Sleepers that the Leafs will have to watch out for on the Tampa Bay Lightning
When people think of the Tampa Bay Lightning, they often think of guys like Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy. But in order to win a back to back championships, you need depth at all positions.
Last season, the Lightning had one of the best third lines in hockey, featuring Yanni Gourde, Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman. Gourde was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft while Goodrow and Coleman left via free agency, but the Lightning still have strong depth thanks to great drafting and development and smart transactions.
25-year-old Ross Colton has had an impressive second season. In 79 games this season, Colton produced 39 points (22 goals & 17 assists). What is even more impressive is he only averages 12 minutes and 48 seconds of ice time per game. His average points per 60 minutes played is fourth on the Tampa Bay Lightning, at 2.15. Meaning Colton is able to put up numbers despite not playing big minutes. Colton also has playoff experience, playing 23 games for the Lightning last season. He scored six points along the way, including this Stanley Cup clinching goal.:
Ross Colton is a player Maple Leaf fans will likely get to know more throughout this first round series.
Another player to watch is 2011 Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry. While he doesn't produce like he use to, Perry had a very good season for the Lightning, scoring 40 points (19 goals & 21 assists) in 82 games. The 36-year-old comes with a wealth of playoff experience (167 career playoff games) and seems to show up when the games matter most. In last years playoffs, Perry had 10 points in 22 games for the Montreal Canadiens in very limited usage, helping them get to the Stanley Cup Finals. Given his style of play, Leaf fans will probably grow to hate Perry once again.
At the trade deadline, the Lightning went out and acquired forward Nick Paul from the Ottawa Senators. Since the acquisition, Paul has played some of his best hockey, notching 14 points in 21 games while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per game. Paul is third on the Lightning in average points per sixty minutes played, with 2.65. Like Colton and Perry, Paul has been able to produce in limited ice time.
The Leafs made some very smart moves during the offseason, bringing in shutdown center David Kampf, feisty spark plug Michael Bunting, the speedy and reckless Ondrej Kase and they did a great job of bolstering their roster at the deadline, bringing in Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell, with Ilya Lyubushkin coming in slightly a few weeks earlier. Will it be enough to knock off the two-time defending Cup Champs?
If the top players on each side cancel each other out, expect some of the players listed above to make or break the series for the Lightning.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 30 | 369 ANSWERS Sleepers that the Leafs will have to watch out for on the Tampa Bay Lightning Who is Tampa Bay's biggest sleeper? | ||
| Nick Paul | 109 | 29.5 % |
| Ross Colton | 80 | 21.7 % |
| Corey Perry | 123 | 33.3 % |
| Other | 57 | 15.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
