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25 Greatest Scorers in Lightning History: #10

August 13, 2017, 9:09 AM ET [1 Comments]
John Gove
Calgary Flames Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


In honor of the upcoming season, which is the franchise's 25th, I thought it would be fun to use this hockey downtime to countdown the 25 greatest goal scorers in Tampa Bay Lightning history.

In constructing this list, I not only took into account the number of goals a player scored while playing in Tampa, I also considered a number of games they suited up for the Lightning. As this list progresses over the next few weeks, you will notice that some players are ranked higher than others even if their goal total was less. This is because although someone scored slightly fewer goals, they reached those numbers in fewer games.

Due to the Lightning still being a relatively young franchise, a good deal of these players are still active, and some of them still take the ice for the Bolts.

Enjoy!


The List So Far
Number 25: Pavel Kubina
Number 24: Victor Hedman
Number 23: Mikael Andersson
Number 22: Roman Hamrlik
Number 21: Dan Boyle
Number 20: Rob Zamuner
Number 19: Valtteri Filppula
Number 18: Alex Killorn
Number 17: Chris Gratton
Number 16: Teddy Purcell
Number 15: Ruslan Fedotenko
Number 14: Ondrej Palat
Number 13: Dave Andreychuk
Number 12: Alex Selivanov
Number 11: Ryan Malone


Number 10: Tyler Johnson

After a small break in the action due to a much-needed vacation, we are finally back to the countdown with the tenth greatest scorer in Tampa Bay Lightning history.

Tyler Johnson, undrafted, signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Bolts in March of 2011. It is believed that Johnson went undrafted due to his size, only standing at 5 feet 8 inches. He got his first taste of NHL action playing in 14 games during the 2012-13 season where he scored three goals. The next year, Johnson got to experience his first full season with Tampa Bay and truly turned some heads, scoring 24 goals and adding 26 assists. The progress continued in 2014-15 when he recorded his current career-high of 29 goals. Unfortunately, injuries have limited the 27-year-old a little bit the past two seasons, making his goal numbers a little less impressive.

In his 308 games with the Lightning, Johnson has scored 89 goals, including 22 on the power play. What I find to be most impressive is that 20 of those 89 goals have been game-winners, proving that Johnson has what it takes to step up in big situations.

After signing a new seven-year deal worth $35 million this summer, it is hopeful that Johnson will be a key contributor to Tampa Bay's offense as they hope to contend for a Stanley Cup for the foreseeable future. It is more than likely that Johnson will find himself higher on this list when it is revisited.
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