TAMPA — Where has that team been?
1 Week Ago
14 Hours Ago
1 Week Ago
The magic returned Tuesday night at Amalie Arena for the Lightning.
Ben Bishop pitched a shutout. Nikita Kucherov had a pair of goals. Jonathan Drouin added a goal. And the Lightning blasted the Kings, 5-0, for the team’s first back-to-back victories since right before Christmas.
All’s well again, right?
Eh, not so fast. A tough back-to-back trip is coming up with games against the Wild, which might be the best team in hockey, and the Jets. This feel-good vibe could be erased in a span of 24 hours this weekend.
But for a night – well, two nights now – the Lightning is starting to resemble the team we expected all along this season. If the Lightning does have a run left in it, this is only the beginning. Two games does not a hot streak make. This has to be just the beginning of, say, a seven-wins-in-eight-games stretch, or 10-out-of-12, something like that.
What is clear is Tampa Bay can no longer afford extended losing streaks, and by extended, we’re talking anything more than a game or two.
While there was plenty to like about the past two games, most notably the play of Bishop and the team’s overall compete level, the Lightning still has a ton of issues. I’ll explore what the problems have been in a column later this week.
For now, there’s a pulse, a sign of life, a hope that this season is not over just yet.
But it’s only just a start.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
