In his first stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning to begin the season, Waltteri Merelä was held pointless in 14 games. Was it partially bad luck? Perhaps. After all he did post a 1.27 iXG with 18 individual scoring chances and 16 shots on goal.
After a bit of a slow start to his Syracuse Crunch start, he picked things up and scored six times in 23 games, with 4 coming in his last four games. With Tanner Jeannot still on injured reserve following the Lightning’s four-day break, Merelä was recalled to take his spot in the rotation.