MORE: Full first-round schedule | Get to know the Red Wings
Record: 50-24-8, 108 points
Standing: Second in Atlantic Division, securing home-ice advantage in the first round.
Clinched: March 31
Coach: Jon Cooper (regular season: 101-59-20; playoffs: 0-4)
Captain: Steven Stamkos
Players to watch: The Lightning led the NHL with 262. Steven Stamkos is the clear MVP of the team, though he has many secondary characters. Stamkos had 72 points, including 43 goals. The line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat blossomed, as those players finished right behind Stamkos in points. Johnson has 72 (43 assists), Kucherov has 64 and Palat has 63 (47 assists).
Goaltender: Ben Bishop, a 6-7 the NHL’s tallest netmind, finished the season with 40 wins, but his .916 save percentage and 2.32 goals-against average were middle of the pack. The Bolts likely will need better performance from Big Ben.
Playoff history: This is the Lightning’s eighth playoff appearance in its short history. The Montreal Canadiens swept them last season.
Championships: Tampa Bay, founded in 1992, won its only Cup in 2004.
First-round schedule (*-if necessary):
April 16, 7:30 p.m. at Tampa Bay; CNBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports April 18, 3 p.m. at Tampa Bay; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports April 21, 7 p.m. at Detroit; NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports April 23, 7 p.m. at Detroit; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports *April 25, TBD at Tampa Bay; TBD *April 27, TBD at Detroit, TBD *April 29, TBD at Tampa Bay, TBD
Cassandra Negley is a contributor at Sporting News. She’s currently the sports editor at the Thomasville Times-Enterprise in Georgia and writes for the Mets blog, Rising Apple. You can follow her on Twitter, @casnegley.
