The Tampa Bay Lightning return to the ice Tuesday night in a rematch of the 2022 Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers. Another long grueling season lies ahead for this battle-tested group for the Lightning.
Can the Lightning get back to the top of the mountain next spring and hoist Lorde Stanley once again for the third time in four years? The possibility is there but we won’t fully see what this team is made of until playoffs roll around.
Let’s break down our outlook on the regular season that lies ahead.
Injuries:
Anthony Cirelli and Zach Bogosian both underwent shoulder surgeries in the offseason. Both faced 4–6-month recoveries.
The Lightning are expecting to be without Cirelli and Bogosian for the near future as they are not expected to be back until late November or early December at the earliest.
according to BriseBois, Cirelli, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, is likely to return in the middle of December
— Gabby Shirley (@Gabby_Shirley_) October 9, 2022
Key Departures:
The losses of Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh were truly devastating. There was no question that the team instantly became worse without those two.
Palat leaves behind a huge hole in in the Lightning’s top line and McDonagh, leaves behind an equally huge hole in the Lightning’s top four defense and penalty kill. With McDonagh no longer around, that means that Mikhail Sergachev will taking on a much bigger role and become the top defenseman playing under Victor Hedman. Sergachev will now regularly see himself being second or third in ice time among Lightning defensemen.
Nobody can replace what these two brought to the team and they will be significantly missed, especially in playoffs. The reality is that these two were no longer able to be kept given the hoops to jump through with the salary cap and future contracts that were coming due for other players. Ultimately, these losses are not something this team cannot overcome but it will take some time for others to ease into new, bigger roles.
Key Arrivals:
F Vladislav Namestnikov, D Haydn Fleury, D Phillipe Myers, D Ian Cole
Before we get into this, Ian Cole has been suspended pending the results of an investigation following sexual assault allegations. So as far as the Lightning are concerned, Ian Cole is not in the plans for this team for the foreseeable future.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 10, 2022
Without Cole, the pickups of Myers and Fleury now loom large. Both are expected to start for Tampa Bay out of the gate, likely making up the team’s third defensive pairing.
Myers 6’5 and Fleury 6’3 bring a size element to the back end that the Lightning always enjoy having. Both will likely be motivated after coming off of disappointing stints with their recent teams.
Vlad Namestnikov signed with Tampa Bay on the first day of free agency. Namestnikov played in Tampa Bay from 2014-2018. In the time since Namestnikov’s first stint with the Lightning, Namestnikov has played for five different teams and played in 21 playoff games over that time.
Namestnikov signed a one-year contract with an AAV of $2.5 million. He is now looking at a bigger opportunity than initially expected as he has gotten a lot of action in the pre-season working on the Lightning’s top line and power play. Namestnikov also had a hat-trick in the Lightning’s only pre-season home game against the Florida Panthers.
VLAD TRICK 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/VT4ID1I9Zm
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) October 8, 2022
Young Guns
Along with the other additions, the Lightning will be injecting some youth into the lineup as well come opening night. Forward Cole Koepke is expected to make his NHL debut Tuesday.
Koepke scored 39 points in 69 games last season with the Syracuse Crunch in his first full season playing professionally after playing three seasons at University of Minnesota-Duluth. Koepke can provide a burst of energy to a Lightning lineup that could use a new body up front.
Additionally, Gabriel Fortier looks to be along for the ride as an extra forward out of the gate. Fortier appeared in 10 games last season for the Lightning and recorded his first NHL goal in December. To start the season, Fortier looks to be around much longer this season.
What’s Staying the Same?
Despite some significant losses in the offseason, the Lightning were able to retain enough of their core players to remain a top contender. Especially with Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, the Lightning will always be among the league’s top teams.
The top six forwards are still among the best in the NHL with superstars in Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point who will continue to drive the bus for this team.
Often forgotten core piece Alex Killorn also has an interesting season ahead in the final year of his contract. Killorn had the highest point total of his career with 59 but had an incredibly disappointing playoffs after going without a goal the entire playoffs. His bounce back will be something worth following closely.
How Will they Line up?
#Bolts lines and D-pairings at practice:
Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Paul-Killorn
Koepke-Namestnikov-Colton
Maroon-Bellemare-PerryHedman-Foote
Sergachev-Cernak
Fleury-MyersFortier working in as the 13th forward
— Chris Krenn (@Chris_Krenn) October 10, 2022
This will likely be how we see the Lightning start out on opening night. These combinations will also change with regularity until something is found that clicks. The important notes here are that Koepke does seem in line to make his NHL debut and Fleury and Myers will both make their Lightning debuts while holding down the third pair.
Happy Hockey Day, Bolts Nation!
Here is how @Diandra_loux and @henryyoho see the Atlantic Division finishing this season.
Drop your predictions in the comments! ⤵️#GoBolts pic.twitter.com/TMpIHc3rIY
— Channelside Sports Network (@chsidesports) October 11, 2022
