The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t get very good goaltending last season. And in a very much related story, they didn’t make the playoffs.
This season has been a different story, though. Thanks in large part to an impressive .918 team save percentage, as produced by the tandem of Ben Bishop and Anders Lindback, the Lightning are 17-10-2 after 29 games and hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
And that’s despite losing star Steven Stamkos to injury almost a month ago.
“We’re not in the spot we are in the standings if we don’t have the goaltending we’ve been getting, especially with a team that’s going through lineup changes on a daily basis and has the inability to score right now,” head coach Jon Cooper said. “I can’t stress enough how much that’s kept us in the race.”
Other teams currently in a playoff position that should be thankful for their goaltending? Montreal, Colorado, Toronto, and Washington.
Teams in the opposite situation? New Jersey and the Islanders.