Tampa Bay Lightning

After reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and falling one win short of doing it again in 2016, the Tampa Bay Lightning stumbled their way out of the playoff mix in 2017 due to a combination of injuries and unfortunate luck.

Now reloaded and ready for a new season, the Lightning are hoping to get back to their winning ways.

The health of Steven Stamkos will be one of the biggest variables in how far the Bolts can go. He played just 20 games last season due to injury, and it was a big part of why the team finished with a 42-30-10 record. The team was 10-6-1 when he got injured in mid-November, then went 32-24-9 afterwards to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division.

Having a healthy Stamkos would go a long way toward getting the Bolts back on track. They got exceptional years from winger Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Victor Hedman, who look to be two of the elite players at their respective positions again this year. The loss of Jonathan Drouin hurts, but Mikhail Sergachev is a potential stud on defense.

So the Lightning look to be a very good team once again this season, although health will be a deciding factor in whether that plays out. If Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, and the other stars stay healthy, then Tampa Bay is going to look as dangerous as it did when making back-to-back trips to the conference finals.

Can Nikita Kucherov be Steven Stamkos’s next Martin St. Louis?

Stamkos had three seasons of scoring over 90 points in a season while winning two Rocket Richard trophies. In those seasons, he had Martin St. Louis on his right wing. The two of them were a dynamic pair, and it almost didn’t matter who was with them on the left wing. They could both shoot and pass; they set each other up, and their creativity meshed together. In those three seasons, St. Louis also hit the 90 point plateau twice and had 74 points in the third season.

In Stamkos’s absence last season, Kucherov stepped up and led the team offensively. He had the first 80 point season for the Lightning since Stamkos's 97 in 2011-12. Just like St. Louis, Kucherov sees the ice extremely well and has the instincts to be a playmaker and a goal scorer. He’s not the same level of a playmaker as St. Louis, but he is a better shooter. And it may not matter who ends up playing next to them.

Stamkos and Kucherov both have elite-level hockey IQ and think the game the same way. They’ve already shown off their chemistry in the pre-season and it’s a good bet that that will continue to grow into the regular season and could produce the Lightning’s first 90 point season since 2011-12.

How will Tampa's blueline shape up going into the regular season?

Mikhail Sergachev has been given every opportunity to prove he is ready for the NHL. All signs in the preseason point to him being ready to contribute. He’s played the last few games with Anton Stralman, which puts him in a great situation to succeed early. One thing his teammates have had to learn is to be on their toes when he has the puck, because he is always ready to pass it.

The other parts of the youngster puzzle come from Slater Koekkoek and Jake Dotchin. Both are waiver eligible this season. Koekkoek comes with the pedigree and the upside to be a top 4 defenseman that can carry a pair. Multiple shoulder injuries have slowed down his development, as well as the coach’s decisions about how to play him. Dotchin, on the other hand, came up late last season and shone playing next to one of the best defensemen in the NHL. However, he has not played in a pre-season game due to breaking an unspecified team rule.

At first glance it would look like the odds are stacked against Koekkoek, with him being left-handed with Victor Hedman, Braydon Coburn, and Mikhail Sergachev presumably ahead of him. However, Coburn has the ability to play either side on the blueline, and gives the team the flexibility to move him. Assuming Sergachev is playing and Jon Cooper doesn’t go with a seven defensemen lineup, Koekkoek and Dotchin are competing with veteran Andrej Sustr for the 6th spot. Early on, I expect to see Koekkoek and Dotchin rotating in and out of the lineup with a meritocracy determining who gets more playing time as the season wears on.

Can Andrei Vasilevskiy handle the starter’s load?

With Ben Bishop gone, it’s time for Vasilevskiy to be the Lightning’s starting goaltender. This isn’t the first time Vasilevskiy has been the starter in a professional hockey league. In 2013-14, he played in 28 games for Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL and put up a .923 save percentage. He followed that with a .934 save percentage in 18 playoff games on the way to the conference finals.

Vasilevskiy has looked in mid-season form during his preseason work. He has an incredible work ethic and the team has the utmost confidence in him. Since coming to North America, he’s continued to work on his stickhandling and has improved every year. He isn’t to the level that Ben Bishop was, but he is at a point where he can chip in with retrieving pucks and breaking it out.

With Peter Budaj backing him up, Vasilevskiy appears ready to take it on. He’s been called the Russian Carey Price for good reason. Look out NHL, Vasilevskiy is here to stop you.

SB NationPredicts