If you're a Tampa Bay Lightning fan, Christmas has come early this year.
With the best record to date in the National Hockey League, the Lightning have looked as good as any NHL club has since the 1976-77 Montreal Canadians.
Of course, for Bolts fans December 25th might as well be the Fourth of July, as the only Christmas gift they want won't get unwrapped until mid-June.
And that's only if the Lightning turn another regular-season success into a Stanley Cup championship.
Having made appearances in three out of the last four Eastern Conference Final rounds, the club has yet to turn regular season success into a second Lord Stanley Cup win in their 26-year history.
This year's franchise seems different from the past ones, though.
With extreme depth on paper and a league-leading offense on ice, no lead by an opposing team is safe.
The 2018 incarnation is that deep and that resilient.
And that makes choosing my Top Five Most Intriguing Bolts of the year more difficult this year than in any of the past three times I've written such a column .
I'm up for the challenge, though, as I zero in on my original criteria for such a column which is to annually pick the five Lightning team members who I'd most like to invite to Christmas dinner.
In the past, Steven Stamkos, Head Coach Jon Cooper and former netminder Ben Bishop have topped my list.
Both Stammer and Coop were seriously considered for top five honors this time around.
To date, Stamkos looks to have regained that spark that has in the past propelled the team to playoff dominance and won him two Maurice Rocket Richard trophies for most goals scored by an NHL player in a single season.
As for Cooper, he has lead the team to a playoff berth in all but one of his five full seasons as Bolts head coach.
So both are worthy of inclusion on my list this season
As is defending Norris Trophy winner, Victor Hedman, who continues to dominate the squad's already deep and improving defense.
His D-man counterpart, Ryan McDonagh, came thisclose to making the top five on the list. He currently leads the team in plus/minus at 19, good for sixth place in the NHL.
McDonagh has been invaluable to the squad's defense, especially in the absence of injured teammate, Anton Stralman.
The genius of former general manager Steve Yzerman's hockey brilliance once again is evident in having traded for him and winger J.T. Miller with the Rangers late last season.
His D-man counterpart, Ryan McDonagh, came thisclose to making the top five on the list. He currently leads the team in plus/minus at 19, good for sixth place in the NHL.
McDonagh has been invaluable to the squad's defense, especially in the absence of injured teammate, Anton Stralman.
The genius of former general manager Steve Yzerman's hockey brilliance once again is evident in having traded for him and winger J.T. Miller with the Rangers late last season.
Tyler Johnson, who is looking to, perhaps, have his best season ever as a Bolt, was also worthy of inclusion on my top five list. In fact, to date, Johnny's 13 goals this season are only eight shy of his production for the entire 2017-18 season Also considered for the list was promising center Anthony Cirelli, who in his first full season in a Bolts blue sweater already has scored nine goals and has 13 points for the good guys.
However, ultimately I went in a different direction this year and my top five are all new to my list and, some even
relatively new to the team.
relatively new to the team.
And that I have listed so many who could have been top five on my list - and left off many others who I could make a strong argument for inclusion on it - is a testament to just how strong this squad - actually is.
As is customary for me, I publish an annual list of who I consider to be the Most Intriguing Sports Figures of the year and in a previous column, I selected Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield for that honor.
However, any of the five I'm about to list in this column could easily be on my overall sports list, too.
Coming in at number five is
Nikita Kucherov.
Formerly included on my list two years ago as part of the 'Triplets' trio with Johnson and Ondrej Palat, Kuch makes it all on his own this year.
Kucherov can score goals, but his value this season has been in getting assists. Fourth in the League in that statistic, with 34, his 47 points put him in that same spot in that stat, too.
Whatever line Cooper puts him on suddenly produces and that is a sign of a true MVP.
Having recorded a first and only hat trick on a 3-on-3 in last year's NHL All-Star game, Kucherov is well on his way to making another appearance in the league's annual classic.
Formerly included on my list two years ago as part of the 'Triplets' trio with Johnson and Ondrej Palat, Kuch makes it all on his own this year.
Kucherov can score goals, but his value this season has been in getting assists. Fourth in the League in that statistic, with 34, his 47 points put him in that same spot in that stat, too.
Whatever line Cooper puts him on suddenly produces and that is a sign of a true MVP.
Having recorded a first and only hat trick on a 3-on-3 in last year's NHL All-Star game, Kucherov is well on his way to making another appearance in the league's annual classic.
4. Mathieu Joseph, The rookie winger took a while to score, but once he did, it is as if the floodgates suddenly opened. Already at nine goals and 13 points for the season, he is a serious Calder Trophy candidate.
What makes Joseph even more special is that he also does all the little things that boost a team to victory exceptionally well for someone his age and is a born leader, which is evident from his pressers or post game clips.
Having met Joseph when he was a member of the Bolts AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, I can say, firsthand, that he is also humble. That quiet humbleness, mixed with confidence he displays both on the ice indicate a promising career in Tampa Bay and the NHL.
Joseph is certainly high on my list of Bolts to interview in 2019.
What makes Joseph even more special is that he also does all the little things that boost a team to victory exceptionally well for someone his age and is a born leader, which is evident from his pressers or post game clips.
Having met Joseph when he was a member of the Bolts AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, I can say, firsthand, that he is also humble. That quiet humbleness, mixed with confidence he displays both on the ice indicate a promising career in Tampa Bay and the NHL.
Joseph is certainly high on my list of Bolts to interview in 2019.
3. Louis Domingue - A veteran goaltender in his own right, Domingue has come of age this season as backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Traded to the Lightning from the Arizona Coyotes last season, he has proven his worth this year in relief of Vasilevskiy, who broke his foot last month and was sidelined until Thursday night's win versus Toronto.
The trade came last season following Domingue's disastrous stint in relief of Coyotes' netminder, Antti Raanta, in which he went 0-7.
Domingue has more than proven that slump was a mere fluke by posting 14 wins this season, good for a third-place tie in the league, and going 10-2 in Vasy's absence.
In fact, just last week, he was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week.
What's particularly impressive with the Quebec native's play this season is he has gotten progressively better and more confident between the pipes.
If Vasilevskiy should go down again, the Bolts should stand in good stead with Domingue.
2. Brayden Point - In his third season with the Lightning, the center has improved nicely each year.
And in this 2018-19 season, he is soaring.
Point leads the team in goals with 21, good for fourth place in the League, and is a legitimate Rocket Richard contender. His 41 points tie him for 11th in the NHL and put him behind only Kucherov for that team statistic.
With a killer instinct to improve that he has shown since he started playing for the Bolts, he may, in actuality, be the squad's biggest asset come playoff time.
While having one goaltender in my top five, is good, naming two to it is exceptional.
Traded to the Lightning from the Arizona Coyotes last season, he has proven his worth this year in relief of Vasilevskiy, who broke his foot last month and was sidelined until Thursday night's win versus Toronto.
The trade came last season following Domingue's disastrous stint in relief of Coyotes' netminder, Antti Raanta, in which he went 0-7.
Domingue has more than proven that slump was a mere fluke by posting 14 wins this season, good for a third-place tie in the league, and going 10-2 in Vasy's absence.
In fact, just last week, he was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week.
What's particularly impressive with the Quebec native's play this season is he has gotten progressively better and more confident between the pipes.
If Vasilevskiy should go down again, the Bolts should stand in good stead with Domingue.
2. Brayden Point - In his third season with the Lightning, the center has improved nicely each year.
And in this 2018-19 season, he is soaring.
Point leads the team in goals with 21, good for fourth place in the League, and is a legitimate Rocket Richard contender. His 41 points tie him for 11th in the NHL and put him behind only Kucherov for that team statistic.
With a killer instinct to improve that he has shown since he started playing for the Bolts, he may, in actuality, be the squad's biggest asset come playoff time.
While having one goaltender in my top five, is good, naming two to it is exceptional.
My number one selection as Most Intriguing (and Valuable) Lightning Player of 2018 is also a netminder
and is testament to just how strong the Bolts are in goal - and in virtually every other aspect of the game - this season.
And, ultimately, that could be the difference between the Bolts settling for also-ran status again this season or actually finally hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup next June.
and is testament to just how strong the Bolts are in goal - and in virtually every other aspect of the game - this season.
And, ultimately, that could be the difference between the Bolts settling for also-ran status again this season or actually finally hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup next June.
If you're a Lightning fan, I'm sure you've guessed by now who my ultimate choice is.
Coming in at number one this year for My Most Intriguing (not to mention most Valuable) Bolt is the team's aforementioned number one guy between the pipes, Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Vasy, a finalist last season for the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the goaltender deemed best in net, has only gotten better with another year of NHL experience under his belt.
His .933 save percentage leads the league and he ranks third among netminders in goals against average at 2.20.
And upon returning from his four-week recovery, he didn't miss a beat. In fact, his cat-like reflexes in net looked even more refined and, if possible, he looked even better in goal than before his injury.
Not even having hit his prime as a goaltender, at 24, Vasilevskiy can only get better, which for Bolts' fans should ensure the team's dominance in goal for many seasons to come.
Whether these honored
Bolts - and of course the entire Lightning Hockey Club - can ultimately succeed where their past teams could not has yet to be determined.
Bolts - and of course the entire Lightning Hockey Club - can ultimately succeed where their past teams could not has yet to be determined.
One thing is for certain, though.
If they do, it will be better than any gift any Lightning fan finds under their Christmas tree next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment