Fresh off of a subpar end to their five-game road trip, collecting two of a possible six points in Western Canada, the Tampa Bay Lightning returned home for five of six games to end 2023. They hoped to use home ice to their advantage, something that helped propel them to the playoffs in previous years.
Unfortunately, this home stand ended up being a mixed bag. The Lightning ended up 3-2 at home and 4-2 overall, a mark that isn’t bad but still leaves room for improvement.
Prior to the Christmas break, the team won three straight. That included a huge comeback win over the defending Stanley Cup champion, Vegas Golden Knights, and a grinding defensive shootout victory against the always tough Washington Capitals in DC.
After the break, the offense went cold, and defense reverted back to the form shown to end the last road trip in Calgary. The results weren’t particularly good, with a close loss to their in-state rivals before getting destroyed by the New York Rangers.
The Lightning then sleepwalked through 30 minutes on New Year’s Eve, spotting the Montreal Canadiens a two-goal lead before coming alive in what ended up being their 11th comeback win this season. That ended 2023 on a high note, something that didn’t look possible after an incredibly weird sequence of events found Jonas Johansson way out of his net and Bolts players asleep at the wheel, giving the Canadiens a free goal.
It wasn’t all bad, though. A couple of stars and leaders on this Bolts team reached important milestones, something that should be recognized.
Nikita Kucherov kicked things off by recording his 300th career goal on December 27 vs the Florida Panthers. For a guy that has been known as an assist machine early in his career, the Russian winger is shooting the puck a lot more this season. As of this writing, he has 168 shots on goal through 37 games. If he keeps shooting the puck at this rate, he’ll easily shatter his career high of 279 shots on net in 2017-18’.
Steven Stamkos followed Kucherov’s milestone by notching one of his own. The Lightning captain tied and then surpassed Vincent Lecavalier for most games played in franchise history at 1,038 in the final game of 2023. This man is a Lightning legend and should be able to retire as a Bolt, so memo to Bolts general manager Julien Brisebois: RE-SIGN HIM NOW! Letting him walk or trading him would be a mistake you’ll certainly regret.
With the Lightning beginning 2024 on the road against some of the best teams in the NHL, they will need to consistently play great hockey to give themselves a chance to win. Can they do that? While unknown at this time, their chances of making the playoffs start with collecting as many points as possible.
ITR 43: It's Winning Time – Inside The Rink
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