Tampa Bay Lightning: Early season woes need to end

What Needs To Change?

Outside of overall improvement from everyone, as well as more chemistry over time, there are some more specific things that the Lightning need to figure out.

First off, Shattenkirk, though he has done well offensively thus far, should not be playing with Hedman on the first pair. Sergachev worked his butt off in the off-season, and overall is a better defenseman than Shattenkirk. Why Sergachev hasn’t been given much of a shot with Hedman on the first pair is beyond me, but it needs to happen. Quite simply, he is undeserving of “sheltered” minutes with Braydon Coburn. Give him a chance!

Second, Brayden Point is injured and recovering from hip surgery, but he adds so much to the team. The Lightning need him back sooner rather than later. Kucherov and Point share such incredible chemistry. When Point returns, Kucherov can return to what he has become known to be; the franchise winger who should be a career point-per-game player. He and Stamkos can’t figure it out together, and Point gives them the option to split the two of them up.

Finally, the Lightning’s early-season woes feel eerily similar to a moment in which all Lightning fans want to forget – the first round versus the Blue Jackets. The Lightning look empty, showing little to no effort for the full 60-minute game. This kind of performance was the exact reason for them getting swept in the playoffs.

It all starts and ends with one man – Jon Cooper. Cooper either doesn’t make adjustments in-game, feeling as though his star-studded roster can figure it out themselves, or he is just blatantly stubborn, not wanting to change what he felt would initially work. Plus, his lineup is questionable. Again, I point my finger toward that first pair, and why Shattenkirk is averaging the second-highest time on ice per game among skaters, while Sergachev sits at 11th. That should not happen.

Plus, the forward lines are a bit funky too. Patrick Maroon is not a fourth-liner. Believe it or not, he can actually score, he isn’t just a big body that can throw heavy hits. Why is he getting less ice time than Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat by over 5 and 7 minutes, respectively? He is better than Killorn and Palat. He should be averaging about the same amount of time, if not more, than both of them.

Then you have guys that got sent down to the Syracuse Crunch who are arguably better than the likes of Luke Witkowski and Gemel Smith. Guys like Alex Barre-Boulet and Alexander Volkov absolutely deserve a spot over both Witkowski and Smith. Yes, I understand that the Lightning were bullied for their lack of size, and that’s why they added Witkowski, Maroon, and Smith.

But when your team is struggling to get shots on net, and the physical aspects of the game are not much of a factor, you need more skill and less grit. Witkowski or Smith can be sent down while the other remains a healthy scratch, giving them the option to get a rotation going. That way they still have that physicality present when needed.

It’s beyond me why Cooper has put this roster together the way he has. He was already on thin ice following the sweep in round one. Now? The ice is starting to crack around him. He either has to do something quickly, or he is going to fall through the ice.