The Tampa Bay Lightning have officially punched their ticket to be one of 16 teams competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 8th consecutive year.
Since the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, no team has played in more postseason games than the Lightning. Additionally, no team has won more than they have.
The New York Rangers’ 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon guaranteed their spot. The top three teams in the Atlantic Division have remained close, and the Lightning still have a chance to earn home ice advantage.
If their regular season record tells us anything, they are a strong home team with a 27-8-2 record. On the road they’re 17-18-3.
"We've obviously seen Toronto and Florida for many years in a row,” Victor Hedman said on Monday. “It doesn't really matter who's on the other side, but at the end of the day we want to get home ice. We've shown all year how good we are playing at home, so that's the main goal is to try and finish in one of those spots.”
The Lightning currently hold the second place spot in the division entering Saturday’s game against Buffalo. They’re three points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and one point ahead of the Florida Panthers.
Each team will visit Amalie Arena for a final matchup on April 9 and 15th.
