| Lightning playoff strategy? Keep them guessing
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| TAMPA — Following the Lightning’s win over the Panthers in Tuesday's final regular-season home game, Jon Cooper began to firmly plant a chip on his players' shoulders right in time for the playoffs.
“Every year we get looked at as, 'OK, their time's over,’" the coach said after his team's 5-1 win. “And every year these guys come back and prove they can do it.”
It’s a familiar scenario. And this season, despite having the NHL'a top scorer in Nikita Kucherov, the league's top scoring offense, four 35-goal scorers, the third-best scoring defense, a top-five power play, a top-six penalty kill and statistically the second-best goaltender in Andrei Vasilevskiy, it again feels like the Lightning are lying in the weeds as the postseason approaches.
Now, some underlying numbers that favor the Lightning have unearthed some believers, but in a first-round matchup against a Panthers team that is still stout from last season’s championship run and punted the final few weeks of the regular season to gear up for the playoffs, it would be easy to predict a third straight first-round exit for Tampa Bay. After all, the Panthers ended the Lightning's season in five games a year ago on their way to the Stanley Cup.
"We've played Florida numerous times," Cooper said after Thursday's Game 82 loss to the Rangers in New York. "There is nothing that (Panthers coach) Paul (Maurice) doesn't know about us and I don't know about them (other than) maybe who's going to be in the lineup for them in Game 1. Other than that, there's no secrets. ... The way the schedule sets up. when the 'Battle of Florida' happens it can be must-watch TV. So, it should be a lot of fun."
The one thing that seems different this season is that the Lightning are much more of an opponent’s matchup nightmare. And that’s the way Cooper likes it.
Keep them guessing.
Cooper utilizes a 11-forward, seven-defenseman lineup more than anyone, and down the stretch it’s become more the norm. That's partly by necessity, due to a rash of late-season injuries, but there’s certainly a method to the madness. And whether the Lightning can handle the toll a physical postseason takes with just 11 forwards is a big question.
Still, Cooper doesn’t hesitate to jumble his lines, and an 11-forward lineup forces an opponent to deal with different looks. It’s more than double-shifting your top players; it’s also creating lines the other team has to adjust to on the fly.
Take, for example, the Lightning’s top line. For most of the season, Jake Guentzel played on the left wing alongside Brayden Point and Kucherov. It’s been a dynamic line, potentially the most potent in hockey. But recently, Cooper has put trade-deadline acquisition Yanni Gourde on the wing of the Point line. Gourde’s Energizer Bunny mentality adds a whole new layer, and gets Point and Kucherov moving more and committed to the forechecking game.
Guentzel is such a smart and sound player that he can play on any line. When Gourde goes up top, Guentzel has moved to the matchup line with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel. Guentzel has fit into that role — which often plays against the opponent’s top line — because he’s committed to a two-way game but also pushes up the ice like Cirelli and Hagel.
By making those adjustments, the Lightning create two lines that can succeed in the dump-and-chase game that is prominent in the playoffs. But at any time, they can go back to Guentzel on the top line to create a matchup nightmare. The Lightning have done similar things on the power play, moving players around from their typically stationary roles, including skating Kucherov up high to create space down low. It’s worked well. And on defense, using seven defensemen spreads out the minutes and allows players to slot into different roles based on need.
So, while the Panthers were resting, the Lightning were working down the stretch. And those different looks — with potentially more to come — could make the difference in a series between two teams who have seen a lot of each other.
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