3 reasons why the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Boston Bruins

2. Third Line

Last year, the Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t have a good third line. When their top two lines struggled against the Columbus Blue Jackets, nobody was there to pick up the slack. That must be why the Lightning made it their goal to create a better third line.

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At the trade deadline, the Lightning made their moves to remake it, trading for Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow to join forces with Yanni Gourde. Tampa had to give up two first-round picks to get those two players, but it’s already paying dividends for them.

Combined, the trio picked up eight points, which isn’t too shabby when you consider how good Tampa’s top two lines were. And when the Lightning needed them to step up in Game 2, Coleman delivered with two goals.

They weren’t quite as dominant as they were against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but they were still pretty outstanding. When Coleman, Goodrow, and Gourde are on the ice at 5v5 this postseason, the Lightning are outshooting their opponents 82-53, outscoring them 7-2, and out-chancing them 77-42. You know you’re in good shape when your third line is dominating like that.

Could Tampa’s third line score a little bit more? Sure! But they score enough to be effective and they really dominate in all three zones. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s third line is the element they were missing last season.