Tampa BAE Lightning Post Mortem: Fraud Watch

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedSeven win streak snapped
Power play very boring
Something has to change

The Tampa Bay Lightning ended their seven game winning streak on Tuesday night against the Islanders— a team they will face twice more in the next ten days.

This game favored the Lightning quite a bit. The real stats lean the Lightning’s way and so does the moneypuck win o’ meter.

At the end of the day, the loss can be chalked up to one major issue: the Lightning power play is not a consistent scoring threat. It went 0-for-3 with just two shots tonight. In their seven game streak, the Lightning only had one game that they didn’t win by 2+ goals. Playoff hockey tends to be a much closer contest than the regular season. A power play converting 16% percent of the time probably won’t lead to a very deep run.

Last year, I thought the Lightning were fraudulent because of their record against division opponents. This year it might be because of their power play. A great team cashes in on those opportunities consistently. Right now, the Lightning might not be great. They might just be very good.

The good news? There is still plenty of time to fix it. Take the loss, get home, get right in front of your own fans. And please—for the love of God—do something else with the power play.

Go Bolts. See you Thursday.