With the impressive record he notched towards the end of the season, it was no question that he would be the starter for the coming year, even with Cooper’s insistence on sharing the workload between the two netminders.ĭespite Vasilevskiy’s importance to the franchise, the fact that Budaj spent so much time splitting games with one of the league’s premier goaltenders means that the gap in talent when interchanging these two should be minimal. Vasilevskiy took over the starting position after seeing Bishop head West. He’s impressed in multiple games that he played last season and looks to continue his play heading into the 2017-18 season. Slater Koekkoek has had his fair share of time in Syracuse, which earned him a call-up with the Lightning. The last pairing sees the unlikely coupling of a young gun with a more dynamic defenseman. These two experienced defensemen have shown that they can carry on the stellar play of the top pair if they can play at their highest level on a consistent basis. ![]() The second pair also adds experience with Sustr and Girardi. Not to mention that Stralman is very good at blocking shots, and Hedman is good at taking shots from the point. Stralman and Hedman have led the way with the top pairing numerous times, so it’s no surprise that these two, when paired together, are essential to the Lightning’s defensive play. Chief among them was young gun Brayden Point, who notched 18 goals and 22 assists. In addition to the veterans offensive contributions, a few young standouts added scoring deeper into the roster. He settled for 21 goals and 32 assists, giving him a total of 53 points. Jonathan Drouin also did his fair share of tallying up goals. Finishing with 94 points, the Lightning settled for a 42-30-10 record and placed 13th in Goals For (234) and 16th in Goals Against (227).įorward Nikita Kucherov recorded 40 goals and 45 assists, good enough for 85 points on the year. The Bolts ended up in fifth place in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. ![]() In the 2016-17 season, the Tampa Bay Lightning pushed hard for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but ultimately fell short. Puck Drop Preview: 2017-18 Tampa Bay Lightning Last Season Today the series continues with the 2017-2018 Tampa Bay Lightning. You can check out all our articles on the Puck Drop Page. Make sure to stick around till the end of the series, where we’ll offer our full predictions for the standings in each division, and eventually our 2017-2018 Stanley Cup pick. Welcome to Puck Drop Preview 2017-2018, where gives you a detailed look at each team from around the NHL leading to the starts of this hockey season and offers are insight and analysis.
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