Since the Olympic break, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been on a roller coaster of a stretch. They stumbled hard out of the gate, losing seven of their first 10 games after the NHL season resumed. However, they’ve started to find their footing again, going 6-0-2 in their last eight.
The Lightning are now tied in points, 98, with the Buffalo Sabres at the top of the Atlantic Division and have a game in hand. This stretch has also allowed them to stay ahead of the Montreal Canadiens, even when the Canadiens are on a five-game winning streak.
Key players have been the reason behind this strong performance, and they deserve a shoutout. Here are the team’s three stars since the Olympic break as we look ahead toward the end of the season.
Third Star: Darren Raddysh
Stats since Olympic Break: 3 goals, 11 assists, 14 points, 17 games
The Darren Raddysh breakout season wasn’t stifled much by the time off. He continued to produce on the offensive side while covering his duties on defense. He’s been key to the power play, with a goal and four assists with the man advantage during this time. On the backend, he’s blocked 14 shots and picked up 13 hits. With Victor Hedman out for the foreseeable future for personal reasons, his role will continue to be pivotal for the final push for the playoffs.
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It’s not insightful to point out this is a career year – it became that a couple of months ago. What matters is that this career season comes in a contract year. To get this production at the price tag of $975,000 is a steal for the Lighting, and the price tag is going to go up.
The Lightning used the discount from Ryan McDonagh’s extension to double JJ Moser’s cap hit starting next season. Raddysh remains. The salary cap is going up, but that doesn’t mean they will sign him to a bigger cap hit and move forward. If they felt that way, he’d probably be extended already. All we know is that this stretch has continued to increase his value.
Second Star: Brandon Hagel
Stats since Olympic Break: 8 goals, 11 assists, 19 points, 18 games
Brandon Hagel got the chance to represent Team Canada during the Olympics under head coach Jon Cooper. His time in Milan was quiet, but he’s been back to his usual business with the Lightning. He’s averaging just over a point per game, while also contributing defensively. He’s blocked 10 shots, while also tallying 12 takeaways.
At this pace, Hagel will fall short of the career high in points he reached last season (90), marking the first time in his career that he won’t top his previous season in points. However, he’ll set a new career high for goals with the next shot that finds the back of the net (36).
First Star: Nikita Kucherov
Stats since Olympic Break: 11 goals, 19 assists, 30 points, 16 games
If you guessed the first start before you started reading, it’s OK. You knew for good reason. Nikita Kucherov is a frontrunner for the Hart Memorial Trophy, averaging nearly two points per game since the break. He’s in the heat of the scoring race with Connor McDavid, and it’s to the benefit of the Lightning.
Since the Olympic break, he’s had six games with three points or more. That’s double the number of times he has been scoreless in that same time. That’s typical at this point, but it’s always worth pointing out. Kucherov has missed the last couple of games due to illness. It essentially eliminated his hopes of reaching 100 assists again and making history with that mark. But if that’s all he misses out on, he and the team are in pretty good shape.
There are two weeks left in the regular season, and we can expect these three Lightning stars to continue to be a factor. However, there’s still plenty of time for others we didn’t discuss today to stand out down the stretch.
