Welcome to the latest edition of Lightning Strikes, a series featuring quotes and comments from players, coaches, management, journalists, and fans alike concerning the Tampa Bay Lightning. This ongoing column aims to capture a slice of the existing outlook, attitudes, and culture surrounding the team.
Over the past couple of weeks, the Lightning have continued their inconsistent play that has cropped up this season, with a 5-3-2 record in their last ten games. Now, injuries are starting to mount up – Nick Paul and Mitch Chaffee did not play against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, while Nikita Kucherov was a late scratch with an undisclosed injury and is now listed as day-to-day. It was a tough blow to lose Kucherov who leads the Lightning with 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists).
Hedman Sets Assist Record
Against Toronto, Hedman had two assists to set the Lightning assist record with 590, passing Martin St. Louis (588). Earlier this season, Hedman also surpassed former teammate Steven Stamkos, who registered 582 assists in 1,082 games over 16 seasons with the Lightning. Hedman talked about what the assist record means to him after the Maple Leafs game:
“Obviously, you didn’t expect going into this league to have a record like that but I’m going to enjoy it for a few weeks or months before Kuch passes me so, hopefully, I can keep feeding him the puck at the same time. Joking aside, to have a milestone like that is pretty huge.”
It is little wonder that many think Hedman is having one of the best seasons of his career. With a career-best 85 points in 82 games in 2021-22, the Lightning captain is on pace to have a top-three offensive season, and his four goals and 22 points in 23 games are tied for fourth amongst defensemen in the NHL.
Hedman continues to perform at both ends of the ice. The Lightning have been a much better defensive team in 2024-25, partly because of his defensive revival. Last season, amongst 217 qualified defenders (500+ minutes of ice time at five-on-five), he ranked 188th in expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60) per Natural Stat Trick, which measures the quality of unblocked shot attempts a player surrenders when on the ice. However, he has turned things around this season, where his 2.13 expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60) rank 30th amongst 190 qualified defenders (200+ minutes of ice time at five-on-five).
Lightning Power-Play Thriving
The Lightning struggled on the power play early on but have since turned things around, with the NHL’s best power play in November, with a 33.3% success rate since Nov. 1. Brayden Point’s five power-play goals are tied for the league lead in that time, which includes his overtime-winning goal against the Nashville Predators (Nov. 29). Point talked about his goal after the game:
“It was a faceoff that Kuch had a good jump on. Obviously, we outnumbered them on the faceoff there and he throws one in front and it lands on my stick. I pull it to the backhand and find some space.”
With that overtime tally, Point became the fourth player in Tampa Bay history with 20 career overtime points (12 goals, eight assists), joining Stamkos (29 points; 13 goals, 16 assists), Hedman (23 points; eight goals, 15 assists) and St. Louis (21 points; 10 goals, 11 assists).
Related: What the Tampa Bay Lightning Are Thankful for This Thanksgiving
Point has been productive since returning to the lineup following a lower-body injury that sidelined him for four games from Nov. 5-16. He found the back of the net in all but one of his eight appearances last month, tallying 10 goals, with half of them coming on the man advantage.
Lack of Home Ice Advantage
The Lightning have lost four of their past six games (allowing four or more goals in four of the six), and three of their past four at home. Even when the team went through lean stretches the past few seasons, they could always depend on picking up points at home. Amalie Arena is one of the tougher places for opponents to play, and the Lightning typically play well there.
Losing Kucherov was an issue, but forward Brandon Hagel talked about what the Lightning must do in his absence:
“You’re missing one of the best players in the world. That’s obviously not a positive, but everyone’s got to be a little bit better, and everyone’s got to step up. Everyone has a chance to step up, get an opportunity, and that’s what this league is. I think some nights maybe the mental side of us is not there but I can tell you our work ethic and our work is there every single night.”
If the Lightning want to keep themselves in the playoff race, they must fix these mental lapses that have been part of their inconsistent play, especially at home, which includes disappointing and uncharacteristic mistakes on defense.
The Lightning will get a four-day break before they host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (Dec. 5) at Amalie Arena. They then hit the road for a four-game trip through western Canada and Seattle. Check back next week to see all the quotes and comments from the Lightning as they head out on this difficult road trip.
