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The Other 31: Tampa Bay Lightning

Our guest today is Erik Erlendsson, longtime Lightning beat writer and writer/editor of LightningInsider.com. The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the most successful franchises in the National Hockey League over the past decade. The Lightning have qualified for the playoffs in 13 of the last 14 years, including the last nine consecutive seasons. They won back-to-back Stanley Cups (2020, 2021), also reached the Cup Final two other occasions (2015 vs. Chicago, 2022 vs. Colorado) and bowed out in the Eastern Conference Final in 2016 (Pittsburgh) and 2018 (Washington). However, amidst all that success, they have also crashed out in the first round on six occasions since Jon Cooper became head coach in the middle of the 2012-13 season. They were swept by Montréal in 2014 and then dealt a shocking sweep by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019, the year the Bolts won the Presidents’ Trophy with a 128-point regular season. More recently, Tampa Bay has lost in the first round in each of the last four seasons and haven’t won a playoff series since beating the New York Rangers in the 2022 Eastern Conference Final. Thus, today’s big question, how do the Lightning recharge their energy to make another deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?

An ALLCITY Network Production