Lightning Round: The Bolts finished the round-robin tournament as the 2nd seed team in the East

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the last game of the round-robin tournament thus failing to clinch the 1st seed on the Eastern Conference. Now, the Lightning need to wait for result of tonight’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets to find out the opponent for the first round of playoffs. As usual Matt has a detailed recap of the last game [Raw Charge]

In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter since the game was only for seeding, but the Lightning have struggled with momentum swings in all three round robin games. They lucked out in a shootout against Washington. Tyler Johnson bailed them out against Boston. Only Vasilevskiy looked locked in for this game since none of the goals could be pinned on him.

Victor Hedman left the game during the first period after injuring his ankle. It’s still not clear how serious it could be, but a Swedish defenseman looked very frustrated on his way out of the rink

Yesterday’s Other Result

Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 Colorado Avalanche

The Golden Knights defeated the Avalanche in a clash of the two best teams in the Western Conference round robin and are the number one seed. The Golden Knights had the lead three times during the game, however the Avalanche were able to respond quickly and tie the game each time. J.T. Compher sent both teams to overtime after scoring the equaliser with just one minute left in the third period. Alex Tuck scored a goal in overtime, giving his team a victory in this game. The Golden Knights will face the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round and the Avalanche need to prepare for the Arizona Coyotes.

Today’s Games

Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals

12:00 PM ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV, TVAS, SN, NBCSWA

Both teams had a surprisingly slow start in the “bubble“ and definitely didn’t expect to play for the third seed on the last day of round-robin tournament. The winner will be playing the New York Islanders in the first round of playoffs, while the loser will face the Carolina Hurricanes. In any case we’re getting some interesting rivalries and stories in the next round.

Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues

3:00 PM ET; NBC, SN360, SN1

Just like the opponents in the previous game, these teams haven’t won in this year’s postseason yet. One year after winning the Stanley Cup, the Blues are trying to find their form from that playoff run and the Dallas Stars have restarted their season on the same note as they finished the regular season – on a long losing streak. The winning side will take on the Calgary Flames and the losing side will be facing the Vancouver Canucks.

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – series tied 2-2

NBCSN, TVAS, SN, FS-O

The Bolts fans might need to watch this game a little closer as the Tampa Bay Lightning will play against the winner in the first round of playoffs. We’re either receiving a potential revenge series against the Jackets or a very fun series against a very offensive orientated team from Toronto.

Other News and Notes

A former Syracuse Crunch defenseman Adam Comrie has passed away at 30 years old. He spent previous two seasons playing in Austrian league.