Tampa BayLightning

    • 1st in Atlantic Division

    Lightning

    NHL

      Apparently The Regular Season Is Irrelevant In The NHL

      While the opening round of the NBA playoffs so far could have been blindly simulated, chaos is governing the ice. Ranked dead last in early January, the St. Louis Blues completed arguably the greatest midseason U-turn in NHL history by advancing to the conference semifinals. And that's probably just the third-most-surprising storyline of this young postseason. Tampa Bay and Calgary, the top seeds in each conference, survived less than two weeks, combining to win a single game. Never before had the President's Trophy-winning team been swept. Never before had the top seeds both been eliminated in the opening round. It has already seemed like "the year of the underdog" in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. But unlike its hardcourt brethren, the NHL is accustomed to things not going to plan in the "second season." So how does this postseason stack up against years past? Using the archived money lines at , we can decipher a team's implied probability of advancing and use that to rank the wildest opening rounds in Stanley Cup history. After marauding the league during the regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning were installed as 1-to-4 favorites going into their series with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jon Cooper's outfit won the President's Trophy behind 128 points and 62 regular-season wins, which tied for the most ever. Tampa was the league's highest-scoring team by a generous margin, spearheaded...
      Apparently The Regular Season Is Irrelevant In The NHL

        Greg Wyshynski reacts to Tampa Bay's historic NHL playoff collapse

        Greg Wyshynski reacts to Tampa Bay's historic NHL playoff collapse. Plus, Kevin Seifert talks about the new formula used to make the NFL schedule.
        Greg Wyshynski reacts to Tampa Bay's historic NHL playoff collapse

        Lightning

        NHL

        Lightning

        NHL

        Lightning

        NHL

        Lightning

        NHL

        Lightning

        NHL

          The Lightning Could Make History For All The Wrong Reasons

          Less than a week ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning were heavy betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup, and for good reason. The Bolts entered the playoffs on the heels of one of the best regular seasons in NHL history. They tied the record for the most regular-season wins and finished with the fourth-highest point total in league history. Forward Nikita Kucherov scored 128 points and will almost surely win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player, and Steven Stamkos had the best season of his already illustrious career. As a team, the Bolts were unparalleled -- they paced the league in goals scored, power-play goals scored, shooting percentage and penalty kill percentage. If the team that Steve Yzerman built was ever going to acquire some silverware, this would surely be the year. Unfortunately for the Lightning, their astonishing regular-season form hasn't carried over to the postseason, and now they find themselves on the precipice of an unprecedented failure: If they lose Tuesday night in Columbus, they'll be the first Presidents' Trophy winners to be swept out of the first round of the postseason in history. Even if they aren't swept but merely lose the series, Tampa's collapse would be monumental -- devastating for any team but especially so for a club that's been knocking on the door of Stanley Cup glory for several years. How have...
          The Lightning Could Make History For All The Wrong Reasons

          Lightning

          NHL

          Lightning

          NHL

            Tampa Turmoil

            The Lightning trail the Blue Jackets three games to none. Is it over? Plus, the Islanders are one game from eliminating the Penguins. Don chats with E.J. Hradek.
            Tampa Turmoil

            Lightning

            NHL

            Lightning

            NHL

            Lightning

            NHL

            Lightning

            NHL

            Lightning

            NHL

            Back to Top

            2018-19 Team Stats

            Goals For / Game
            3.89
            1st
            Goals Against / Game
            2.70
            Tied-7th
            Power Play %
            28.2
            1st
            Penalty Kill %
            85.0
            1st

            Team History

            YearWLOTLPts
            2018-1962164128
            2017-1854235113
            2016-1742301094
            2015-164631597
            2014-1550248108