The National Hockey League (NHL) will start the 2022/2023 season on October 7th. After the Tampa Bay Lightning’s reign was broken by the Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Avalanche is the new prey! In the annual preview series Hockey-News.info a different team in focus every day.
Tampa Bay advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the third year in a row. This time, however, they failed because of the almost overwhelming Colorado Avalanche. Nevertheless, the team from Florida is one of the top teams once more this year and will be difficult to bend, especially in the East.
There was therefore no reason to make any changes to the head coach. Jon Cooper led the Lightning into the most successful time in its existence and will also be in charge of the gang in the coming season. However, there was an interesting exchange with the assistant coaches. Derek Lalonde took over as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and was the previous coach of the Wings Jeff Blashill becomes an assistant in Tampa Bay. There’s no doubt that former Tampa GM and current Wings manager Steve Yzerman played a big part in this.
| Tampa Bay Lightning Infobox | |
|---|---|
| Additions: | Vladislav Namestnikov, Philippe Myers, Ian Cole, Haydn Fleury |
| Departures: | Ryan McDonagh, Ondrej Palat, Jan Rutta |
| 2022 1st Round Pick: | Isaac Howard (31st) |
| Top 3 Prospects: | Jack Finley, Isaac Howard, Lucas Edmonds |
The off-season was relatively quiet for Tampa Bay. GM Julien BriseBois lots Vladislav Namestnikov back to Tampa, he should probably fill in the gap left by Ondrej Palat, who signed in New Jersey. Otherwise everything stays the same in the storm and that has its reasons. After all, they scored a strong 285 goals in the past season, the eighth best value in the league and also in the power play they took this place with a rate of 23.9%. On average, Tampa Bay scored 3.48 goals per game.
Captain Steven Stamkos had a terrific season. Image: facebook.com/lightningnhl
Captain played a big part in that Steven Stamkos, who finally stayed injury-free for a season and scored almost at will. His yield: 42 goals and 64 assists in 81 games. Things didn’t go so well with his regular linemates, however Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Kucherov misses almost half the season and Point injured himself towards the end of the season. According to information, both should be fully fit once more and thus they form one of the most dangerous lines in the entire league.
In the second row is Center Anthony Cirelli seated, playing next to him Alex Killorn on the left and on the right will probably Brandon Hagel play, which was steered to Tampa for the trade deadline. Center’s services were also secured during the course of the season Nick Paul, who came from Ottawa and turned out to be a real stroke of luck. With a height of 1.93 meters and a weight of 102kg, Paul also brings a certain toughness into play, but he can also establish himself as a consistent scorer. Next to him will be the previously mentioned Vladislav Namestnikov as well Ross Colton spielen.
The fourth row will also play unchanged. The Frenchman acts as the center Pierre-Edouard Bellemareon left becomes Patrick Maroon play and Corey Perry complements this series. Perry is probably the bad luck raven par excellence, he recently lost three Stanley Cup final series in a row. With Montreal and Dallas, he failed at his current employer Tampa and most recently lost to Colorado.
| Boston Bruins Lineup | ||
|---|---|---|
| striker | ||
| Steven Stamkos | Brayden Point | Nikita Kucherov |
| Alex Killorn | Anthony Cirelli | Brandon Hagel |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | Nick Paul | Ross Colton |
| Patrick Maroon | Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | Corey Perry |
| defender | goalkeeper | |
| Victor HEdman | Callan Foote | Andrei Vasilevskiy |
| Mikhail Sergachev | Erik Cernak | Brian Elliott |
| Ian Cole/Haydn Fleury | Zach Bogosian/Philippe Myers | |
In defense will continue to be the Swede Victor Hedman be the linchpin. The now 31-year-old recently played his best season ever in terms of points. 20 goals and 65 assists were on his credit side following 82 regular season games. Hedman has been one of the best defenders of his generation for years and there doesn’t seem to be any drop in performance.
Victor Hedman is the pinnacle of the Bolts’ blue line. Pic: Lisa Gansky, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org
with Callan Foote Hedman has now also got a steady partner at his side. The second defensive pair forms Erik Cernak and Mikhail Sergachev. The Russian only signed a contract until the 2030/31 season in this year’s off-season. The defense is supplemented by Ian Colewho might be signed by the Carolina Hurricanes in the summer, and Raubein Zach Bogosian.
Tampa Bay’s defense is strong and balanced. Cole’s commitment should make the defense a little more stable. 228 goals conceded last season was already the sixth-best tally in the league and there’s no reason to expect it to go down. If you want to find a fly in the ointment, it was the penalty kill. With a rate of 80.6% there is still room for improvement.
And even if there are mistakes here and there on the defensive, you’ve got something to do with it Andrei Vasilevskiy one of the best goalies on the planet between the posts. Even if his values in the regular season were a bit weaker than in previous years, he once more showed excellent games in the playoffs and was a big factor in enabling the Bolts to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in the first place. Especially in the seven-game series once morest the Toronto Maple Leafs, the 28-year-old Russian was in top form in the decisive moments.
Sein Back-Up Brian Elliott only gets a slightly better extra role, following all Vasilevskiy started in 63 of 82 regular season games and of course also in all play-off games.
Hockey-News Projection: Despite losing the Stanley Cup Finals, Tampa Bay is one of the top teams in the league. The Atlantic Division is extremely strong with Florida and Toronto, but the play-offs will certainly be reached. It wouldn’t be surprising if Tampa, with all the experience it has accumulated over the past few years, were to compete for the cup once more this year.
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