With the 2015 NHL season now over halfway over many teams are becoming real contenders for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

One of the contending teams is our own Tampa Bay Lightning. They currently lead the Atlantic and the Eastern Conferences. In order to make the playoffs the Lightning must finish as one of the top three teams in their division or have one of the best records. The chances of them winning the Eastern Conference (which means winning the semi-finals of the playoffs) are said to be about 11 to 1. This is not a bad number considering it is  the third best as of now. The Lightning are also said to have a 12 to 1 chance of winning the entire playoffs. These odds are great considering the Lightning is one the NHL’s youngest hockey teams in terms of player age.

Much of the success the Lightning is attributed to the star goaltender Ben Bishop. The Lightning record this season is 30-14-4 and when Bishop is in net their record is 27-7-2, but his save percentage is .914 and his GAA is 2.34.

This goes to show why the Lightning are good. They lead the NHL in goals scored with 154 goals in 48 games, about 3.21 goals per game. The Captain of the Lightning, Steven Stamkos, is currently tied for first place in goals scored.

When Stamkos and Bishop are on the ice the Lightning are basically unstoppable. But, the Lightning also have one more tactic to lead them to success. They have a line, which is three offensive players, that is one of the most successful lines in the NHL. This line consists of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, and Ondrej Palat. They are three very young players but know how to score.

“He’s been really good for us,” The Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said back in October. “He’s stepped up his offensive side, but I really, truly believe he’s so much more responsible defensively, it’s helped his offensive game. He needs to keep that up and things should work out for him.” Cooper commented on Kucherov.
With all of these factors combined the Lightning are a scary good team. Many NHL teams fear the Lightning might make a cup surge..

FSA Connection Questions

1. What is the tone of the story?
2. What is the main idea of the story?
3. What is the purpose of the story?
4. What does ‘tactic’ mean?
5. How does the author feel about the Lightning?