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Tampa Bay Lightning’s amazing top line, seen through the eyes of their teammates

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by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
November 17, 2017


TAMPA – The Tampa Bay Lightning are the best team in hockey. There is no debate.

There are so many accolades to pass around, it would require a special section of the newspaper to cover it all at this point. Starting with Andrei Vasilevskiy, the team’s top two lines, the power play, the penalty kill, surprising play of Mikhail Sergachev right on down the line.

But the focal point of Tampa Bay’s 15-2-2 start to the season has been the play of the Wizards of Ov (or the Wizards of Amalie Arena? Wizards of Channelside?), the line with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov. The trio has combined for 36 goals and 88 points.

While it would be easy to sit down and chat with the three of them to try to get inside their success from their viewpoint, I instead wanted to get the thoughts of those who watch them every day – their teammates, specifically a handful of forwards – to see what they see.

Here’s what they had to say:

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This is how I want to present this. I spoke to five Lightning forwards, asking for their insights with various questions. I’ll give you the answers in a question and answer format, providing their answers for you. I spoke to Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Yanni Gourde, Chris Kunitz and Brayden Point. Some of the questions are repeats, but the answers are varied. I hope this provides a different view point than you might normally get.

CALLAHAN

Lightning Insider: What’s it like as a teammate to see the level of play that line is playing at?

Callahan: Pause with a quick deep breath ”How long you got? . . . I think the biggest thing is just the way they see each other on the ice. I think you can see, and we were talking about it in practice today, even just screwing around with each other in some of those drills, you can almost see it starting to build and getting better and better and better as the season goes on. And it really is. Now they are making passes where they are not even looking at each other, they know where each other are going to be and not where they are. I think that’s the most impressive thing I’ve see, just watching that line build and seeing them everyday and think they can’t get any better, but you watch them in practice today and it looks like they are getting better.’’

Lightning Insider: What’s it like on the bench when you see them make a play, do you look around at each other and say “How did they do that’’?

Callahan: “I think we just laugh now. At first maybe it was a little bit of shock, but now we laugh at each other. It’s pretty amazing to watch every night, but I think it’s also all the demand so much out of themselves. They hold each other so accountable and want each other to perform so well that they don’t get complacent with where they are at. You can see the hunger in them. It’s a 6-1 game, they go on the ice and you can tell they want to put number seven in the net and I think that’s what makes them so special.’’

JOHNSON

Lightning Insider: What’s it like as a teammate to watch that line play at that level right now?
Johnson: “It’s fun. We have the best seat in the house. They are doing some special things out there. Things are working, things are clicking, it’s pretty unbelievable at times. You think they have nothing, the puck is bouncing and all of a sudden they get that Grade A chance. They are feeling it right now.”

Lightning Insider: Is it a little reminiscent of when you, Palat and Kucherov were at that level?

Johnson: “I don’t know, I wasn’t watching us. (But) they are burying their chances, they are getting a lot each game and it’s great for them. It’s nice for us, knowing that when you go in to a game you almost feel like you have the lead because you know they are going to be putting something on the board.’’

Lightning Insider: Are there moments on the bench when you look at each other and say “How the hell did they do that?

Johnson: “Yeah, about 10 times a game. There are times where you think they have nothing and all of a sudden they do one of those behind-the-back-passes that goes through about four different guys and goes to someone on the backdoor. So I think right now they are feeling it, they know where each other are, they are relying on that and they are using it, so it’s been great.”

Lightning Insider: You’ve had that sort of chemistry with linemates before, is there a way to describe that feeling where you just know?

Johnson: It slows the game down so much because you really don’t have to think. As soon as you get the puck you know where everybody is at, it makes the game a lot easier. It’s one of those things where you don’t really have to react . . . it’s almost like you are playing in a blacked out state, you are not thinking, you are just doing. That’s when you are at your best when you are like that, when you can find that chemistry, when you can work like that. It makes it so much easier.’’

GOURDE

Lightning Insider: What’s it like as a teammate to watch that line play at the level they are at right now?

Gourde: “It’s amazing, it’s unbelievable. They are playing so well together. Everything is so quick, so fast, they see each other on the ice. It’s beautiful, it’s amazing to see them.’’

Lightning Insider: how many times on the bench do you look at each other and ask, “How”?

Gourde: “It happens quite often, especially on a couple of goals they have scored, I’m like “Oh my god, how did that happen?’’ and I’ll look around and everybody is shocked, “Did that really go in?’’ Even on some of the shots, it’s just a cannon, high glove. And they just complete each other so well, it’s amazing what they are doing.’’

Lightning Insider: As a player in your position, what do you take from watching them and see them work every day?

Gourde: “They are very good, very talented but there is a lot of work behind it and it didn’t come overnight. They work their ass off every day and they are amazing because they practice that every day and all the time. It means a lot, it shows it’s not given and you have to work to get to that level. I think that’s what they are proving. They work so hard every day in practice and they just bring it in the game to. It’s momentum that keeps on building.”

KUNITZ

Lightning Insider What’s it like being a teammate watching those three play the way they are right now?

Kunitz: “It’s a lot of fun. The skill elements that they bring but they do it in practice, too. Good players, that’s the kind of stuff, good players, they do it all the time, they don’t just save it for the game or a big moment. Kuch carries the puck and almost makes guys stumble out of the way, it’s pretty amazing. You don’t see that too often, there’s only a few guys with hands as silky as him. It’s nice as a team because you see them on a roll and it’s not as much pressure on everybody else, you can just go out and do your job. They’ve done a good job of that and giving us the momentum in games throughout the year by them just scoring and playing a good game and we know we are going have a good outcome.”

Lightning Insider How many times do you look at each other on the bench and ask how they just did that?

Kunitz: “Lately, it’s been a couple of times a game. Some of the stick handling clinics he puts on, the patient he has with the puck in Kuch, and Stammer, too, how they find each other and all of them willing to do whatever it takes. They all want to skate, they all want to pursue pucks, they all want to give it to the guy so they can score. So that dynamic just makes it that much easier for everybody.’’

Lightning Insider: When you can see a line like that working as hard as they are, what kind of example does that set for the rest of the team?

Kunitz: “It makes guys want to go out early and shoot pucks, it makes guys stay out late and shoot pucks or do things to work on skill areas. Obviously we are never going to be able to pick up that much of their game to do things they do, we are all built a different way and do different things, but you as a teammate if you are expecting them to get better they are expecting you to get better and that’s why we try to go out there and try to work every single day.’’

POINT

Lightning Insider: What’s it like as a teammate to watch that line play at the level they are at right now?

Point: “It’s awesome. They are helping us win so many games, the hottest line in the league for sure right now. It’s fun to watch. It’s so good to be on the team that they are on because they score so much. But they play good defense, too, and I think that gets missed maybe a lot, but they are just dynamite.’’

Lightning Insider: Have you ever had chemistry with a teammate, at any level, where you just kind of, like Johnson said, black out and just play?

Point: “Maybe in junior a little bit, but it’s so much different in the NHL and you can do that stuff. They are clicking so well, they play so well together and it’s just so fun to watch. You try to gain that chemistry with your own linemates. But it’s just the vision that they have, the ability to actually make the plays that they are seeing. It’s pretty impressive.”

Lightning Insider: How many times a game do you guys look at each other on the bench in amazement at something they pull off?

Point: “Quite a bit. I feel like the puck is on a string for that line most of the time, especially on the power play and the seam passes they make, how fast they move the puck and how quick they make the decisions, it’s awesome.’’

Lightning Insider: As a player in your position, what do you take out of watching them?

Point: “You can try to see what they are doing, and obviously their skill level is . . . they are Olympic guys, they are pretty talented players so you can watch then and try to see what they are doing, but it’s more how they are getting space and how they are creating time for themselves is the biggest thing. I feel they find soft spots on the ice quite a bit, so I think I try to look at that and maybe try to do that with your linemates.’’

Lightning Insider: Callahan said, watching them practice, they are getting even better?

Point “Yeah, for sure. I haven’t been here very long but I don’t’ feel like they’ve played together for very long, just the start of last year and this year. So it’s pretty brand new, like 40 games. They are just getting stronger.”

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