Making the Stanley Cup playoffs isn’t easy, and in today’s NHL, it’s even more difficult to do it year in and year out.
But the fact that the Lightning on Saturday clinched a postseason berth for the eighth straight season and the 11th time 12 years shouldn’t be dismissed as anything ordinary.
“We strive for excellence, everyone in the organization, and we’ve been fortunate enough that we’ve had really good teams and we’ve got some really good players,” Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said. “And we shouldn’t take it for granted. It’s really hard to make the playoffs.
“I’m always a little bit concerned when you have sustained success like this, that you can easily fall into the trap of taking it for granted. “Making the playoffs is an accomplishment in itself, it’s hard to make the playoffs. ... And the one year we missed out, we had a really good lineup and, sometimes, a lot has to go your way, too.”
The Maple Leafs clinched their ninth straight playoff appearance — the league’s longest active streak — Wednesday. But Toronto has won just one playoff series — their first-round win over Tampa Bay in 2023 — over that stretch, while the Lightning have two Stanley Cups and a third trip to the final to show for it.
The Lightning’s eight straight playoff seasons are tied with the Avalanche for the second-longest active streak.
The Lightning actually earned their trip to the playoffs Saturday hours before taking the ice against the Sabres, thanks to the Rangers’ 4-0 loss to New Jersey.
But now with the playoffs clinched, the Lightning’s focus has to be on hitting their stride once games matter most in the postseason. Winning the Atlantic Division, and securing home ice for at least the first two rounds would be nice, too.
Johansson steals a point
While the Lightning netted one point from their 3-2 shootout loss to the Sabres, they mostly had backup goaltender Jonas Johansson to thank for it. Making just his third start in the span of a month, Johansson made a number of game-saving moves down the stretch and in overtime before Buffalo’s Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch converted their shootout goals for the win.
“There’s some good,” said Brayden Point, whose goal 95 seconds into the second period opened scoring. “I think, defensively, not quite good enough. They’re a really skilled team, They make a lot of plays, so you’ve got to give them that. But I think (Johansson) had to make far too many great saves just to keep us in it. And I think that’s something that we need to clean up, especially come playoff time.”
The Sabres had six scoring chances in the five-minute 3-on-3 alone, and Johansson did his best Andrei Vasilevskiy imitation by coming through late.
“It’s a tough position to play; you’re the last line of defense,” Cooper said. “And you want is your goalie to give a chance to win, and that’s exactly what he did tonight. A lot of times we have pulled those out. Tonight, we didn’t.”
Special teams sputter
The Lightning started slow, their first shot on goal not coming until 14:10 into the game. They had just two shots on goal in the first period.
“I think just not enough sustained zone time, a lot of get in the zone, one chance, and then they were clearing it, which is something we need to work on,” Point said. “When we’re playing really well, that’s something that we can do to teams, kind of keep them in their zone.”
Tampa Bay lost the special teams battle, its power play managing just three shots on goal in six minutes of time on the advantage, with Cooper moving personnel around to find something that worked. The Lightning are 0-for-10 on the power play over their last four games.
And the Lightning couldn’t protect a one-goal lead going into the third period, allowing a tying goal to Jason Zucker on the power play 5:07 into the third period before Buffalo put the Lightning on their heels until the end of regulation. It was just the third time this season in 38 games in which they took a lead after two periods and didn’t win.
“We’ve clinched the playoff spot, which is all well and good, but we have to close those games out,” coach Jon Cooper said. “And the last couple games, it’s special teams that’s been the difference.”
Points more meaningful as games dwindle
Every point matters, and after Toronto’s 5-0 home win over Columbus, the Leafs extended their Atlantic Division lead over the Lightning to four points with six games to go, including a head-to-head meeting on Wednesday in their first game back at Amalie Arena.
But after getting just three points in the first three games of their road trip, the more immediate concern is closing it out strong Monday in New York against a Rangers team clinging to its playoff hopes.
“Now you’re jockeying for position, and hopefully we can somehow squeak out some on home ice, and that’s why these points are valuable,” Cooper said. “So commend the guys that they got one. It’s too bad we couldn’t get two.”
