Lightning GM confident team can go on deep playoff run
Will try to make 4th straight trip to Cup Final when postseason begins next month
"There are a lot of teams that are really strong and have a legitimate shot of winning the Stanley Cup," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said at the NHL GM meetings last week. "I like that we're one of them. That gives us a chance."
The problem is, they must wait another month.
For the Lightning, the regular season must feel like it's taking forever.
Since Dec. 8, they've been third in the Atlantic Division behind the first-place Boston Bruins and the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs each day but one -- Feb. 14, when they flipped spots with the Maple Leafs ever so briefly.
In other words, they've been locked into the same spot in the standings, seemingly destined to play the same team they defeated in the Eastern Conference First Round last season.
If any team feels it just needs to be healthy and playing well at playoff time, it's Tampa Bay.
So what if the Bruins could set the NHL records for wins and points?
In 2018-19, the Lightning tied the record for wins (62) held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and were within four points of the record for points (132) held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens.
They got swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
So what if the Lightning are in third place in the division?
They finished second in the Atlantic Division in 2019-20 and won the Cup, finished third in the Discover Central Division in 2020-21 and won the Cup, and then finished second in the Atlantic last season and returned to the Cup Final.
So what if they might have to play the Maple Leafs and the Bruins in the first two rounds -- and might not have home-ice advantage in either series?
They defeated the Bruins in five games in 2020 in the bubble in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they defeated the Maple Leafs in seven games in the first round last season, winning Game 7 in Toronto.
Though the Bruins have the best record in the NHL (.801 points percentage) and the Maple Leafs rank fourth (.674), the Lightning, entering their home game against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, BSSUNX, MSGSN, SN NOW), are tied with the Los Angeles Kings for seventh (.643).
Considering all that, BriseBois was asked if this is a challenging part of the schedule for the Lightning, at least mentally.
"I think there's something to that," BriseBois said. "Whether we want to admit it or not, I think it's human nature."
The Lightning made headlines when coach Jon Cooper benched forwards Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos for the third period of a 5-3 loss at the Buffalo Sabres on March 4.
It didn't look good when they responded with a 6-0 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes the next day, either, falling into an 0-4-1 funk.
But they have gone 5-1-1 since, including consecutive wins at New Jersey -- 4-1 on Tuesday and 4-2 in a shootout Thursday.
"It wasn't much of a story in our marketplace or in our building," BriseBois said of the benching. "I think all of our players understood why he did it. All the players bought in. All the players responded.
"I wish we had had a better game the next day, but I know the players which they'd had a better game, too. A lot of things go into an individual performance on any given day, and our top players know that they're held to a higher standard, and they're the role models for the rest of the group."
BriseBois trusts the core that has won 11 out of 12 playoff rounds the past three years. That's why the Lightning acquired forward Tanner Jeannot from the Nashville Predators on Feb. 26, giving up defenseman Cal Foote, a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, a second-round pick in 2024, and third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2023.
The Lightning are in win-now mode (at least when "now" means the playoffs).
Jeannot, who had 41 points (24 goals, 17 assists) in 81 games last season, has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 67 games this season, including three assists in 10 games for Tampa Bay.
"He's fit in really nicely within our group," BriseBois said. "Great guy. We'd done some homework on the person. I'd heard nothing but great things, and he's lived up to that on the ice. He brings us a physical presence.
"I think he's only going to keep getting more and more comfortable playing with his teammates. They're going to get more and more comfortable playing with him. It takes time to develop that chemistry, and that allows you to play fast."
The Lightning have a month, for better and for worse.
