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

Powerplay Opportunities Missed

The Lightning have been successful on the powerplay, with a success rate of 30%. At home, their percentage rises to 34.7%, while on the road it drops to 24.4%. Yet, 24.4% is still a very good mark, so what exactly am I hinting at?

Of the 27 total power-play goals that the Lightning have scored, just 10 of them gave them the lead and 5 of them tied it. What that means is 55.6% of their power-play goals paid huge dividends in the game. One of their power-play goals came when they were already far behind in a game, and was deemed “too little, too late.”

Ultimately, 40.7%, or 11, of the Lightning’s power-play goals extended an already established lead. Of Tampa’s 63 failed power-play attempts, 90.5%, or 57 of them, came in a close game. What that means is that 57 times, Tampa had a crucial power play to either extend a lead in a tight game or tie it up, but failed. Timeliness of each goal truly matters, and the Lightning have failed thus far to take advantage of those crucial power play opportunities.

Just a side note, in the nine games in which Tampa failed to score a power-play goal, they’ve lost seven times. Meanwhile, in the 13 games where they scored one power-play goal, they’ve won seven times. Finally, in the five games in which Tampa scored upwards of two power-play goals, they are undefeated. It really goes to show that Tampa’s power play is a testament to their on-ice success, and it’s the timeliness that matters, not so much the volume in which the goals come.