The Tampa Bay Lightning had an extra day off yesterday in one of the great American cities to waste away 24 hours – Las Vegas. They return to practice today before a late night battle against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. They will then have Sunday and Monday off before taking on the Anaheim Ducks in Tampa. Starting with that game, extra time off will be at a premium for the Bolts. Don’t expect too many days spent at the beach for the Bolts.
Hat tip to Erik Erlendsson for pointing this out on his podcast after the game against the Arizona Coyotes – the Lightning’s back-to-back with Colorado and Arizona kicked off a stretch of five straight weeks that they’ll have back-to-back contests. The next four weekends, in fact, will feature the Lightning playing on both Saturday and Sunday. If you include the Florida/San Jose combo that kickstarted their return to action after the All-Star break, it’s six weeks in a row with a back-to-back. Fun!
Starting with the game against Anaheim the Bolts will play 19 games in 33 days and not have multiple days off until the end of March. So, buckle up and prepare to gorge yourself on copious amounts of Lightning hockey (The Wife is going to be super excited when she realizes she’s about to become a hockey widow for the next six weeks).
For a team that is as old experienced as the Lightning it will be up to the coaching staff to make sure they manage the workload appropriately. This isn’t something new, there always seems to be a stretch like this throughout the season, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an issue. The team will have to make sure they don’t let bad habits develop during games as there will be little practice time to work out issues.
Expect the team to take full days off between games and use their morning skates to work on the little things that need fixing. Also expect to see players taking more maintenance days off as well throughout the next month. One nice aspect is that after the game against Vegas game, the action shifts to the Eastern Conference and they really don’t go farther west than Detroit on their road trips, nor do they have any really long stretches on the road.
This run of games is going to be a big test for their fitness and hopefully they can avoid any serious injuries. So enjoy the break now, and then buckle up for a sprint to the end of the season.
Lightning / NHL News
Lightning loan Gemel Smith to Henderson [Raw Charge]
The veteran center heads to the desert to finish the season.
Trade Deadline Preview: Assets [Raw Charge]
In the first part of a multi-day preview of the Lightning at the deadline, Hardev looks at what the Lightning have in the way of assets. In a nutshell, not much.
Top 10 defensemen of 2023: [ESPN+]
Big Vic Hedman comes in third behind Cale Makar and Adam Fox. Not too shabby.
Few players in NHL history have combined his skating ability, ice vision and size: 6-foot-7 with a wingspan that seems to cover most of the slot area when he’s defending. While his offensive numbers have fallen off a bit through 50 games this season (1.8 points per 60 minutes, down from 2.5 in 2021-22), Hedman remains one of the best two-way defenders in the NHL.
Ten bought-out NHL players you may forget are still on the books [The Hockey News]
Vinny Lecavalier is going to be inducted in the inaugural Lightning hall of fame class and continue to receive a check for $1.76 million from the team every year until 2027. Not a bad gig if you can get it.
NHLPA Executive Board names Martin J. Walsh as Executive Director [NHLPA]
The former Secretary of Labor will take over for Donald Fehr as the Executive Board (of which Ian Cole is a member) unanimously approved him on Thursday. He’ll spearhead the next CBA negotiations which will likely start after next season (the current CBA expires after the 2025-26 season). It will be nice if they can get through it without a strike/lockout.
Player Q&A: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare [NHLPA]
Does he look like Gus Fring?
Red Wings extend Olli Maata for two more seasons [Winging it in Motown]
Maata, a 28-year-old defenseman, who was set to be a free agent after this season was likely on some trade lists out there. Instead it looks like he’ll be staying in the Motor City for a little longer.
32 Thoughts: The Latest on the trade market [Sportsnet]
Not much on the Lightning (other than confirming their possible interest in Tyler Bertuzzi) but it’s always an entertaining read. Friedman does mention that the league might start keeping an eye on the length of time some players (like Jakob Chychrun) are being held off of the ice for “trade-related reasons” and the effect on teams’ competitiveness in games.
Jaromir Jagr facts are always fun
Jaromír Jágr’s points scored vs. each NHL team 🤯
Via @NHL pic.twitter.com/jmvnJu9d5I
— Da Beauty League (@DaBeautyLeague) February 16, 2023
