![]() This mostly stems from defensive breakdowns from the Lightning, but odd-man rushes also caused issues.Ī special Lightning season ends with disappointment and frustration Tampa Bay Lightning player grades: We need your help! Special teams and goaltendingĬoming into the series, the Lightning boasted the NHL’s top power-play (28.2 percent) and was in a three way tie for the top penalty kill (85 percent with Columbus and the Arizona Coyotes), while the Blue Jackets had the fourth worst power-play in the NHL this season (15.4 percent). ![]() Micah Blake McCurdy, From the charts, you can tell that Tampa Bay did an effective job limiting the chances Columbus had at five-on-five, however, the Blue Jackets still outscored Tampa Bay, 9-6 (removing empty net goals), during five-on-five play. Below are the shot charts for the Blue Jackets during the regular season (left) and playoffs (right). Columbus compensated by making Tampa Bay go through layers of defenders who would aggressively attack and cut off passing lanes.ĭefensively, Tampa Bay didn’t give Columbus much. The last “2” signifies the two defensemen, D1 and D2, who are deeper in the neutral zone as the last layer of defense.Ĭolumbus understood that if Tampa Bay was allowed to use their speed and skill during breakouts, then they would be at a disadvantage. The first “2” identifies the other forwards on the ice, F2 and F3, their job is to read what the puck carrier is doing and attempt to cut off a passing lane to another forward. The “1” signifies the lead forechecker, or F1, who initiates the forecheck and forces the puck into a specific direction. The 1-2-2 is a forechecking formation that uses layers of defense to stifle an opposing team’s ability to effectively breakout of their defensive zone. The Blue Jackets employed a 1-2-2 strategy that disrupted Tampa Bay’s breakout and neutral zone strategy. He had to make plenty of difficult saves to keep momentum in Columbus’ favor in all series, especially in Game 4.Īs Alison Lukan wrote in The Athletic, another facet of Tampa Bay’s struggles at five-on-five was Columbus’ forecheck, or the pressure a team applies on an opposing puck carrier in their respective zone. Now, the Blue Jackets did make his life easier overall, but that doesn’t diminish Bobrovsky’s. A lot was made about Sergei Bobrovsky’s playoff struggles, but he’s always been an elite goaltender, he was going to put it together eventually and did so in this series. Columbus’ aim was to keep Tampa Bay on the perimeter and force the Lightning to take low-danger shots from the boards or the top of the offensive zone, also known as the point. This is largely due to the defensive structure the Blue Jackets employed against the Lightning. Micah Blake McCurdy, Tampa Bay’s bread and butter, offensively, was dominating the area between the faceoff circles, known as the slot, but against Columbus, they didn’t pose a threat there. These are the charts for the Lightning during the regular season (left) and playoffs (right). ![]() The more red a specific area is, the more often a team shoots from there, and vise versa for blue. Five-on-five play and forecheckingīelow are offensive shot rate charts that showcase the volume of shot attempts a team generates in the offensive zone and where these shots come from. The Lightning lost this series due to a variety of factors - most importantly: an inability to carry play consistently at five-on-five, a failure to adapt to the forecheck of Columbus, their special teams failing to live up to expectations, and their Vezina Trophy-caliber goaltender struggling at the worst time. The Lightning didn’t falter due to a “lack of heart” or not having enough “character”, as some narratives would like to imply. This season’s Tampa Bay Lightning are the only Presidents’ Trophy winner in NHL history to be swept in the first round. Even in the most conservative analytical models available, the Lightning were favored to beat the eighth-seeded Columbus Blue Jackets to open the postseason.Ĭolumbus’ upset of Tampa Bay isn’t a monumental surprise, the Blue Jackets had strong underlying numbers entering the playoffs, but the way it happened most certainly was. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2018-19 regular season was one for the history books - they tied the NHL record for wins with 62, led the NHL in power-play and penalty kill percentage, had three 40-goal scorers in Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Brayden Point, Kucherov amassed the highest point total since 1996, and Kucherov, Stamkos, and Point each scored more than 90 points.
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