After quite a slow start to the 2019/20 NHL season the Tampa Bay Lightning eventually caught fire and recently reeled off a franchise-tying 10-game winning streak. They equalled the club high mark with a 1-0 away win over the Philadelphia Flyers on January 11th but saw the streak end with a 3-1 defeat in New Jersey to the Devils the next. The Lightning outscored their opponents 42-17 during the streak with nine of those goals coming in a 9-2 drubbing of the Vancouver Canucks.
Tampa Bay set their club record of 10 consecutive victories just last year when they were red hot between February 9th and 27th. Their recent streak equals this season’s NHL high mark as the New York Islanders also won 10 straight games earlier in the campaign from October 12th to November 5th. The Lightning are now the fourth club in NHL history to win at least 10 games in a row in two consecutive seasons.
The Columbus Blue Jackets achieved the feat in 2016/17 and 2017/18 while the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled it off in three straight seasons in 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13 and the Philadelphia Flyers managed it in 1984/85 and 1985/86. Tampa’s loss in New Jersey snapped a five-game winning streak on the road but they’re still an impressive 8-2-1 in their last 11 away outings. The five-match road winning streak also equalled the second-longest road winning string in the NHL this season.
Tampa hadn’t given up a goal in 169:05 minutes of action until New Jersey scored in the second period of their game and fell just short of their franchise best of 184:06 which was set last February 12th to 18th. The Lightning also scored 13 straight goals before New Jersey tallied which meant they also fell short in their attempt to tie their franchise record of 14 consecutive goals which was also set lest February.
The recent hot streak has seen Tampa Bay soar up the standings in the Atlantic Division where they currently sit in second place with a record of 27-14-4 after 46 games. They trail the first-place Boston Bruins by seven points with a game in hand and have a four-point lead over the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs also with a game in hand.
Collectively, the Lightning have scored the fourth-most goals in the league at 162 and their 130 goals against ranks ninth best. The club’s special teams have also been pulling their weight as their power play is ranked second in the league behind the Edmonton Oilers at 27.8 per cent and the penalty killing is tied for fourth best with the Dallas Stars at 83.5 per cent.
Individually, right-winger Nikita Kucherov (last year’s Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL’s top scorer), leads the way with 17 goals and 49 points and is followed by centre Steven Stamkos at 17 goals and 44 points. Defenceman Victor Hedman is next with nine goals and 41 points while centre Brayden Point has notched 18 goals and 40 points and centre Alex Kilorn has chipped in with 18 goals and 37 points.
The Lightning have also been getting solid goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy as he’s 22-9-2 with a goals-against average of 2.58 with a 91.5 save percentage. Veteran backup netminder Curtis McElhinney hasn’t been quite as sharp and is 5-5-2 with a 3.10 GAA and a 90.4 save percentage. The Lightning have recorded just two shutouts this season with Vasilevskiy posting both of them in the ninth and 10th games of their recent winning streak.
But even with the team’s recent hot run, the Lightning can’t afford to take the foot off the gas since they have just a five-point lead over the Florida Panthers and the last playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. They are also only two points in front of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference wild-card playoff race as of January 13th with each team having 37 games remaining in the regular season.