The Tampa Bay Lightning are doing something they haven’t done in several years: win.
Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2004, the Lightning have been plagued by salary cap issues, ownership disputes and lackluster rosters which have prevented a return to their former glory.
However, as any hockey fan will notice, the Lightning seem to have finally turned things around.
Tampa is currently sitting atop the Southeast Division with 71 points; good enough for second in the Eastern Conference behind only the offensively-stacked Philadelphia Flyers.
But they haven’t emerged as one of the best teams in the league through sheer luck. With some shrewd moves by team owner Jeff Vinik, who bought the team in 2010, it would take just one off-season to turn the franchise around.
In April of 2010, just one day after the regular season ended, Vinik fired both Head Coach Rick Tocchet and General Manager Brian Lawton, replacing them with current Head Coach Guy Boucher and General Manager and hockey legend Steve Yzerman.
Both men are highly respected throughout the hockey world and they have proven themselves to be a competent duo as their team continues to rise in the standings.
While no one will doubt their current success in the regular season, fans must wonder if the Lightning can continue their winning ways as they move into the postseason.
Throughout the last five years, the Lightning have only made the playoffs twice and in each of those playoff appearances, they’ve been eliminated in the first round. So, will they be able to make it over the hump and make a real run at the Stanley Cup? With a couple of small roster changes, I think they could.
Led by the young phenomenon Steven Stamkos, the Lightning are doing just fine offensively as they are tied for second in the conference in goals scored. Having stars like Marty St. Louis and Simon Gagne doesn’t hurt in that category either.
A big issue for the Lightning so far this season is at the other end of the ice: goaltending. Dan Ellis and Mike Smith struggled to keep the puck out of the net throughout the first half of the season, and this was costing the team games.
To address this problem and to start the new year on the right foot, Yzerman went out on Jan. 1 and acquired veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson. Roloson’s play since being acquired has been absolutely spectacular, earning eight wins in his first 10 starts while putting up four shutouts.
Despite the strong improvement in net, the Lightning are still having issues in their own zone and everyone knows that if you want to win the cup, you have to have a strong defense. Led by 20-year-old Victor Hedman and veteran Pavel Kubina, along with the recent addition of Marc-Andre Bergeron, the Bolts seem set in terms of offensive defenseman.
However, half of their defensemen are minus players, and as a team they are tied with the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs for tenth in the conference in the goals against category. These statistics have to change if the Bolts are serious about a deep playoff run. While I wouldn’t say that Yzerman needs to make a move for a defenseman at the deadline, I would say that it would certainly help, as this seems to be the trouble spot for the team this season.
With Yzerman at the helm, the future looks bright for the Lightning as they are well on their way to making the next step and becoming an elite team that will be feared throughout the league.
Daniel Pineyro can be reached at dpineyro@spartans.ut.edu.