The Tampa Bay Lightning’s championship window may not be starting to close after all.
The Lightning (41-21-4, 86 points) are looking to snap back into a consistent winning mode as they travel to Vancouver on Thursday night to face the Canucks (21-38-8, 50 points) in a clash between teams that have struggled coming out of the Olympic break.
Tampa Bay has won just two of its last seven games on the road (2-5-0), the latest a dominating 6-2 victory in Seattle on Tuesday that included a five-point night from leading scorer Nikita Kucherov.
“We know we are a good team. It is not something where we just turned into a bad team after a 20-day break,” Brendan Hagel said earlier this week at practice.
“We got to find that winning feeling again. That is what we are working towards.”
The prevailing thought at the beginning of the season was that even though Tampa Bay is loaded with top-tier talent, its roster wasn’t getting much younger and it was going to be harder to stay competitive. The Lightning have suffered three consecutive first-round postseason exits, the past two to their state rivals, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
But the Lightning’s staying power is remarkable as the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup champions find themselves once again near the top of the Eastern Conference with 16 games left in the regular season.
“Identity was a big part of when Tampa Bay was winning,” said Hagel, who had a goal and three assists against the Kraken. “We missed that the last few years. It goes to show you why we were out in the first round. We want to bring that culture back in and everyone is buying in this year.”
Kucherov, who has led the league in scoring the past two seasons and was a Hart Trophy (MVP) finalist last year, delivered a hat trick and two assists on Tuesday. It was his ninth NHL five-point game and seventh career hat trick. His 111 points this season ranked second entering Wednesday.
“I’ve watched that guy get 1,100 points. … Well, probably 1,105 now,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of Kucherov on Tuesday. “He’s a brilliant player.”
Despite their 5-2 victory over the visiting Panthers on Tuesday, home ice has not been kind to Vancouver.
The hapless Canucks are in the middle of one of their longest homestands (eight games) and they are seeking to win back-to-back games at home for the first time. They have just two wins in their last eight at home (2-4-2).
Forward Elias Pettersson ended a 20-game goal drought against Florida by scoring twice on the power play, including his 200th NHL goal.
“It was definitely nice to see two go in,” said Pettersson, who hadn’t scored since Jan. 13, his longest slump. “I’ve been trying to simplify and shoot more and I’m glad two went in.”
Teammate Brock Boeser said people don’t realize how hard Pettersson’s shot is because he tends to pass a lot.
“A confident ‘Petey,” Boeser said. “We need him to let that bomb go. And in the third period, even if it hurts a guy (opponent), that’s fine. It creates stuff off that. I love to see it, and you got to keep bombing it.”
But Pettersson’s scoring woes this season are symptomatic of the last-place Canucks’ lack of firepower as they are headed for a second straight season without a 30-goal scorer.
This is the second and final game of the season between the Canucks and Lightning. Tampa Bay dominated Vancouver 6-2 at home on Nov. 16.
