So, truthfully, I didn’t expect to make another hockey-related post so soon, or a post at all this weekend. I was originally going to make a post going over my thoughts on the first round of the NFL Draft, but I already did that for ClutchPoints. I was also exhausted after covering all three days of the draft for my new job at FanNation, and with multiple personal events going on this weekend, I was content to skip this week at first.
Oh how much changes in such a short amount of time. First off, my schedule cleared up a bit after some rescheduling, so I found myself with much more time. More importantly, the perfect opportunity just happened to present itself to me, although I really wish it wouldn’t have.
On Saturday night, the NHL world turned completely upside down. After years of playoff failure, the Toronto Maple Leafs finally exorcised their demons and won their first series since 2004. Unfortunately for me, it came at the expense of my beloved Tampa Bay Lightning, who fell in six games just like I predicted. Man, I’ve never been so sad to get a prediction exactly right.
Needless to say, I have a lot of thoughts about this series and the Lightning in general. So, as a very last-minute piece, here are those thoughts in their entirety.
What went wrong?
Although I predicted Tampa Bay to lose in six, it happened in a much different way than I expected. Truthfully, I feel like the Lightning themselves were their own worst enemy in this series.
Truthfully, I feel like the Lightning generally played better than the Leafs for much of the series. The only time I felt they looked worse was all of Game 2 and the third period and overtime of Game 4, which they completely choked away. They had more shots in four of six games, and usually by a decent margin.
The problem is that the Lightning failed to execute in key moments, while the Leafs did not. Take Game 3, which the Lightning dominated for the last two periods and overtime, but the Leafs made one of their few chances in overtime count. Then in Game 4, which the Lightning dominated the first two periods of, but somehow blew a 4-1 lead in minutes and lost in overtime again. These are the types of games that, previously, the Lightning would close out effortlessly and the Leafs would lose. Credit to the Leafs, though, they flipped the script completely in this series.
Tampa’s defense also simply wasn’t good enough in this series. There were far too many times where they failed to clear the puck out of dangerous situations, and it cost them dearly. The one that haunts me personally is Ryan O’Reilly’s tying goal in Game 3, where Ian Cole gives him far too much space after a rebound in front of the net.
Additionally, Andrei Vasilevsky simply didn’t look like himself in this series. Yes, some of his struggles fall on the defense in front of him, but he still looked off like he has most of the season. The Lightning were counting on goaltending to be the great equalizer in this series, but instead it cost them.
Finally, it’s impossible to talk about this series without mentioning the injuries. Erik Cernak’s injury in Game 1 was huge, and the defense took a massive step back without him. Victor Hedman, Mikey Eyssimont and Tanner Jeannot were also banged up, and those are just the ones we know about. Injuries aren’t an excuse for this lost, but still very much worth noting.
Looking Ahead
As much as this loss sucks, I’m still optimistic about the future of this team. Some would disagree, as the Lightning have been so good for so long and have to fall off eventually. However, I don’t think they’re at that point just yet.
Aside from Hedman, 32, and Steven Stamkos, 33, the rest of the core is still relatively young. Nikita Kucherov is 29, Vasilevsky is 28, Brayden Point is 27, Anthony Cirelli is 25 and Brandon Hagel and Mikhail Sergachev are 24. Most of these players still have several productive years ahead of them, so they should keep the team afloat for at least a bit longer.
This offseason will be an interesting one to watch for the Lightning. They have a few key free agents, most notably Alex Killorn, and likely can’t re-sign most of them. Pending RFA Ross Colton, who scored the cup-winning goal in 2021, could also be a salary cap casualty.
In my opinion, there are two main priorities for Tampa this offseason. The first is to lock up Brandon Hagel, an RFA after next season, long-term. Hagel blossomed in his first full season with the Lightning, and should be a key piece of the team’s future. The second is to simply rest up and get healthy. It’s important to remember that over the previous three postseasons, the Lightning played 71 games, nearly an entire extra season. Knowing that, maybe this early exit is a blessing in disguise due to the extra rest.
One thing’s for sure, though, I’m with this team until the very end.