The Stanley Cup Playoffs are less than two weeks away. The Tampa Bay Lightning have clinched their spot and have a few games left to ride out and finish on a high note. But when playoff time comes, it’s all hands on deck. It’s going to take some key members of this Lightning team to do their part to have a shot at their third Stanley Cup in five years.
It’s obvious that guys like Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy need to do their part. Two of these guys have been playoff MVPs. While the team’s stars won the playoff hardware, it takes more than the stars to win. Here are five guys who are absolutely key to a deep Lightning playoff run.
Anthony Cirelli
Anthony Cirelli has turned things around in the second half of the season. He has 28 points in his last 35 games compared to 17 points during his first 43 games. This performance allowed him to match his season high in points—with a chance to record a new season best—and score 20 goals in a season for the first time. Three of these goals are also game-winning goals.
A forward already known for having defensive ability – The Athletic went out of its way to make a Selke case for him back in 2020 (from ‘Why the Lightning’s Anthony Cirelli should win the Selke Trophy,’ The Athletic, Mar 23, 2020) – Cirelli managed to set a career-high in blocked shots (73).
Cirelli was a solid contributor in the back-to-back Cup runs. In 2020, he shined primarily on defense with 32 blocked shots and 99 takeaways in 23 playoff games. However, in 2021, he contributed much more offensively, with 12 points during the same number of games.
This season has shown that perhaps the Lightning could get both versions of Cirelli this time around. Given the team’s struggles with depth throughout the season—both offensively and defensively—it would go a long way to have a guy who can help shut down the opponent’s offensive attack and then get on the scoresheet.
Darren Raddysh
Overall, Darren Raddysh has had a strong first full season and has made strides in his development. He’s greatly increased his offensive production, jumping from 0.18 points per game to 0.40 points per game. He’s had two game-winners, including an overtime goal against the New Jersey Devils on Jan 11. On defense, his 3.1 defensive points share is the third-best on the team, and his 99 blocked shots are the fourth-most. He’s also been a consistent presence on this staff, being one of four players to play in every game this season.
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However, he’s had some sloppy moments on defense down the stretch. This was especially evident in the recent losses against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. Some messy plays right in front of the net led to some difference-making goals in close, winnable games.
For the Lightning to go on a deep run, Raddysh needs to clean up his play. For example, all eyes will be on him if a bad play leads to the Lightning falling behind in the final minutes of a game – or worse, an overtime loss.
Anthony Duclair
If your name is Anthony, the Lightning are counting on you.
The Lightning acquired Anthony Duclair at the trade deadline on March 7, and he’s proved to be a Julien BriseBois masterclass pick. Right out of the gate, he reignited the struggling Lightning, beginning his tenure in Tampa Bay with an eight-game points streak. During that streak, the Lightning went 7-0-1 and never looked back.
Clutch plays by deadline acquisitions were a major factor in the Lightning winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. Duclair is a clear candidate to be the next guy who comes up big in the playoffs for Tampa Bay. He already has the track record from last season (‘New Lightning forward Anthony Duclair ready to join playoff chase,’ Tampa Bay Times, March 9, 2024) when he had 11 points in 20 playoff games for the Panthers, who went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. A similar performance is all this team would need out of him.
A bonus would be if Duclair can come alive on the power play. While he only has one playoff career power-play point – a game-three goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs – he’s had his moments in the regular season. He could make an already dominant Lightning power play untouchable.
Nick Perbix
We’ll keep this one simple. Nick Perbix has had an excellent sophomore season for the Lightning. Perfect? No. But excellent nonetheless. He doesn’t have the same scoring production as other Bolts defensemen—though he was one of the better players in the Maple Leafs’ first-round series last season—but he thrives in his role. Perbix has blocked more shots than anyone on the team this season, and his 3.4 defensive points share is second only to Victor Hedman.
It would be a nice plus if his name found its way onto the scoresheet more like it did in the last playoffs. But if this is the Perbix the Lightning get, they’ll have zero complaints.
Mikey Eyssimont and Tanner Jeannot
You named two players. And? Consider them each half a player if you still need this list to add up to five.
These two guys could’ve been done separately, but there would have been a lot of repeating ourselves. They have similar roles, and the Lightning want to do virtually the same things. There’s a reason Jeannot leads the team with 205 hits despite only playing 53 games this season. There’s a reason Eyssimont has 104 penalty minutes. They greet the opposition with muscle and back up their teammates when they get pushed around.
Should the opportunity come about to get on the scoresheet, by all means, take advantage of the opportunity. We doubt Jon Cooper was upset when Eyssimont put the Lightning up 2-0 against the Florida Panthers on March 16 or when Jeannot opened scoring in what became a Lightning overtime win against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 20. But they know what to do. They take the ice to set the tone night in and night out, and the Lightning will want them to do the same in the playoffs.
There are other players who could show up for the Lightning as well. Any extra player who comes up in the clutch makes a difference. The overall idea here is the importance of depth. Winning a championship is a team effort. It takes more than some big names doing their normal thing. It takes a bottom-six forward or extra defenseman to rise to the occasion and become a hero.