Lightning Round: Raw Charge’s Three Stars of the Week

Dec 5, 2022 - 12:00 PM

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It was a busy week for the Tampa Bay Lightning as they had four games (three of them coming in just four nights) and they pulled out wins in three of them. Even in their loss to the Boston Bruins the Lightning played fairly well.

Mikhail Sergachev

4 GP, 0 Goals, 4 Assists, 0.35 iXG, 15 iCF, 6 iSCF

Sergachev had another strong week, especially on the power play where he picked up 3 assists. While Victor Hedman did see some time with the first unit against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sergy has shown that he is more than capable of running a highly-functioning special teams unit.

Sergachev also led the team in ice time with 96:37 while only picking up one minor penalty. He did have the occasional turnover which led to some unnecessary excitement, but it looks like that’s going to be part and parcel when watching him play.

Nick Paul

4 GP, 2 Goals, 1 Assist, 0.7 iXG, 12 iCF, 8 iSCF

A host of players could have occupied this spot, including point-machine Nikita Kucherov. Paul gets the nod because of his 3 points, only one came on the power play (although it was a goal). Plus, Paul had a game-winning goal that was a pretty important goal for the franchise. His production over the season (18 points in 24 games) has kept him in the role of the team’s second line center despite the return of Anthony Cirelli.

Steven Stamkos

4 GP, 3 Goals, 3 Assists, 1.08 iXG, 18 iCF, 10 iSCF

Are we really surprised that The Captain is number one on the list? It was a heck of a week for Stamkos as he led the team in points, scored the overtime in winner in the bonkers game that the Bolts played against Buffalo, but he also hit a pretty impressive career mark when he picked up a secondary assist on Nick Paul’s goal in Philadelphia.

We were all wondering how he would follow up his career-best 106 point campaign from last season and, so far, it seems he is looking to match it. Currently he is on a 99 point, 44-goal pace. Not too shabby for a 32-year-old.

Lightning / NHL News

A look back at the Lightning’s November [Raw Charge]

Things went fairly well for the Bolts in November, but there is still room for improvement. The Lightning’s best players are being their best players (with a couple of notable exceptions).

How Pat Maroon opened a body image dialogue that resonates [Tampa Bay Times]

The Lightning chose to respond with positivity instead of dragging things deeper into pit of negativity that too much of the world resides in these days. Good for Maroon and the rest of the Lightning staff that helped organize it.

Mishkin’s Extra Shift [NHL.com]

It was quite the historical night with the Stamkos ceremony, Corey Perry playing in his 1200th game, and Mitch Marner setting a Maple Leafs record for consecutive games with a point. Save those tickets, kids.

Luke Schenn passes Brooks Orpik for most hits for a defenseman [Sportsnet]

All kinds of records are being set by the 2008 draft class. Congrats to old friend Luke Schenn on a dubious record.

One reason for all of these crazy games [The Buffalo News]

“It’s a young, dumb league.” You said it, Torts.

The Seattle Hockey Analytics Conference took place on Saturday. Some of the most recognized names in analytics presented at this years meeting. Yes, it’s 8-hours long, but you don’t have to watch it all at once.