LINK TO POST: https://open.substack.com/pub/boltsbreakdown/p/a-team-of-battle-tested-warriors?r=5gsqvk&utm_medium=ios
The Tampa Bay Lightning are quickly approaching the halfway point of the 2025-26 NHL season.
They’re one of the league’s top teams, and they’re a relentless, structured defensive force with offensive upside, rivaling any other NHL team. Honestly, unbiased, the Lightning have a great chance at making another deep postseason run. What I’ve seen so far & why I believe they’re one of the league’s top teams can be summarized through the games the Lightning played in this week.
They went 3-0-0 on the week, earning 6 much needed points while dismantling 2 Atlantic division foes. More important, in my opinion, though, is how the Lightning came out victorious. It all starts with the penalty kill:
Monday Against Blues: 2/2 penalties killed.
Saturday Against Florida: 9/10 penalties killed.
Sunday Against Canadiens: 4/4 penalties killed.
While, ideally, the Lightning wouldn’t take penalties at all, the fact that they’re successfully neutralizing their opponent’s man-advantage is an extremely positive finding to me. Moreover, the Lightning have been doing this without many of their staples on the penalty kill — the only penalty killer who hasn’t missed at least one game this year is Yanni Gourde. Every other Lightning penalty killer has missed time, most missing significant time (Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli, JJ Moser, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak, Zemgus Girgensons).
Having a successful penalty kill is an essential component for any championship-caliber team, but for now, it serves additionally as a marker of the character of this team. No matter what obstacle is thrown their way, they will find a way. Down a man? No issue. Injured penalty killers? Next man up. 5-on-3? Shut it down.
The Lightning have allowed no 5-on-3 goals this year — one of nine teams in the NHL who haven’t allowed the two-man-advantage goal.
The Lightning currently have the league’s 2nd best penalty kill (85.3%), behind only the Colorado Avalanche (85.8%). The success the Lightning have found on the PK is the 3rd highest percentage at this point in the season in franchise history. I expect the success to continue as I attribute it to the structure & system of this team, to the character & work ethic of the room, more than anything else.
These guys are a bunch of soldiers, locking arms & charging into battle night-after-night, unafraid of the cards dealt to them. It’s been impressive, no doubt about it.
There’s plenty more to celebrate about this Tampa Bay Lightning team, too. Let’s dive into this past week & catch you up to date!