Tampa Bay Lightning: Top 4 reasons they have struggled this season

Injuries

Everyone’s least favorite part of sports is the price athletes pay in the form of injuries. One of the biggest factors in Tampa Bay’s success last season was the lack of those injuries.

To calculate how many games missed because of injuries, which we combine every game missed due to injuries between all players, and that gives us what is called “man-games lost.” But before we get into man-games lost, let’s look at how many of their players played the entire 82-game season last year and how many are currently on pace to do so.

Last year, five Lightning players played in all 82 games, with eight players finishing with over 80 games played. This season, just 27 games in, there are just seven players left that could finish with a full 82-game season.

Which brings us to man-games lost. Last season, the Lightning had 153 man-games lost, with just one player (Anton Stralman) racking up 35 missed games due to injury. Currently, the Lightning are on pace for 82 man-games lost, which inevitably will continue to rise throughout the season. Again, at just 27 games into the season, that’s a high number.

What’s more important to note is this – who were the players that got injured? Last season, Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Ryan McDonagh, Brayden Point, and Victor Hedman combined to miss 15 games. This season, they’ve combined to miss nine so far. Again, we are just 27 games into the season.

Not to mention, only Point and Hedman missed time last season with injuries, while all but McDonagh has been out at least one game from injuries this year. The main core of players stayed relatively healthy last season, but this season it has not been the case.