While battling the Florida Panthers in their first-round NHL playoff series, the Lightning fell short as players fought through a brutal mix of injuries. During Game 4, team captain Victor…
While battling the Florida Panthers in their first-round NHL playoff series, the Lightning fell short as players fought through a brutal mix of injuries. During Game 4, team captain Victor Hedman's right foot snapped under pressure.
"It's tough, but you have to somehow play your way through it," said coach Jon Cooper to Tampa Bay Times. "And we were unable to do it."
Since February 25, Hart Trophy finalist Nikita Kucherov struggled with a damaged left hand. He failed to score in three of five matches against Florida. "I didn't want to miss any games," Kucherov said. "The trainers did their part with that, keeping me in the games and pulling through some hard times."
A rare and dangerous thigh condition struck Oliver Bjorkstrand on April 11. The crisis, known as compartment syndrome, forced Dr. Sean Lannon to rush to his house at 2 a.m. and speed him into emergency surgery.
A crushing blow from Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad left Brandon Hagel sidelined with a concussion in Game 5. The playoff opener proved costly: Anthony Cirelli hurt his right knee, while Yanni Gourde's finger cracked under impact.
Nick Paul kept playing despite a torn left wrist. Erik Cernak's knee took damage in the first game, and Luke Glendening's shoulder popped out of place on April 9.
The team's home playoff record shows their struggles, with just one win in their last 10 games. That single bright spot came during Game 4 last season with a 6-3 win.
General manager Julien BriseBois kept things in check, noting the Panthers likely had their own share of wounds.
Was this Lightning team really playoff-ready?
At Friday’s end-of-season postmortem, general manager Julien BriseBois read off the many ways in which the Lightning excelled during the regular season.
They were the NHL’s top scoring team and ranked fourth in scoring defense. Despite the loss of Steven Stamkos in the left circle, their power play was fifth-best. A penalty kill with its share of new faces ranked sixth.Those are all great things, and on paper at least BriseBois accomplished his goal of putting together a better team. Last offseason, he needed to build a squad that was better defensively and at 5-on-5. He did that, making some hard choices in the process.But one thing this Lightning team wasn’t good at? Winning against division opponents.
