Young, offensive Lightning present unique challenges

Though former first overall pick Steven Stamkos will draw a heavy share of attention, this deep Tampa Bay Lightning team that hosts the Kings at Amalie Arena this afternoon relies on a collection of players who have vastly outperformed their draft rankings.

Or, in the case of leading scorer Tyler Johnson, his undrafted free agent background.

Johnson, a skinny and undersized Washingtonian when he was an 11th round draft pick by his hometown Spokane Chiefs in 2005, won a Memorial Cup in his rookie WHL season of 2007-08, progressed each year to the point where he amassed 53 goals and 115 points in 2010-11, and ultimately signed an entry level contract with Tampa Bay that season. A Calder Cup champion with AHL-Norfolk in 2012, the 5-foot-9, 182-pound Johnson leads the NHL’s highest-scoring team with 51 points (19-32=51) in 51 games.

“He’s a dynamic young player,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. “I haven’t seen him much since he played juniors just because they were [in the Eastern Conference], so you don’t get to see those kids much, but you know what? He plays behind a great centerman in Stamkos who’s right there in terms of being the top player in the league. So he plays behind him, which you can say this year is maybe neck-and-neck. And they get the Paquette line which is a really good line, and then obviously bringing [Brian] Boyle in as your fourth centerman, that’s impressive. They’ve done a really good job.”

Eight of Tampa Bay’s top-12 scorers are under 25, a group that includes Stamkos, who turned 25 today and leads all NHL players with 238 goals since the start of the 2009-10 season. Ondrej Palat, who like Johnson was nominated for the 2014 Calder Memorial Trophy that was eventually awarded to Nathan MacKinnon, was selected in the seventh round in 2011 and has 38 points (11-27=38) in 49 games.

The advanced metrics underscore the Atlantic Division leaders’ success The Lightning’s 54.4% Corsi-for percentage in five-on-five play is tied with the Kings for the league lead, while their 54.7% Fenwick-close ranks second. Tampa Bay averages only 48.3 shot attempts against per game in five-on-five play, which narrowly leads Los Angeles as the best rate in the league.

Despite doing an outstanding job of limiting shots against, the club is not without its challenges defensively heading into today’s game. Right-shooting Radko Gudas, who attended development and rookie camp with the Kings in 2009 but could not sign with the team, underwent knee surgery and is out indefinitely. Left-shooters Matt Carle (torn abductor muscle) and Jason Garrison (lower-body) are also out.

So with Garrison out defensive pairings look like: Hedman-Sustr; Nesterov-Stralman; Barberio-Witkowski

— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) February 7, 2015

Still, the Bolts should have enough firepower to help them outscore their opponents on many nights. When asked what about the team’s deep offensive core sticks out, Darryl Sutter offered a pithy response.

“Three top lines. That’s what sticks out.”