The turkey has been gobbled up, and leftovers are gone, Movember moustaches have mostly been shaved and Christmas is on the horizon. The rise of the sun on Dec. 1 brings about change. I don’t just mean flipping another page of the old calendar on the wall, but growth, as individuals, teammates, writers and whatever else shifts your gears.

If we live by the saying “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” – once murmured from the mouth of the twentieth century philosopher, George Santayana – we must look at the past. In this case, the past is a good thing. Taking a look at Tampa Bay’s November record and stats brings the point that sometimes we want history to be repeated, at least in their case we do.

The Lightning finished the month of November with a 9-3-1 record. Through 13 games in November they were second in the NHL with 3.54 goals forced per game, ninth in power play percentage with a 22.5 percent conversion rate and had two players rank in the top-five in the league with 1.23 points per game.

Although, they do have some things they need to work on. The Lightning netminders combined for a .910 save percentage which ranked 19th in the league, they committed 92 minor penalties as a team, which was 20th best league wide – glass half-full type of thinking – and they tied for 27th in the league among penalty kill percentage at 75 percent.

Let the Countdown Begin!

Honorable Mentions

Nikita Kucherov

It’s only his second season in the NHL, but the 21-year-old is having a breakout season. He’s already tied his goal production from a season ago and has two more assists than last year as well – in 28 fewer games. The Russian seems to have secured his spot on the second line for the time being, especially with his production last month. He finished out November with five goals and six assists for 11 points in 13 games. Also, a couple key factors that really stand out were his plus-7 rating and zero penalties committed through the month.

Alex Killorn

The third-rounder has gone down twice this season with an upper-body injury, but came back strong both times. He netted all five of his goals last month in the past six games in route to eight points in nine November outings, with a plus-three rating.

 

Third Star

Steven Stamkos

It’s tough to put Stammer in the third spot, but there are some key contributing factors that come into play when deciding. He had seven goals and nine assists for a co-team lead of 16 points in 13 games, but three goals and four assists came on the power play, which is why he’s the third star. He also had a plus-6 rating and 33 shots on goal.

Second Star

Ryan Callahan

Cally was dominant for the Bolts in November as he put up a team leading eight goals in 13 games – which were good enough to tie for fifth in the league. He added eight assists to tie Stammer for the team-lead of 16 points, ranked second on the team with a plus-8 rating and led the squad with 45 shots – 12 more than anyone else. Only two goals and three assists came on the power play for Cally, so he was statistically better than Stammer at even strength. And he blasted his former team both times they squared off.

First Star

Ben Bishop

He boasted an 8-2-1 record with a .922 save percentage. ‘Nuff said.