The Tampa Bay lightning are enjoying their best start in franchise history. Four games before the half way mark, the lightning sit with 24-8-5 record in 37 games while holding a 3 point lead with a game in hand over the surging devils for the presidents trophy lead. Along with the great record the the team ranks 1st in shots per game and 3rd in goals per game so it's not like their production should die off any time soon. To go along with that, they rank 5th in shots against a game and 6th in goalst against per so it doesn't seem like they should start allowing more goals any time soon either. Those team stats and the fact that we are practically at the half way point of the season tells me this team is the real deal.
To further delve into the team, lets look at the ratings of this roster.
-11 of the 18 skaters have an OV rating 75 or higher all with SC higher than 60
-3 d-men and 4 forwards have an OV rating 79 or higher
-14 players have a PC of 65 or higher with 10 of them being over 70
-All 18 players have a DF of at least 70 with 4 being 80 or higher and 11 being 75 or higher.
-14 of the 18 players have an EN of at least 80 which tells me that those are all players that play important minutes in the NHL and can handle the worload in the NEFHL
-9 of the 18 players have a DU under 80 which could be the biggest concern for this team as there is a risk of injuries.
-1 SC in the 90's, 1 SC in the 80's, 5 SC in the 70's. There are lots of options to put the puck in the net at an elite level
-1 PA in the 90's, 5 PA in the 80's, 6 PA in the 70's. There are lots of options of players to pass the puck to these elite goal scorers
Prove me if I'm wrong guys but I don't think there is a team in this league with that much high end depth when it comes to ratings in regards to OV, SC, PC, PA, EN and even DF. All this does is show case that this isn't a fluke that the team is perfoming at such a high level so far this season. The team has however been relatively healthy this season and if somehow we get hit with the injury bug which is quite possible while looking at the DU of some of our guys, we feel like the depth on this team can keep them competive through most injuries.