One of the many things we praised the Tampa Bay Lightning for in the month of October was their stability, both in their 5v5 play on the ice, and in the line-ups they rolled out on a nightly basis. Well, thanks to the injury gods, and a stunning swing of ups-and-downs throughout the month, that stability was blown to Mars as they stumbled to a 5-6-2 record.
Injuries to Brayden Point, Nick Paul, and Mitchell Chaffee wreaked havoc on their lines for several games. In a month where the offense was mixed-and-matched for many of the games, it seemed only fitting that their best offensive player, Nikita Kucherov, would also miss the last game of the month.