The Tampa Bay Lightning stumbled out of the gate, losing both games on home ice to start the season. They had their moments where things looked like they were clicking, but they haven’t controlled the game long enough to hang on and win yet.
Let’s take a look at some takeaways from the first two games. Nothing is certain yet with how early in the season we’re at, but there is still plenty to observe.
Key Mistakes Overwhelm Damage Control
When things went in favor of the opponent, it got out of hand very fast. In the season opener, the Lightning allowed a goal in the opening minute of the second period, and before they knew it, the Ottawa Senators had scored four unanswered goals. Their two-goal lead became a two-goal deficit.
The same happened in reverse in the loss to the New Jersey Devils. They got on the board and put the Lightning in a 3-0 hole before the end of the first period. When the Lightning got back within a goal, they lost the puck and allowed a shorthanded goal on a breakaway.
Whether it was sloppy defense in one place or a bad pass in the offensive zone, these little mistakes caused the game to unravel, and they struggled to limit the damage and gain momentum back in their favor as a result.
Verdict on Special Teams, Mainly Power Play, Is Up in the Air
The power play at times last season was a roller coaster for the Lightning, even if they statistically ranked among the best in the league. Come playoff time, it dried up almost entirely. How does it look so far? I guess you can argue it’s already a roller coaster.
In the loss to the Senators, they scored on two of their three power-play opportunities, allowing them to go up 3-1 in the first period. Against the Devils, they allowed more goals when they had a man advantage than they scored – for reference, they went 0-for-3 on the power play.
Related: Devils Score Early and Often in Win Over Lightning
The penalty kill is arguably fine. Opponents are a combined 1-for-8. If their penalty kill is 87.5% for an entire season, then it’s likely going to be the best in the NHL. It wouldn’t be too surprising since they were sixth in the NHL on the penalty kill last season, and it held up in the playoffs more than the power play.
Offensive Depth Looks Better
See, it hasn’t been all bad. Even in a slow start, there is still something positive to evaluate.
Surprisingly, this is a positive takeaway from the early going. The stars of the team didn’t contribute much in the loss to New Jersey. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point combined for one point. Meanwhile, Max Crozier assisted on two goals. Darren Raddysh, Ryan McDonagh and Yanni Gourde all found the back of the net in the game. Raddysh specifically has three points in these first two games of the 2025-26 campaign.
Oliver Bjorkstrand is providing the extra boost that the Lightning had hoped to have from him in last year’s playoffs, if not for his injury. His high level of play in the preseason has translated to the regular season so far, as he’s tallied a point per game in the early going.
Again, it’s early. We have no clue if any of these offensive contributions will come consistently. But Kucherov and Point are going to get their jobs done more often than not, and if they have the backing they’ve been lacking the past couple seasons, this Lightning team could look more like their Cup contender selves again.
It was a weak showing to start, but these are all fixable issues, and if you’re the Lightning, you hope that one of these is sustainable. Just like that, two games down and 80 more to go. Let’s see if these games become a reflection of who this team is. In some ways, they hope not, but in other ways, they do.
