Burns: 3 Things we learned from the end of the regular season

The Tampa Bay Lightning knew their First Round opponent for the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs when they entered the regular season finale Monday at Florida.
Now, following a 4-0 loss to the Panthers, the Lightning know where that series will start.
The Bolts finished third in the final Central Division standings and will begin the playoffs on the road, in the same BB&T Center arena where they closed out the regular season against the same Florida Panthers opponent, who earned the second seed in the Central.
Now, we just wait for word on when that playoff series will begin.

Tampa Bay needed to win only one of their two final regular season games at Florida in regulation or collect as many points as the Panthers from the two-game set to claim home ice for the First Round but were unable to do so, the Cats winning both contests by a combined 9-1.
The Lightning finished the regular season on a three-game losing skid.
But that's secondary compared to some of the other issues the Bolts are dealing with.
They're a banged-up team heading to the postseason, and the hope is some of their players can mend in the handful of days between the regular season finale and the start of the playoffs. Tampa Bay was without five of its starters Monday, and that's not even including Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, who are on track and expected to return to the Lightning lineup when the playoffs begin.
Going into every season, the goal for the Lightning remains the same: make the playoffs.
The Bolts have done that this season, giving them a chance to defend their Stanley Cup championship and try to become just the second team this century to repeat as champions.
Now, the fun begins.
Let's enjoy the ride.

1. A HISTORIC MOMENT
With a number of forwards ailing or being held out to ensure their readiness for the postseason, the Lightning relied on their depth to fill out the lineup on Monday.
That meant bringing Gemel Smith, a taxi squad regular this season, up to starting lineup as well as Daniel Walcott, who would make his long-awaited NHL debut.
A few minutes before the game, as the starting lineups were being announced inside the locker room, those two found out they would be starting the game on a line along with Mathieu Joseph.
It's not known whether it's the first time three Black players started a game together on the same line. According to NHL stats, it's the first time since 2009-10 when they started tracking such information.
But whether they were the first or not, it was a watershed moment as far as inclusion in the sport of hockey and affirmation that hockey really is for everyone.
"It's a step in the right direction," Joseph said. "You've got to thank the coaching staff for that. It was their call, but it was definitely fun to have some progress and clearly there's a process over that. I don't know if it was the first time, but I think it was great to see and I'm glad I was part of it."
Joseph said he used to watch Jarome Iginla growing up, mainly because his dad was a big fan of the Flames forward. Walcott said he idolized Iginla too because he wore the 'C' and was inspired by his play and his leadership.
Having a player that looked like him take on such an important role for his team made it easier to see himself in the League.
"I always looked up to him and tried to be a great leader on and off the ice," Walcott said. "I just hope I can have that same effect on people. Same with Jo and Smitty. It was a great moment for sure."
Jon Cooper said he was starting Walcott anyway because whenever the team has a player making his NHL debut, they try to get him in the starting lineup. Putting Walcott together with Smith and Joseph was more about the chemistry the three have developed off the ice than anything.
But it produced a "pretty cool moment" for all three players Cooper admitted.
And for the NHL.
"As we move forward here as a league, you hope that this isn't a story," Cooper said. "Maybe it's a story today, but as the league gets more diverse, you hope it's not going to be a story anymore and it's just going to be kind of the norm that it's the league for everybody."

2. POWER PLAY LETDOWN
Tampa Bay's power play was always going to struggle to find its rhythm Monday. The top unit alone was without four players that will likely be in the lineup in Game 1 of the First Round in Victor Hedman, Ondrej Palat, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov.
The Lightning had to cobble two units together from their remaining available players, some guys getting more expanded roles, some guys joining the power play for the first time, most guys having no experience playing on a unit with one another.
The result is what you might expect. The Lightning looked disjointed on their power plays, moving the puck around at a deliberate pace and failing to create any real dangerous chances, save for one power play where three different times they tried to set up a shot/pass from the right circle onto the back post for a redirect but were unable to connect on each one.
The power play is likely where the game got away from the Lightning, however.
Their inability to create any dangerous scoring chances, or just swing momentum in their favor, gave Florida confidence as the game progressed.
And then a shorthanded goal given up midway through the second period -- when Andrei Vasilevskiy went behind his net to play a clear, banked a pass off the back wall thinking one of his teammates was nearby but instead handed it on a platter for Juho Lammikko to bring around from behind the net and deposit at the post before Vasilevskiy could recover in time - sealed Tampa Bay's fate.
The Lightning never recovered from that misplay.
"I think costly mistakes here and there (was the difference)," Joseph said. "They buried their chances both games. I thought shots were pretty equal, scoring chances pretty equal. That's a good team. They've got skill, can put the puck in the net. I think it was a good battle. Not the result we wanted at the end of the day, but we're going to see a lot of these guys coming up so we're going to have to be ready. I'm sure they will be. We're going to have to get ourselves ready for the start of that series for sure."
Tampa Bay went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. It was about the one aspect of their play that was positive Monday. The Lightning finished the regular season killing off 22-of-23 opponent power plays over the final seven contests.
But the Lightning power play was a letdown. With five opportunities Monday, it failed to produce anything on a night when the Bolts could have used an offensive spark from their special teams.

3. KEEPING PERSPECTIVE
Sure, the Lightning would have liked to have won at least one of the games against the Panthers to grab home-ice advantage for their upcoming playoff series and continue the momentum they had built during their seven-game point streak that ended Thursday.
But the Lightning were a beat-up group by the time they reached Sunrise.
For the regular season finale, the Lightning were without Victor Hedman, maybe the front runner for the Norris Trophy, and Ryan McDonagh on the blue line. Barclay Goodrow was sidelined with an upper-body injury that has him out indefinitely and is probably the Bolts' most concerning injury considering his status.
Patrick Maroon was suspended for the regular season finale stemming from his actions in Sunday's contest. Before the game, the Lightning announced Ondrej Palat was day-to-day and out with a lower-body injury.
And, of course, the Lightning were without two all-world players in Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, who they expect to have back for game one of the series.
Tampa Bay got Jan Rutta back in the lineup. He missed Saturday's game with a lower-body injury but was able to return for the series finale.
But the number of important players missing from the Lightning lineup Monday meant it was going to take a herculean effort by a number of depth players to win in regulation in Sunrise.
"We're entering the playoffs, so you'd like to have all your players," Cooper said. "Hopefully here we're going to have some guys play, but we'll know as the week goes on and we'll work some guys in. Ask any coach, when you're given an arsenal of players, you'd like to have them all. It just doesn't work out that way often times."
Tampa Bay finished the regular season with a 36-17-3 record. The Lightning's .670 point percentage was the third best in franchise history behind only the 2018-19 (.780) and 2017-18 (.679) seasons.
The Bolts, following up on their Stanley Cup championship campaign, but together a fantastic regular season when so many other defending champions have faltered the next season.
Three-straight losses was certainly a disappointing way to finish 2020-21. But with the injuries the Lightning sustained down the stretch, it was to be expected.
Now, is when the games really count.
And the Bolts, building off their championship run from last playoffs, will be ready.
"Yeah, we had a chance for home ice, but in the end, I don't even think, I'm not sure how many fans are going to be in the building anyway," Cooper said. "It won't be 19,000-plus for normal games, so hopefully I don't know what the number is when they come in and yes you want to get those extra games for your owner, of course you do, but you get those extra games when you advance. So that's how you can enjoy not necessarily home ice but having to get those extra gates. In saying that, we're playing a team right down the road. And so, travel's really not an issue. Both teams are on the same playing field. I've been a part of playoff series we've won when we've had home ice and I've been a part of playoff series that we've lost when we've had home ice. It's not a big deal to us. We know what we have to do to win a series, and I don't think it's going to come down to whatever team has home-ice advantage. The players will lock horns and when the puck's dropped and we'll go from there."