Lightning Needs Their Best to Move On

By Mark Pukalo

Two things became clear after the Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of this unique postseason.

The Lightning may just be a team that is built for and better prepared for playoff hockey than the group that produced a historic regular season in 2018-19.

Secondly, the Bolts will have to play much better than they did against Columbus if they want to make it to the third round.

Yes, Tampa Bay disposed of John Tortorella’s pesky Jackets in five games but all four of the wins were knee-knocking one-goal triumphs - two in overtime. The positive from that is how sharp the Lightning were when they needed it the most. 

They were focused and steady with their structure in the marathon Game 1 before breaking through. The Bolts were awful after taking a 2-0 lead in Game 5 and lucky to tie it at the end of regulation, but they dominated from the start in overtime and seized the win.

Tampa Bay will have to be sharper for longer periods as they prepare to face the Big Bad Boston Bruins for the first game of a best-of-seven series. There can be few mental breakdowns. One thing that the much-hated Bears have always done best is capitalize on mistakes and get the most out of their opportunities.

The Bolts will need more secondary production as they move on and injured captain Steven Stamkos does not seem ready to go, so the power play must start to produce without a key weapon. The irrepressible Brayden Point has 10 points in bubble and Nikita Kucherov nine, but the next highest scorers have just four in eight games. 

It’s as simple as this, the Lightning must execute much of the game plan they used against Boston in the second round of the 2017-18 playoffs. They dominated 5-on-5, limited mistakes, received solid goaltending and made key plays at key times. I’ve never seen a Tampa Bay team play better in its own zone in the final four games of that series. Ryan McDonagh has never been better in a Bolts sweater.

Here’s what needs to happen - outside of referee Eric Furlatt not being assigned to the series - to beat the Bears.

* Keep the Bruins power play off the ice as much as possible, but the Lightning must be very good on the penalty kill when needed.

* Limit blind passes, hope passes, drop passes moving forward with the puck. When Boston turns you over in the middle of the ice it often ends up with an old-man rush and a goal. I can’t remember Brad Marchand not scoring on a breakaway or 2-on-1 chance. Can you?

* Keep the Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak line contained. Easier said than done, but Tampa Bay has had plenty of success against the Bruins the past few years (11 wins last 13 meetings overall).

* Get goals from secondary offensive threats. Anthony Cirelli was not very good against Columbus and, although he played well all over the ice, Ondrej Palat is without a goal in eight games. Tampa Bay can get more from Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson as well.

* Pat Maroon, Cedric Paquette and the feisty third line of Blake Coleman-Yanni Gourde-Barclay Goodrow must get under the skin of the Bruins without taking extra penalties, and keep their over-rated defense working hard to get the puck out.

* Andrei Vasilevskiy must shut the door on the Bruins at key times and show once again he is the best goalie on the planet. The Bolts should have an advantage in net against Jaroslav Halak and it must be noticed.

* Improved power play. The Lightning might not get many, but it would help if they rebounded from a sluggish 0-for-10 performance with the extra man against Columbus.

It’s not brain surgery. The Lightning just can’t give the Bruins goals. Nothing can come easy. They must earn them. You can be dominating the Bears with a 1-0 or 2-1 lead and a few unforced errors later you are trailing by a pair of goals.

Honestly, even with Stamkos out, if you take the top line of each team away I think the Lightning has a better roster. But that doesn’t really matter. You always have to outplay the Bruins to send them home.

This might end up being the toughest test for Tampa Bay on the way to a potential Stanley Cup. The Bolts must play like it, coach like it and do all the little things to get the job done.

Lightning Look to Turn the Tables

By Mark Pukalo

Here we go, again.

The Tampa Bay Lightning probably would not have faced Columbus in the playoffs if this was a normal year. But 2020 has been one strange trip. Midway through August, the Bolts will get a chance to erase some of the pain from a four-game embarrassment at the hands of the Blue Jackets last spring.

The word “sweep” won’t be mentioned again as the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs begin in an empty Scotiabank Arena Tuesday afternoon. Because these are different teams that will face off on the ice in Toronto. 

Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene all signed big-money contracts to leave Columbus and were forced to exit the bubble before last weekend. The Lightning have added some depth up front that makes them more formidable physically and a pair of veteran right-hand shot defensemen who will be very important this week.

That being said, the teams both have the same strengths. The Blue Jackets play stifling defense and frustrate teams while Tampa Bay owns one of the most lethal offenses in the league. But it will not likely be as simple as that. Who dictates the play is only one small piece. This series will be won between the margins. Who wins the battles, who remains composed, who fights through the adversity much quicker will be critical.

We can’t forget about health. It was hard to make the excuse for the Lightning last year, but they were missing two of their top three defensemen to injury and another key veteran was playing at far less than 100 percent. Now, the injury status of Tampa Bay superstars Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman is in doubt.

The Bolts can win without them, though. But they must play a smart, physical and focused brand of hockey that we have seen out of them for several years. This group must perform like it did against Boston in the second round of the 2018 playoffs - structured, unwavering and with killer instinct. No temper tantrums, no defeatist looks on the bench and only confidence.

One of the major problems against Columbus last year was puck possession. After the first period of Game 1, the Bolts were loose with the frozen disk and let the Blue Jackets control the neutral zone. Tampa Bay has to be on top of it for 60 minutes.

The Lightning’s top line of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat will see an awful off of defense pair of Zach Werenski and Seth Jones while center Boone Jenner will probably be asked by coach John Tortorella what brand of chewing gum the Bolts’ top trio use. Kucherov and Point each need to have a productive series to allow the other three lines to do their work and chip in. 

If Stamkos is able to play, you would think he would slide in with Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn - a line that was very good for a stretch in mid season. You could move Tyler Johnson to the third line and push Barclay Goodrow or Yanni Gourde to the fourth. The Goodrow-Gourde-Blake Coleman line has been good, though, and TJ may have to settle for a fourth line/power play role. However, it would be nice if Coleman could find the net. He is scoreless in 12 games with the team.

While the offense has to be there, it all comes down to how the Bolts defend. Andrei Vasilevskiy was not the reason Tampa Bay lost to Columbus last season, but he was outplayed and must be way better this time around. If Hedman can’t go, they will need big and solid minutes from Ryan McDonough, Eric Cernak and Mikhail Sergachev. But two righties that were not around last April - Kevin Shattenkirk and Zach Bogosian - would be the keys to how well they can hide an absence by No. 77. Veteran Braydon Coburn should be ready to replace Hedman if needed.

The Blue Jackets thrive on causing turnovers and punishing you. It’s always important to limit miscues and keep the puck away in the postseason. But for the Lightning, it’s absolutely crucial this time around. Columbus won’t stop coming. There can be few lapses. The Blue Jackets don’t normally score a ton of goals. But they collected 19 in four games in the first round last year as the Bolts turned the puck over constantly.

Tampa Bay must also put unrelenting pressure on first-year playoff goalie Joonas Korpisalo and see if he cracks.The Fin played well against Toronto. Make him prove he can do it again.

Tortorella is at the top of his game, just getting this Columbus team to this spot after an inordinate amount of injuries during the regular season. He made all the right moves to lead Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup in 2004 and did the same last April to beat his old team.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper can go a long way to quieting his critics if he can navigate a talented team through this round - especially if Hedman and Stamkos can’t go. Cooper has won a lot of games with this core group. The moves he makes and the tone he takes could be critical in a long series. This is his chance to shine.

Whoever suits up Tuesday, the Lightning have the tools to win the series. There’s no doubt in my mind. But a healthy and battle-tested Columbus squad will force them to keep pushing. Tampa Bay must confidently dig in and move them out of the bubble.

Get ready for a war.