Lightning training camp preview

With training camps set to begin on July 13 as part of Phase 3 of the NHL Return to Play Plan, NHL.com is taking a closer look at each of the 24 teams in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

Today, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were 43-21-6 (.657 points percentage) in the regular season and will enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as one of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference. They will play a round-robin against the Boston Bruins (44-14-12, .714), Washington Capitals (41-20-8, .652) and Philadelphia Flyers (41-21-7, .645) to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Lightning started off slow and were 17-13-4 on Dec. 21, but they turned things around by winning their next 10 games before going on an 11-game winning streak from Jan. 29-Feb. 17.

One of the main reasons for the turnaround was their offense. Tampa Bay led the NHL in goals per game (3.47) and was one of two teams, along with the Winnipeg Jets, to have four players score at least 25 goals before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus (Nikita Kucherov, 33; Steven Stamkos, 29; Alex Killorn, 26; Brayden Point, 25).

But the Lightning were also strong defensively, tying the Flyers for seventh in the NHL in goals-against per game (2.77). Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was voted winner of the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie in the NHL last season, led the League with 35 wins and had a 2.56 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.

The Lightning closed their training facility for five days during Phase 2 of the NHL Return to Play Plan, starting June 19, after three players and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus. They reopened the facility June 24 without further issue, and the players are excited to move forward with training camp.

"I think it's going to be one of the best playoffs there's been in a long time because everybody's healthy and everybody's ready to rock," forward Blake Coleman said. "I'm excited to be a part of it, and I know I speak for everybody on the team when I say that we're ready to go."

Player to watch

Stamkos, who was second on the Lightning with 29 goals and 66 points in 57 games, was expected to be out 6-8 weeks after having core muscle surgery March 2, meaning he likely was going to miss at least the Eastern Conference First Round. The Lightning captain then sustained a lower-body injury during Phase 2 workouts and will be limited at the start of training camp. He is expected to be healthy for the start of the round-robin, and should be ready to reclaim his spot on the No. 1 line and the top power-play unit, where he led Tampa Bay with 10 power-play goals.

Biggest question

How quickly can Vasilevskiy find his form? Like the team, he started slow this season, going 14-9-2 with a 2.88 GAA and .906 save percentage in his first 25 starts. After Dec. 20, Vasilevskiy was 21-5-1 with a 2.26 GAA and .928 save percentage in 27 starts. The Lightning will need Vasilevskiy, who faltered when they were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round last season (3.82 GAA, .856 save percentage), to be at his best from the start.

Injury updates

Victor Hedman, D --Healthy for training camp after missing the final two games before the season was paused because of a lower-body injury.

Jan Rutta, D --Healthy for camp after missing the final 17 games because of a lower-body injury.

Fresh face

There aren't many open spots on the Lightning's roster, but Alexander Volkov could be ready to step in if there's an injury to one of their forwards. The 22-year-old played nine games for Tampa Bay this season, making his NHL debut Oct. 30, and had one assist. Although Volkov has not been consistent enough to remain in the NHL as a regular, he has made improvements in his two-way game with Syracuse of the American Hockey League, where he had 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in 46 games.

Telling stat

The Lightning have the second-highest winning percentage (.652; 15-8) in playoff overtime games in NHL history, behind only the New York Islanders (.667; 34-17). Kucherov and Tyler Johnson each has scored two playoff overtime goals, which is tied with Vincent Lecavalier for second in Tampa Bay history (Martin St. Louis is first with three).

They said it

"The fact that we get some key guys back in the lineup … that's going to be huge for us. Those guys we were missing from the lineup -- guys like Jan Rutta, who's had a great year -- all these pieces are going to be back in play. Certainly [it] will allow us to play certain matchups the way we want to and just have a lot more weapons that we're able to use as a team." -- defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk

Projected lineup

Steven Stamkos -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Blake Coleman

Ondrej Palat -- Barclay Goodrow -- Tyler Johnson

Patrick Maroon -- Cedric Paquette -- Yanni Gourde

Victor Hedman -- Jan Rutta

Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak

Mikhail Sergachev -- Kevin Shattenkirk

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Curtis McElhinney