Following All-Star Break Tampa Bay Lightning hope winning formula translates

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
January 30, 2017

BRANDON, Fla. – The right mindset remains in place.

The results have yet to fall in line.

That’s the approach the Tampa Bay Lightning are taking heading in to the post-All Star break schedule, which begins Tuesday when Tampa Bay hosts the Boston Bruins (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Sun, 970-AM and tblpowerplay.com at Amalie Arena.

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The Lightning have 32 games left on the schedule, yet are in a precarious position of trying to reach the playoffs. Tampa Bay sits in 12th in the Eastern Conference, six points back of a postseason spot, currently occupied by the Boston Bruins. Yet, the Lightning are just one point from occupying the basement.

But the focus rests not on the big picture, but rather the one frame currently in focus.

”There is in looking too far ahead saying we have to win this many games or this team has to lose,’’ Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “It’s pointless to look at it that way. Boston is ahead of us and is a team that we need to catch to get in the playoffs, that’s where our focus needs to be.’’

Lately the focus has been on the improved defensive play, a formula that has defined Tampa Bay’s success over the past three seasons. It’s an area that has slipped, seeing the Lightning fall from fifth overall in goals against last season to 22nd overall this season.

On the recently finished six-game road trip, however, the Lightning have shown a renewed spirit in defensive play. In the six games on the trip, Tampa Bay allowed two or fewer goals in five of them.

”Our play was pretty good, but unfortunately it didn’t translate in to as many points as we would like,’’ defenseman Andrej Sustr said. “We just have to keep working at it and hopefully it will turn around.’’

What has dried up somewhat, and a big reason the results have not come as desired, is the offense. On the trip, the Lightning were held to two or fewer goals in four of the six games and lost three times by a 2-1 score, two of those in overtime.

While the absence of Steven Stamkos, who remains out while still recovering from knee surgery in November, takes its toll on the team’s offense, there is enough talent on the Tampa Bay roster to absorb the loss. The offense figures to break out at some point, and as long as the defense remains consistent, should translate in to the victories the Lightning need to try to gain traction in the standings.

”We always talk about defense first and I thought our D played extremely well, and not only our D it’s the way we play defense, our goalies were better, our forwards were coming back and our D was making plays . . . that’s the way we need to play,’’ center Tyler Johnson said. “If we can get some more offense we can get some more wins. But the defense is where it starts.’’

This current stretch is not too dissimilar from the early stages of last season, when Tampa Bay was scuffling along before Christmas when the offense went cold for stretches. Through the opening 35 games last season, Tampa bay scored two or fewer goals 19 times and held a 17-15-3 record heading in to the Christmas break.

Eventually, the offense burst through and became more consistent, leading Tampa Bay to 29-16-2 record the rest of the way. It all started with the defensive play.

That’s the feeling for the Lightning, hoping the 2-2-2 road trip is the precursor of another turnaround.

”It’s unfortunate we only got six out of 12 points because the optics of that doesn’t look as great if we had got eight or 10 points out of that,’’ Cooper said. “There are a lot of times when you are playing well and are not getting rewarded, but soon after that you do get rewarded. Hopefully this is going to be the case because the guys gave a heck of an effort’’ on the road trip.

Practice notes: C Brayden Point was a full participant in practice while wearing a regular (ie, not red) jersey signifying he has been cleared for contact. But Cooper and Point both said after practice they were unsure if Point would be cleared to return to the lineup. … LW Jonathan Drouin was not at practice after he experienced flight delays in returning to town. Victor Hedman and RW Nikita Kucherov also experienced some travel issues in returning from the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, but were excused from practice. Cooper said all three are expected to be in the lineup against Boston. … LW Michael Bournival missed practice with an upper-body injury and will miss his second consecutive game on Tuesday. Bournival was at practice, watching from an overhang in the corner of the ice. … Cooper was non-committal in naming a starting to goaltender – Ben Bishop or Andrei Vasilevskiy against Boston, but mentioned that “both guys are going to play’’. … Because new ice was put down following the circus leaving town, the Lightning will hold their morning skate at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
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