Written by Matthew McCormack at The Sports Quotient
Coming into the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, and Montreal Canadiens were supposed to be the Eastern Conference’s cream of the crop.
Heading into the Christmas break, however, all three teams have struggled mightily.
After very strong starts to the year, the Canadiens have lost nine of their last ten games while the Rangers have lost 11 of their previous 15. The Lightning, meanwhile, have been mediocre all year, barely managing to stay above .500.
Let’s take a look at why these three top teams have had such a tough time winning games recently.
Although the Lightning have the worst record of these three teams, they are arguably in much better shape at the moment. Unlike the Rangers and Canadiens, Tampa Bay are not in complete free fall.
Still, their mediocre ”win a few, lose a few” style of play is troubling for a team that pushed the Chicago Blackhawks to six games in last season’s Stanley Cup Final.
The Lightning’s offensive problems that I detailed over a month ago have not been fixed. They are currently 23rd in the league with only 2.5 goals per game, a surprisingly low number which would have been tough to envision before the season started.
The Triplets line of Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson, and Ondrej Palat have simply failed to replicate their offensive chemistry and production from last season. Kucherov leads the group with just 24 points in 35 games, while Johnson and Palat have been battling injuries.
Meanwhile, the Steven Stamkos contract situation has been an unnecessary distraction for the team. Just a few weeks ago, he “liked” a Twitter postthat speculated whether he would sign with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs after the season ends.
Thankfully for the Bolts, they are only a few points out of a wild card spot in a weak Eastern Conference. If they can find last year’s magic in time for April, they definitely have the potential to go on another playoff run.
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