Stamkos will be a welcomed addition to the Bolts lineup after scoring his first two goals of the season Saturday night in Detroit. Having him back on the ice should help generate more offense, not only at 5-on-5, but also on the power play, where he has been one of the best in the NHL over the past decade from his spot at the left circle.
With Stamkos unable to play Sunday and Tuesday, the Lightning tried a few different combinations on the power play, including having both Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev on the top unit, as well as experimenting with Darren Raddysh in Stamkos’ usual spot as a right-handed shot.
The Bolts were unable to score a power-play goal on six opportunities between the two games without their captain, registering just six shots on goal during those six chances. With Stamkos back on the ice, Tampa Bay is adding a player with 195 career power-play goals, the 22nd-most by any player in NHL history. Since Stamkos entered the league in 2008, only Alex Ovechkin (the NHL’s all-time power-play goal leader) has scored more than his 195.
“Well, you’re aware, especially on the power play,” said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper on how Stamkos can impact the game. “He’s a threat and it's another thing a defense has to worry about when he’s out there.
“The other night, it was just different with him out. We didn’t really have practice time to go [over things] because it was unforeseen that he wasn’t going to play. When you have that triple threat we have across the line there on the power play, it makes a big difference when he’s in there.”
After shuffling lines during Tuesday night’s game in Buffalo, Alex Barre-Boulet got an opportunity to skate alongside Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov during the second half of the contest. The line performed well and it looks like they’ll get another chance to show what they have Thursday night after the trio skated together during line rushes at morning skate.
“That was a little game situation with who was going and who wasn’t,” said Cooper when asked about his decision to move Barre-Boulet up to the top line against the Sabres. “There was a lot of good going on in our game. We just couldn’t finish.
“Part of our job is to make some in-game adjustments to get your team going. I thought it gave us a little bit of life and we spent a lot of time in the O-zone.”
With Barre-Boulet slotting in on the top line and Stamkos skating alongside Cirelli and Hagel, the Bolts ran line rushes with a third line of Tanner Jeannot, Nick Paul and Waltteri Merela. Conor Sheary, Luke Glendening and Mikey Eyssimont joined forces on the fourth line as the Lightning continue to look to find some chemistry with a lot of newcomers on the roster this season.
When the Bolts have made acquisition at the trade deadline in the past, Cooper has said that it usually takes about 10 games for a player to find their footing with a new team. While the new players on this year’s roster had the benefit of an entire training camp with the club, Cooper said Thursday morning that the 10-game mark probably still applies to the club’s new additions.
“The little difference is you have training camp, so that is a benefit,” shared Cooper. “But the preseason is different because you never really have your full lineup in any game. You can sit here and say, 'Well, here's your lines from four months ago,' but a lot changes in four months.
“It just takes some time, especially for the coaches, to get used to the amount of new players we have. Usually, it's one or two guys you're getting used to, but now there's a bunch of guys, so [it’s] a little different.
“I think it's different for the players as well when you switch teams. They're switching systems for the most part and eventually it kind of works itself out, but that 10-game mark is probably pretty fair.”
Look for Calvin de Haan to return to the lineup on a pair with Nick Perbix Thursday night, while Victor Hedman should skate alongside Erik Cernak with the duo of Mikhail Sergachev and Darren Raddysh remaining intact. Jonas Johansson is expected to get the start in goal.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET at AMALIE Arena.
