Coming into this season, not many people expected the Lightning to struggle offensively, but that’s exactly what’s happened in the last two weeks.
The team has been shut out three times since Oct. 24 (they were shut out once all of last year) and they’ve scored more than one goal just twice in their last eight contests.
If Lightning fans are searching for answers, they aren’t the only ones.
After Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Minnesota, head coach Jon Cooper admitted that this scoring slump has him stumped.
“I’m confused,” Cooper said. “We sit here and say, ‘Eventually this is going to end.’ It’s gone on longer than I’ve ever anticipated. I’ve been a part of some high-scoring teams over the years, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team as dry as this.”
The Lightning got more bad news, as forward Ondrej Palat was forced from Saturday’s game against Minnesota because of a lower-body injury.
Cooper didn’t reveal how long Palat would be out, but he did mention that the injury didn’t look good.
Would fully expect a forward called up from Syracuse. No timetable given on Palat, but concern it's more than day to day. #tblightning
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) November 8, 2015
We’ll probably find out more about the severity of Palat’s injury after Monday’s practice.
The Bolts host the Sabres on Tuesday night.