The Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t played since Friday’s win against the Chicago Blackhawks. There was some benefit to their unplanned time off - mainly the ability to get some more practice in after an abbreviated training camp. No matter how talented, no coach in the history of sports has ever thought that his team has had enough practice.
The downside is that there is only so much you can do in practice. At some point it’s nice to see some different colored uniforms on the other side of the ice. The Lightning will return against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that is struggling to find their identity for this season while dealing with the fact that their best player doesn’t want to play for them right now.