Lightning top 4 team in East, bringing the thunder
- Updated: March 15, 2017
Del Boca Vista, Florida
Tampa Bay is off to a hot start this season with 19 points so far and the Bolts are one of the top teams in the East at 9-3-1-0.
“No one is more surprised by this early success than me,” Tampa’s GM Rich Basterd commented. “I believed prior to the season that I had found a good mix of players that should lead to the playoffs this season. But I can’t take full credit cause its them on the ice making the difference. I’m proud of how well these guys are doing right now and hope they can keep it going.”
So far, it seems that the veterans brought in have been paying mighty dividends for Lightning, especially in goal. Craig Anderson has clearly been better than his ratings projected and he’s currently one of the top netminders in the league. He’s got a 6-2-1 record with a 1.54 goals against average (2nd) and a .944 save percentage (2nd) and 2 shutouts (5th). And James Reimer has been solid too posting a 3-1-0 record with 1.75 goals against and a .938 save percentage.
“Andy and Optimus Reim have been rock solid in net and we couldn’t ask for more. I knew Andy was the guy that made sense as the starter for this team so I was glad I was able to trade for him. And while he was probably overlooked in the deal as a ‘throw-in’, I knew that Reimer was a guy I could build around long term too. These 2 guys are shooting for the Jennings trophy and I think Andy will likely deserve a nomination for the Vezina if he keeps up this play.”
The Bolts’ other additions this offseason have also paved the way for the early success. Pavel Datsyuk and Daniel Sedin have provided solid scoring as the veterans are leading the way for the Lightning. Both are playing on the left wing which seems to be working well on the top 2 lines and spreading out the offense. They seem to be clicking well with holdovers in the top 6 with Jonathan Huberdeau tied with Datsyuk for the team lead and Bobby Ryan, Joe Thornton and Loui Eriksson are also providing good secondary scoring.
The defense were not guys who were highly thought of but the unit as a whole has been providing stability in front of the goalies. They’re a hard hitting group too with Niskanen, Edler and Murphy all among the top hitting players in the league. “I think my attempts to add a top free agent d-man via free agency must’ve fired these guys up to prove me wrong. I still could look to address that later this season but clearly, these guys can get it done. When the opposing team comes into our zone, they know that these guys are gonna make them feel some thunder!”
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