What I find to be most impressive about of Tampa's back to back Cups is that at no point during either run did they lose twice in a row. Whether it was a blowout or a heartbreaking defeat in overtime, the Lightning never lost the game after. No matter what they've been able to keep their composure and bring their best the following night. It's a mentality that is deeply rooted in Jon Cooper's style of coaching that is now engrained in each of his player's minds. It's why I believe he's the best coach in hockey. He is always able to get the best performances out of his players when it's most needed. His journey to the NHL is unbelievable. He went from working on Wall Street, to becoming a lawyer where he started coaching high school hockey on the side. In the one year Cooper coached high school he led the team to their first regional championship in 25 years. His career slowly but surely started to take off from there. He began coaching in junior level leagues, winning championships everywhere he went. In fact, Jon Cooper is the only coach to win a championship in all three tiers of junior hockey. He's not a very analytical guy, but more so a motivational one. His philosophy focuses so much on attitude and mindset. Because of this, his teams never count themselves out of any scenario.
In the first round series against the Maple Leafs, the Lightning were faced with the challenge of bouncing back after a loss three separate times and conquered it each time. With their backs against the wall in Game 6 facing elimination, the Bolts pulled through yet again. Brayden Point, who was in warmups that night, was the hero this time around scoring the game winner late in the first overtime period.
Aside from Jon Cooper, the biggest reason why the Lightning were riding an 8-series winning streak is Andrei Vasilevskiy. There has never been a goalie in the history of the NHL play as well in series clinching games as Vasilevskiy. Once they had an opponent was on the ropes, Tampa closed them out. Going into Game 7 against Toronto, Vasi had five consecutive shutouts in series clinching games. This guy just finds another level in the biggest moments. The Leafs threw everything they could at him, but he was simply too good. He stopped 30 out of 31 shots helping the Lightning march on to the second round where they were awaited by the President's Trophy winning Florida Panthers.
The Panthers barely scratched their way past Washington in the first round and the Bolts had some momentum built up from two straight wins when facing elimination against Toronto. Tampa was trailing for more than half of Game 1, but Vasilevskiy stood on his head and kept his team in it until they eventually found the back of the net late in the second. Once Corey Perry scored on the powerplay it was smooth sailing for the Lightning. They scored three more goals in the third, two of which came on the man advantage. Game 2 wasn't as easy of a win to secure. Both teams were sharp defensively and their goalies turned just about everything aside. It seemed like this one was for sure going to require overtime. Then the Panthers had a cataclysmic brain fart that essentially cost them the series. With 15 seconds left in regulation the Lightning caught Florida in the midst of a change and entered the zone. After a couple of failed attempts to clear it out of the zone, the puck was wrapped around the corner behind the net. Both Panthers' defensemen got caught puck watching and went to make a play on it. By the time they got to it, the puck was already off of Nikita Kucherov's stick finding a wide open Ross Colton in the slot. Colton buried it top shelf and the Lightning headed back to Amalie Arena with a 2-0 series lead. That goal all but guaranteed a berth in the Conference Finals. They dominated Game 3 giving themselves four chances to close out the Panthers. They only needed one. From the drop of the puck until the final buzzer, Andrei Vasilevskiy was in beast mode. The Panthers completely dominated the game, but were unable to get anything past the former Conn Smythe winner. Vasi stopped all 49 shots giving him his 6th series-clinching shutout, a new NHL record. He had now stopped 199 of the last 200 shots he faced in a close out game. Unfathomably good. Tampa had now won ten straight series and six straight games heading into the Conference Finals.
Tampa had earned themselves a long break leading up their matchup against the Rangers. While it's always good to get time to rest and heal up, it can sometimes hurt you in the short run once you get back on the ice. It was apparent the break had done just that to Tampa as they came out sluggishly in the first two games at MSG. New York was coming off of a comeback series win against the Hurricanes and carried the momentum over. The Lightning's streak of wins following a loss ended with them losing back to back games for the first time since 2019 when they were swept by the Blue Jackets. Game 3 three is where things turned around for them. The Lightning were down 2-0 in the second period when they got a late powerplay goal from Nikita Kucherov to cut the lead in half. I'm not sure what was said during the second intermission, but the Bolts came out with an onslaught in the third period. They poured it on the Rangers, but were unable to get anything past Igor Shesterkin. With under a minute left, Ondrej Palat finally buried one off of a gorgeous no look feed from Kucherov. You just knew right then and there that Tampa was going to win the series. They were able to hold the Rangers to just three goals the rest of the way and punched their ticket to their third straight Stanley Cup Finals.
What awaited them was their toughest challenge yet in all three cup runs. The Avalanche had waltzed their way to the finals losing just two games in the first three rounds. They had won every single game on the road. They had outscored their opponents 65-40. The Avs were easily the better of the two teams, but that didn't matter to the Lightning. Tampa got off to a rocky start in the Rockies going down 3-1 after the first twenty minutes. They managed to storm back in the second, though, and fended off the relentless Colorado attack until Andre Burakovsky ripped a one timer in overtime to take the early series lead. The Lightning got their doors blown off in Game 2 but were able to regroup and hand Colorado their first road loss of the playoffs.
It was what happened in Game 4 that pretty much put the icing on the cake. What was an outstanding hockey game ended in massive controversy. It wasn't a question of whether the puck was in or not, though it was not immediately called a goal upon going in. Rather, it was a matter of whether the Avalanche had too many men on the ice when Nazem Kadri scored twelve minutes into overtime. When you look at the replay it's pretty clear that Kadri did jump on early when he was replacing Nate MacKinnon. It definitely should have been called, but it wasn't. Jon Cooper was not happy as that could have been a pivotal turning point in the series. There is an irony to Tampa losing this way as they scored with seven players on the ice in the Conference Finals against the Islanders in 2021. Two totally different scenarios with different impacts, but still something call out.
Tampa was able to force a Game 6 back at Amalie, but not even the defending champs could fend off the Avalanche. The Avs would go on to win Game 6 by a score of 2-1 taking down the Bolts and taking home their first Cup since 2001. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Lightning as they had come so far once again and were within reach in just about every game. Colorado gave them nothing though, limiting them to just 23 shots all game. This marked the first series loss Tampa has suffered since being swept by the Blue Jackets in 2019.
This offseason for the Lightning was all about locking in the rest of their core. They signed trade deadline acquisition Nick Paul to a seven-year extension. Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak all got eight-year extensions. Julien BriesBois was like the Oprah Winfrey of general managers this summer. "You get a long term deal! You get a long term deal! Everyone gets a long term deal!" It did come at a cost, though, outside of the literal salary cap hit. Ryan McDonagh and Ondrej Palat played crucial roles in all of the Lightning's runs over the years, but they were assets that Tampa couldn't afford anymore. McDonagh was traded to the Nashville Predators to free up cap space. Palat, an unrestricted free agent, signed a five-year contract with the NJ Devils for a number well out of Tampa's price range. They will be sorely missed, but that's the nature of the business.
The Eastern Conference still goes through Tampa Bay. It's been three years since anyone else has come out of the East, and until I see it happen I'll continue to pick the Lightning to win the Prince of Wales Trophy. They still have the strongest team when healthy. Vasilevskiy is one of if not the best playoff goalie ever. They have the best defenseman and one of most prolific goal scorers of the past decade in Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos. The have one of the best wingers in the NHL in Kucherov. Brayden Point is one of the most underrated two way players in all of hockey. The rest of their lineup is molded perfectly to compliment these superstars. Tampa is still very much a favorite to win it all that has a chance to further cement themselves as a dynasty. Their only real obstacle at this point is themselves.
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