As the Tampa Bay Lightning neared the end of the regular season, critics everywhere had doubts about the team’s ability to compete in the postseason. The Lightning had been ravaged by injuries throughout the course of the season, which played serious games with the team’s chemistry. In addition to this, the Lightning would be heading into the postseason with a couple of their key players chained to the sidelines with injuries.
First, the Tampa Bay Lightning lost Anton Stralman just three games before the start of the postseason with a fractured tibia.