Welcome to this edition of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stock Up and Stock Down, a weekly column detailing the highs and lows of the team’s performance.
Home cooking has been good for the Tampa Bay Lightning. After going 0-2-1 on their first road trip of the season, the Lightning came home and rattled off a 4-0-1 record upon returning to Amalie Arena, culminating with a 6-0 thumping of the winless San Jose Sharks (Oct. 26). The Lightning are now playing more like the team that came out of camp on a mission to reverse last season’s early exit in the playoffs.
During the homestand, the turnaround looked like it was not going to happen after the Lightning blew a two-goal lead late in the third period before falling to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime (Oct. 21), which led to Jon Cooper’s strong comments after the game. “It’s disappointing the way that players handled the last half of the third period and overtime. We’re much better than that. Give Toronto a ton of credit. They did what you have to do to get points in a hockey game. They played the whole 60 minutes-plus, and we didn’t.”
After some renewed focus for the Lightning in their practice the following Monday, they posted back-to-back shutouts against the Sharks and the Carolina Hurricanes (Oct. 24). While beating the winless Sharks was nice, the win against the Hurricanes was even more impressive as they held a team in check that will likely be a contender to win the Metropolitan Division this season.
Stock Up: Jonas Johansson
There was very little in the Lightning’s early struggles that were the fault of Johannsson. The Lightning’s lack of intensity against the Maple Leafs led to the 28-year-old facing 52 shots in that game, stopping 48 of them, with some of those saves worthy of being included in a highlight reel. With the team playing much better in front of him, Johansson was able to post back-to-back shutouts with 32 saves against the Hurricanes and 23 against the Sharks. His continued solid play will allow the Lightning to make sure Andrei Vasilevskiy does not have to be rushed back into the lineup while also knowing that they will have a capable backup when he does return.
Stock Up: Syracuse Crunch & Pyotr Kochetkov
The 24-year-old posted a shutout on Saturday night (Oct. 28) against the Laval Rocket and has helped the Syracuse Crunch start the season with a 4-2 record. Kochetkov is on loan to the Crunch as he is property of the Hurricanes, who do not have an American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate because the Chicago Wolves terminated their partnership at the end of last season. In the two games he has appeared in Syracuse, he has posted a 1.45 goals-against average with a .943 save percentage in compiling two victories. However, it was a recent call-up that left him and the Crunch in a very interesting situation.
On Oct. 18, the Hurricanes recalled their former second-round draft pick when Frederik Andersen was forced to leave a game after taking a puck off the helmet. Kochetkov appeared in three games for Carolina, which included starting in net when the Hurricanes fell to the Crunch’s parent team, the Lightning. He struggled in the three games he played, which also included a relief appearance against the Seattle Kraken and a loss on the road against the red-hot Colorado Avalanche. He was sent back down on Oct. 26 when both of Carolina’s goaltenders, Antti Raanta and Andersen were deemed healthy and ready to play.
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This should be a very good relationship for both parties, as the Lightning have not only provided the Hurricanes a chance to let a bright talent play in the AHL, but it will also benefit the Crunch, allowing them to have an NHL-caliber goaltender play alongside their top goaltending prospect, Hugo Alnefelt.
Stock Down: Overtime
The extra session continues to plague the Lightning. Even back during their Stanley Cup run in 2021, they were 0-4 in overtime. After the overtime loss to the Maple Leafs, the Lightning have lost four games in a row at home, dating back to February 2022. According to Cooper, it is the style of hockey the Bolts play in overtime that has hurt them. “In overtime, we’ve become a team of just being satisfied to contain, hope the goalie makes a save, grab it with your glove, throw it in the corner, OK now it’s our turn with the puck. When you do that against a plethora of skilled players, eventually, it’s going to end up in your net, and that’s what happened.” After addressing that issue in the next practice after the Maple Leafs game, it will be interesting to see how the Lightning come out and play in their next overtime contest.
Stock Up: Alex Barre-Boulet
After starting the season playing on the third line, a shift to the first line has resulted in increased production for Alex Barre-Boulet. The 26-year-old has scored two goals and an assist after being placed on the first line with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point in the Oct. 17 game against the Buffalo Sabres. Barre-Boulet knows that with the departures of Alex Killorn and Ross Colton, he now has what could be his final opportunity to show that he deserves regular minutes in the Lightning lineup.
Since being placed on that line, that group has 11 more shot attempts (46) than allowed (35) in 5-on-5 play. That includes 19 scoring chances over the past two games, and 12 from high-danger areas, which is the most of any Lightning line over that stretch. With Tyler Motte set to return soon, Barre-Boulet is making the case to remain in the lineup when the veteran is medically cleared to join the team.
Stock Up: Brayden Point
The 27-year-old finally scored his first goal of the season in the win over the Hurricanes and picked up his second goal against the Sharks. Brayden Point has been contributing offensively, as he has been able to record eight assists, but it is a relief to see that a player who topped the 50-goal mark last season is getting back on track. It may not be too much of a coincidence that Point’s ability to score has been helped by having Barre-Boulet skating on a line with him.
Related: Lightning’s Waltteri Merela’s Path From Undrafted to NHL Roster
The Lightning have one more home remaining on Monday (Oct. 30) before heading out on a four-game road trip starting Thursday, Nov. 2, when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets. It will be interesting to see if the Lightning can do better than they did on their first road trip of the season when they will not only face the Blue Jackets but also head to Canada to face the Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and Montreal Canadiens.
