The Lightning have been a statistically solid defensive team for most of the season. But at times, they’ve suffered breakdowns that lead to dangerous chances for the opposition. This was especially true over the second half of the season.
Some speculated the breakdowns could be due to effort as the Bolts secured a playoff spot early and had little to gain down the stretch aside from playoff seeding. Whatever the reason, the Lightning net-front looked like a Benny Hill sequence at times with players scrambling to recover from poor, and at times lazy, decisions.
In the playoffs, the Bolts defense has tightened up noticeably.