Tampa Bay Lightning enter Christmas on record setting pace

The Tampa Bay Lightning enter the holiday season on pace to challenge several impressive records. 

There are only three things certain in life – death, taxes, and the Tampa Bay Lightning looking like a Stanley Cup contender. Everyone knew they were going to be great this season, even after the Washington Capitals beat them in the Eastern Conference Final. In four of the past five seasons, the Lightning have been in the Eastern Conference Final. That’s the definition of consistent greatness.

But this season, they aren’t just meeting their extremely high standards. The Lightning are exceeding them. Entering the Christmas season, they own the best record in the NHL at 28-7-2. The Lightning have a mind-boggling eight-point lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets in the President’s Trophy race for the best record in the league.

More from Puck Prose

• Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
• This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
• 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
• 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings

They have picked up 58 points out of a possible 74, good for a .784 point percentage. That’s the sixth-highest mark of all-time. The Lightning have a very realistic chance of beating the 2005-06 Detroit Red Wings salary cap era record .754 point percentage. Though the Chicago Blackhawks had a .802 point percentage in 2012-13, it’s worth noting this was the lockout-shortened season and they only played 48 games.

What’s most impressive is the Lightning have done this despite not having several key players due to injuries. They lost Vezina Trophy finalist goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy for a month and still managed to go 12-4-0 without him. Reigning Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman has missed seven games. Important defenseman Anton Stralman has only played in 20 games. Underrated forward Ondrej Palat has missed 16.

And yet, the Lightning are still destroying everything in their path. Their longest losing streak this season has been two games. And that’s only happened one time. The Lightning are doing this despite being in what might be the NHL’s toughest division with five teams having at least 40 points.

Though Tampa Bay is a well-balanced team, their calling card has been their offense. Vasilevskiy’s injury forced this to be the case. Backup goalie Louis Domingue‘s 15-4-0 record despite a .904 save percentage proves this.

The Lightning have scored 151 goals in 37 games, which is over four goals a game. Not only does this lead the league, if they can sustain this pace, they’ll break the 2009-10 Washington Capitals salary cap era record of 313 goals. The Lightning are on pace to score 334.56 goals this season.

They are well on pace to shattering their franchise records in points, point percentage, and goals scored as well. The best teams overcome adversity and thrive even when things don’t go their way. So far, the Lightning look like they might end up being the most successful regular season team of the salary cap era. And also one of the most successful of all-time.

Of course, this doesn’t guarantee you postseason success. But maybe the Lightning are why fans should appreciate the regular season a bit more. It’s extremely hard to be a great team for 82 games. So Lightning fans, don’t worry about the playoffs yet. Sit back and enjoy one of the deepest, best, and most fun teams in recent memory.