As the 2023-24 NHL regular season begins, many are wondering whether some successful teams will be the same. One team in particular, the Tampa Bay Lightning, which have proven they can be overly successful in the past, have started to take a turn in the wrong direction. 

The Eagle’s Cry discusses the Tampa Bay Lightning; will they be the same team they used to be?

The main assumption is that the Lightning are gonna have a rough start to the season. Why might that be? The Tampa Bay Lightning are known for having ultimately one of the best goaltenders in our time, Andrei Vasilevskiy. Recently it was revealed that Vasilevskiy had surgery and will have to be out for around 8-10 weeks. This is a huge upset for the Lightning. 

There are also more problems when it comes to their backup goalie situation. Jonas Johansson is the new backup goalie the Lightning received in the off-season.  Johansson is a relatively inexperienced goalie who has only played a total of 35 NHL games. 

While many Lightning fans expressed their concern and worry about him being the possible starting goalie for the season, Johansson had an amazing 42-save shutout in the pre-season with the Lightning.

Additionally Johansson is now 2-0 with two wins that happen to also be shutouts. This is very promising but let’s hope he can replicate this success in the future.

My father, Jimmy Neamonitis, questioned, “Are there any other options for a goalie for the Lightning?”

At the moment, the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, have goalie Hugo Alnefelt who has put up promising numbers. Tampa Bay fans were sure that he’d be pulled up but for now that’s not the case but, t’s possible that he’d be pulled up in the future. 

Another student, BHS junior, Allie O’Shea expressed how she feels that the “will definitely not be the same team” and that “whoever the goalie is will need to work very hard”.

This is a common claim about the upcoming season and I hope that the Lightning will be able to exceed expectations.

It is clear that the Lightning’s defense will need to work harder this season but, do they have the same talent to replicate their past success?