Does it matter where the Lightning finish in the Atlantic Division?
The Lightning never have been preoccupied with where they finish in the standings. But with the Atlantic Division in their grasp, this season might be a little different.
With 14 games remaining in the regular season, the Lightning started Saturday two points behind first-place Florida and Toronto with a game in hand on both. The three teams have begun to pull away from the rest of the division, with Tampa Bay eight points ahead of Ottawa, which occupied the first wild-card spot.
Asked this week about whether it matters to him where the Lightning finish in the playoff race, coach Jon Cooper offered a familiar response, but with a caveat.
“I think it matters to everybody else, but not to us,” Cooper said. “It’s just, you can’t wish for things and hope for scenarios. You ultimately create your own. And if it’s coming in seventh, it’s coming in seventh. If it’s coming in first, it’s first. We’ve been swept in the playoffs coming first. We’ve won (Stanley) Cups coming second and third.”
Often, Cooper said, what matters most is to face a team that gives you a good series schedule.
“There’s often times you’ll play a team that maybe the TV markets aren’t as big and so you’re stuck playing tough schedules, where sometimes it works out where you’re playing somebody else and you’re getting prime-time games and there’s ample spacing in between them,” Cooper said. ”Sometimes that can work the other way, too. But it’s always good to play an opponent where the game times are favorable.”
If that doesn’t scream that Cooper would prefer to play the Maple Leafs in the first round, I don’t know what does.
The unfortunate part is that as good as the top three teams in the Atlantic have been — all are legitimate Cup contenders — one won’t make it out of the first round. The current playoff setup, which has the second and third teams in each division meeting in the first round, is somewhat cruel.
There’s a similar scenario in the Western Conference, where Dallas and Colorado — another two of the league’s top teams — are essentially guaranteed to face each other in the first round.
But aside from the COVID-affected postseasons of 2020 and ’21, this has been the setup for the most part since 2013-14. It’s created some great rivalries between the Lightning and Panthers, who have faced each other in three of the past four postseasons.
But is it the fairest way to decide a champion? Or was the setup that awarded the Nos. 1-8 conference seedings based on records (which was used through varying degrees from 1993-94 to 2012-13) more equitable?
“It’s definitely created rivals, for sure, with us and Florida seeing each other quite often and Toronto, too, quite often in the first couple of rounds,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “But I think when it comes down to it, it’s kind of the records and fairness level that should take over in the long run. I think 1 vs. 8 just kind of solves that naturally, right?
“And the league’s come so far, for sure, because of those rivalries that they’ve built up. And organizations would agree that we’ve got a good in-state rivalry that we didn’t have how many years ago, maybe because of the playoff format. But in the end, I think players want and most fans would agree that the 1-versus-8 format just seems to kind of solve the fairness level. And it only seems fitting.”
During this week’s general managers meetings, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman dug in his heels on the current playoff format.
“I like exactly what we have,” Bettman said. “And if you look at the races that we’re having for the regular season, the playoffs have started already. We’re in our play-in tournament, and I think it’s terrific. ... The best team to win the Cup has got to get through the best teams. And you know what? Having great matchups in the first round, that’s terrific. That’s not a problem. That’s a great thing.”
Best is yet to come for Gourde
When the Lightning acquired Yanni Gourde at the trade deadline, he had just played his first game in about two months following sports hernia surgery.
Even now, 2 ½ weeks after his return to the Lightning, Gourde said he still is working to get back to 100%.
Gourde has dealt with his share of injuries, but most of the procedures he’d had done previously were during the offseason, including shoulder surgery after the Lightning’s 2021 Cup run that delayed his debut in Seattle for four games. But he’s never had to miss this much time in a season.
Back in early January, Gourde thought he could avoid surgery and rehabbed for three weeks before trying to return. But he didn’t feel any better, and a visit to a specialist ended with the decision to have surgery. Gourde’s goal was to get back on the ice before the trade deadline, and he returned in 4 ½ weeks, ahead of schedule.
“I kind of know how much work you have to put into rehab,” Gourde said. “Doing it during the year is also very tough. But I worked really hard so I could get back before that trade deadline and set myself up for something just in case.”
While Gourde appears to have his speed back, returning to game action after two months off wasn’t easy. He said he’s still working to get his legs under him. And his ice time has increased gradually over his seven games with the Lightning, including a season-high 18:37 Thursday in Dallas.
“I’m still doing my rehab and still doing a lot to make sure that I stay healthy and ready,” Gourde said. “The first few games, at the end of the third period I was like, ‘Whoa.’ You’re not trying to show anybody, but that’s the reality of the game. Anybody who has been out for two months, you really still need to work on your leg strength.”
• • •
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