In sports, expectations can be tricky. For NHL teams, expectations can be
difficult to manage entering a brand-new season. Low ones may bruise psyches,
while sky-high ones could produce a sense of overconfidence among players.

For the Tampa Bay Lightning, high expectations have become the norm. Since
their surprising Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2015, they have been playoff
contenders. Over the past few years, many publications have picked them to
either make the Cup Final or win it all.

They all have good reasons too, as the Lightning regularly return nearly all of
 the previous season';s team. From core guys like Steven Stamkos, Nikita
Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy, to trade deadline acquisitions
Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller, general manager Steve Yzerman did everything
possible to keep this successful bunch together. The hope is that they';ll
finally, after years of falling short, reach the ultimate goal of hoisting Lord
 Stanley';s Cup.Steve Yzerman (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

A few things stand in the way, though. Injuries, like the one sidelining Ryan
Callahan to open the season, and expectations. High preseason expectations can
hinder a team in their quest to win it all. How is that possible? I';ll give
you two recent scenarios.Slow Start Dooms Lightning to Postseason Miss

Coming off a trip to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final, the Lightning
entered the 2016-17 season with little time to prepare. This was a direct
result of the inaugural World Cup of Hockey cutting into an already short
training camp. Being unprepared, there wasn';t much time to fine-tune the
team';s play.

Another drawback of the World Cup tournament was that it increased the chance
of injury to participating players. While not an official cause, the Lightning
saw what that extra wear-and-tear could produce. Stamkos'; torn meniscus on
Nov. 15 might have been a case of bad luck, but it';s more likely he suffered a
 minor injury while helping Canada reach the gold medal game. The result was
devastating.Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

In saying that, the Lightning';s start before that fateful mid-November day
wasn';t what was expected from a team picked by many to win the Stanley Cup.
They went 10-4-1. However, that record included a few avoidable setbacks. A 6-1
 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden was the most lopsided on
 the scoreboard, but there was cause for concern before then.

An Oct. 20 shutout loss on home ice to the Colorado Avalanche hurt. So did one
to the New Jersey Devils. Both teams finished at the bottom of the standings
for 2016-17, so the Lightning found themselves messing with fire early on.

Losing to the Avalanche broke a 3-0 record to begin the season. The defeat to
the Devils, meanwhile, was the second in a three-game losing skid. It was new
territory for a Lightning team that didn';t lose more than two in a row the
prior season.

Stamkos'; injury on Nov. 15 hurt on two fronts. First, Nikita Kucherov found
himself rotating linemates nearly every game. Secondly, the loss of the captain
 affected the team as a whole. Stamkos provided a majority of the Lightning';s
offense in the previous two seasons. His absence led to other players being
forced into expanded roles.

Ondrej Palat endured his third-worst season as a pro, while 2015 postseason
beast Tyler Johnson had his second-worst NHL season. Injuries contributed to
this, as the two combined to play 141 games. Defensively, both were at their
worst, with Johnson putting up the first minus rating of his career. That left
the Lightning with little offense outside of Kucherov and the end result
wasn';t pretty, as a team picked to be Cup favorites fell to 22nd in the league
 at the All-Star Break.Quick Start Propels Lightning to Atlantic Division Title

One season removed from the calamity of the year before, the Lightning faced
high expectations again in 2017-18. The only differences were rest and a full,
uninterrupted training camp.

For the Lightning, both were welcome. Players were ready and itching to get
back on the ice after enduring their longest offseason since 2013. That was
evident from the drop of the puck, with the team going 10-2-1 to start the
season. The losses were to 2018 playoff or playoff bubble teams and they
followed them up with victories.Yanni Gourde (Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY
Sports)

More impressively, the youth that cracked the opening night roster showed poise
 beyond their years. Both Yanni Gourde and offseason acquisition Mikhail
Sergachev helped the Lightning throughout the season, but most noticeably
before the calendar flipped to 2018. Each rookie had a breakout game, though
Sergachev';s came at an opportune time for the team.

With the top line of Kucherov, Stamkos and Vladislav Namestnikov kept off the
scoreboard, Sergachev made certain that netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy';s
outstanding performance on Oct. 19 was rewarded. His first two NHL goals
enabled the Lightning to walk out of Nationwide Arena with a 2-0 victory over
the Columbus Blue Jackets.Mikhail Sergachev (James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports)

Another impressive statistic was that the Lightning didn';t reach the
double-digits in regulation losses until after the New Year. By then, they were
 pretty firmly entrenched in the postseason race and had a semi-comfortable
lead in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division.

Unfortunately, that led to complacency down the stretch, with the Boston Bruins
 coming on strong. A snowstorm forced the Bruins to reschedule a game against
the Florida Panthers for the day after the regular season concluded, though.
That extra back-to-back, combined with the Panthers'; desire to play spoiler,
helped the Lightning edge out their playoff rivals from Boston for both the
Atlantic Division crown and top seed in the playoffs.

As one can see, high expectations can be tricky. A strong October, devoid of
inexcusable losses, makes a difference. The Lightning proved that in two
different seasons with practically the same team, dispelling the notion that
expectations don';t play at least a small role in a team';s final record.

The post Lightning';s High Expectations a Double-Edged Sword appeared first on
The Hockey Writers.

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