It is strange to feel overwhelmingly positive coming out of the 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, but the Lightning have reason for optimism. Tampa Bay dominated the Canucks at even strength, and the Lightning’s unceasing pressure was catalyzed by their speed. The numbers are impressive. The Lightning had 37 Scoring Chances and the Canucks had 16. Tampa Bay had 56 shot attempts and the Canucks 30. In terms of High-Danger Chances, the Lightning had 16 to the Canucks 2. The Lightning heat map shows an oblong orange shape that stretches from the one hash mark to a few feet inside the left faceoff circle. That area of the low slot was an area where the Lightning fired a ton of rubber. And the most encouraging part was the Lightning were buoyed by their young role players like Mathieu Joseph and Anthony Cirelli. Offensive depth, an essential ingredient to the any serious contender, was on full display.

While Cirelli had a strong second game, Joseph was the standout. Joseph led the Lightning in Scoring Chances and shot attempts, and he did so with his speed and slick puck-handling. The young man is not lacking for confidence either, as his undressing of Erik Gudbranson on the one-on-one showed. Joseph drew a penalty on the sequence, and his knack for generating rushes by his acceleration and skill is mesmerizing. Tampa Bay would be wise to create races for him as a way of transitioning out of the defensive zone.

In another supremely confident play, Joseph called his own number on a two-on-one where the off-the-puck shooter option was Steven Stamkos. Personally, I loved it, as Joseph unleashed a piercing shot and it drew a spectacular save. The Lightning are too often trying to make the extra pass, so it was refreshing to see the young man defer to no one.

Lightning Color Analyst Brian Engblom cited during the broadcast that last season Tampa Bay was the best in the league at forcing turnovers on the forecheck, and last night that characteristic was evident. The Lightning sealed the boards and retrieved relentlessly, and they hemmed in the Canucks in their own zone with all four lines.

While Joseph was the star last night, the top two lines also had bright spots. Brayden Point had an exquisite finish on his goal, and the Nikita Kucherov line was having much more success attacking off the rush and cycling than they did in Game 1. Steven Stamkos demonstrated good spurts of playmaking and puck-handling.

I have been pleading for the Lightning’s offensively skilled defensemen to be more aggressive and become more prominent creators, and the needle looked to be moving in that direction. Victor Hedman identified a gap and shot up the middle for a near breakaway and drew a penalty. Hedman also had another good read where he crept into the middle slot off the weak side and nearly smacked the puck past Anders Nilsson after the puck dribbled toward him. Mikhail Sergachev also had a nice short-side snipe, and at other times Sergachev was seeking to generate offense when he saw an opening.

But there are a few points for concern. One is the sloppiness in the defensive zone. On the Brock Boeser goal, Dan Girardi iced the puck and then Alex Killorn flubbed the pass off the wall. On the first tally, there was poor defensive coverage by the Lightning below the circles, and it was J.T. Miller who failed to nullify his man.

Speaking of Miller, his demotion to the fourth line in Game 2 is extremely worrisome. The Lightning spent over $5M AAV to sign Miller long term and have yet to extend two of the players in their top-six forwards (Point and Yanni Gourde), likely the best goaltender in the NHL in Andrei Vasilevskiy, and one of the best under 21 defenseman in the NHL in Sergachev.

Miller did have several nice sequences, including in the waning minutes when he slashed through the neutral zone and almost ripped a shot into the net from the left wing. But if Miller is not playing in the top six, his contract is another painful misfire, as the Lightning already made this mistake with the Alex Killorn extension and by acquiring Ryan Callahan. Miller would be the latest example of the Lightning overpaying role players, especially when they have demonstrated the ability to draft and develop contributors. Joseph and Cirelli are only the latest examples.

The power play is the final gripe. My issue was more with forcing passes into the slot. I want to see Miller attack more off the goal line and try to jam it off the pad for the backdoor siege. Instead of Stamkos shooting for a deflection, or Kucherov hesitating because he is looking for a seam pass, both of them need to be more selfish with smashing the puck from off-slot. Even if the puck doesn’t go in, it will likely trigger a rebound, and likely scramble the defense. The Lightning have too many good shooters, and are too fast on retrievals, to be attempting to find the perfect pass. Also, the entries were brutal. More creativity needs to be infused so the opponent cannot take advantage of their predictability.

The Lightning don’t have to lead the league in scoring to be the best team in the East. The speed was there last night, and its ripple effects were felt in terms of retrieving the puck, counterattacking, and disrupting their opponent in transition defense. For the Lightning to advance to the Cup, they will need to win low-scoring games. In the future, they will win those games if their speed is as potent as their goaltending.

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