Over the last few days, I’ve seen several people express the idea that the Lightning were struggling at this time last December and that a slump like this is nothing to worry about because the team will inevitably correct its course. This is a normal response to seeing a team that has been one of the best in the league over the past two seasons suddenly start struggling, despite having largely the same roster.
While I do understand the sentiment, it isn’t accurate.
The Lightning are on a similar pace to last season as evidenced by their record: 14-13-2 this year compared to 14-12-2 last year.