Power Outage in Tampa

As most of the hockey world knows by now, the Tampa Bay Lightning made history last night. The problem was that it was for the wrong reasons, as they became the first team to win the Presidents Trophy as the regular season champions, only to get swept in the first round. The most obvious question to be asked is what happened?

In nearly every measurable category, the Lightning were in the top 10 for goals, goals against, faceoffs, and were the top team in both special teams categories. By mid-March, the Lightning clinched the Presiidents Trophy, meaning they took their foot off the gas for about a month. That momentum looked like it was coming back in the first period of the first game against the Blue Jackets, as they were up 3-0. As fate would have it, the Blue Jackets would come back from that deficit to win 4-3 in regulation. Since that point, it seemed that the Lightning were demoralized, as they would lose 5-1, 3-1, and 7-3. The series wasn't even close aside from game 1, and somewhere, there has to be questions about coaching and player effort, as this is not something that should be coming from a team that should have been Stanley Cup contenders a year after blowing yet another chance at the Cup last year.

What is there to analyze about the Lightning's collapse? After the game 1 debacle, this wasn't the same Lightning team that ran roughshod over opponents in the regular season. This was a team that just got straight beaten. Now, the 2012 Vancouver Canucks can feel a lot better knowing that there is indeed a worse team to win the Presidents Trophy.