Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Very quietly, the Tampa Bay Lightning are struggling to put the pieces together.
After suffering a heartbreaking, six-game defeat to the Blackhawks in last season’s Stanley Cup Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning were supposed to rebound stronger than ever. The consensus among experts—as well as SQ—was that Tampa Bay would cruise to the division crown in the weak Atlantic and battle their way to a second straight Stanley Cup appearance.
Almost a quarter of the way through the year, however, the Lightning are a mediocre 8-8-3 and are in danger of spending the season simply fighting to get into the playoffs, never mind preparing for another Stanley Cup run.