Locked On Lightning: How Can The Tampa Bay Lightning End Their First Round Nightmare Streak This Season?

Summary

Tampa Bay Lightning face a pivotal season: get past Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs or face major questions about their core. Nick Morgan and Greg Stephen break down the key factors, from Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point rediscovering postseason form to the need for a more adaptable power play and greater home ice advantage at Club BMI. Are new additions like Ilya Mikheyev and breakout candidates like Dominic James the answer to depth concerns? The hosts spotlight Cale Makar's record $20.4M AAV contract, ranking it against league bests like Brandon Hagel and Kucherovs team-friendly dealswhile naming Jonathan Huberdeau and Elias Pettersson as possible contract busts. Plus, the outlook for the New York Islanders: can Ilya Sorokin and Matthew Schaefer lift them to playoff contention in a wide-open Metro Division, or is this another year of mediocrity? Dont miss this high-stakes Lightning preview and NHL contract debate. 00:00 Lightning Playoff Hurdles 10:21 Islanders Roster Breakdown 18:17 NHL Contracts: Best & Worst Watch Locked On Lightning on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@LockedOnLightning Locked On NHL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Prospects & More https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNHL Follow Us on Social Media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lockedonlightning/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lockedonlightning Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lockedonlightning X: https://x.com/LO_Lightning Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, its time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your teams community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Indeed Now, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. KALSHI For a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code LOCKEDON to get ten dollars when you trade ten. Kalshi. Trade on anything. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started Play Your Game. 5-Hour ENERGY Get candy-flavored chaos with Fruity Rainbow 5-hour ENERGY Shots - available online at https://5hourENERGY.com or Amazon Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.