{"id":656466,"date":"2017-04-20T06:07:22","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T10:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?p=656466"},"modified":"2017-04-20T06:07:22","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T10:07:22","slug":"the-tampa-bay-lightning-and-the-terrible-horrible-good-very-bad-year-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/the-tampa-bay-lightning-and-the-terrible-horrible-good-very-bad-year-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tampa Bay Lightning And The Terrible, Horrible, Good, Very Bad Year – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
This year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are officially underway. It’s a special time of year when sixteen teams lay it all on the line for a chance at winning a championship. Given the Tampa Bay Lightning’s recent success it’s more than a little odd to be looking at the postseason from the outside. Despite a valiant late run, the Bolts fell short of a wild card spot and face a long summer filled with uncertainties. It’s a tough pill to swallow for a team that’s enjoyed so much success recently. Not every year is going to be the<\/strong> year. That doesn’t mean the Lightning’s 2016-17 campaign was without merit. A lot of great things happened and they deserve to be recognized.<\/p>\n This is Part 2 in our series. You can read Part 1 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Kids Are All Right – W.B. Philp<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Defenseman Jake Dotchin<\/a> and forwards Adam Erne<\/a>, Yanni Gourde<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Matthew Peca<\/a>.<\/p>\n Each of these players contributed heavily to the Lightning’s playoff push that fell just short. With \u00a0the rash of injuries and the deadline trades, all of these skaters were forced to come of age much earlier than planned. The shuttle between the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch and the Lightning was used more than ever before.\u00a0In fact, all four players were \u00a0active in the March 11 win versus the Florida Panthers.<\/p>\n “… you got to tip your cap to the players who’ve come up,” coach Jon Cooper said. “They’ve been game-changers for us. These guys \u2026 have really been the straw that stirred our drink.”<\/p>\n Former sixth-round pick in 2012, Jake Dotchin<\/a> became a valued member of \u00a0the Tampa Bay blue line as he earned a spot on the top pairing with Norris Trophy candidate Victor Hedman<\/a>. While Dotchin did not score a goal, he dished out 11 assists and was a solid defender with great possession numbers (A 53.7% Corsi) in 35 games.<\/p>\n