While most of the players were probably taking their game-day naps, the Tampa Bay Lightning extended some franchise history. Thanks to the New York Rangers loss at the hands of the New Jersey Devils earlier in the day, the Lightning clinched a postseason spot for the eighth consecutive season. No matter how they do over the next two weeks, they’re dancing in the second season.
It also marks the 11th time in 12 seasons that Jon Cooper has led them to the playoffs, with the 2016-17 season the lone season the Bolts haven’t played extra hockey under his tutelage. Oh, and they had 94 points that season despite a plethora of injuries and still were just a point shy from the playoffs.
Overall, it’s been a pretty good run for the Lightning during this streak. They’ve won two Stanley Cups, made the Final three times, and the Conference Final four times. Of course, they’ve also been bounced in the first round three times. So, it’s pretty much all or nothing for them, no messing around with second round defeats. In fact, Jon Cooper has never had a team lose in the second round. Either they’re out early, or they’re one of the four best teams in the playoffs.
All of those long runs have allowed the Lightning to play the most playoff games since 2017-18 with 105 (Vegas is second with 95). They also have the most wins with 62, again Vegas is second with 57. No team has scored more playoff goals than the Lightning’s 312, in fact they’re the only ones to crest the 300-goal mark. They’re in the top ten for goals scored per game (6th) and goals allowed per game (4th).
Their home-and-road splits aren’t as dramatic as one would think. At “home” (some of these were in the bubble) they are 32-22 while on the road they are 30-19.
As one might expect, Nikita Kucherov leads all postseason scorers since 2017-18 with 125 points (31 goals, 94 assists) while Brayden Point ranks second with 42 goals (although he’s only played in 87 of the Lightning’s 105 games). Nathan MacKinnon is goals leader with 46.
The Bolts are hoping to add to these numbers. After a couple of rather quick exits, the Lightning are hoping that they have the right mix of players to make a long run. One way they can go about accomplishing that would be by winning their division. So, while they can celebrate making the playoffs, their work in the regular season isn’t over just yet.
