Expectations for the Lightning were high this season coming off the Stanley Cup and the Eastern Conference Final. Star players Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov will be resigning.

The Lightning started at a decent 13-10-1 record by the end of November. On November 15 in a game versus the Detroit Red Wings, captain Steven Stamkos suffered a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee. He was out for the rest of the season and only got a little skating time during team practice.

It only got worse in December and January. In the month of January, the Bolts only got three wins in regulation.

In February and March, they started to pick things up and make a push for the playoffs. In late February, the Lightning traded away 2016 all star goalie Ben Bishop for a seventh round pick and backup goalie Peter Budaj and defenseman Erik Černák.

By April, the Bolts were on the verge of getting a wild card spot competing with John Tavares and the Islanders and the two rookies Auston Mattews and Mitch Marner with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With just a few games left, The Lightning’s hopes of making the playoffs were looking like a reality. They beat the Maple Leafs in Toronto four to one. Then they beat the Atlantic Division Clinching Montreal Canadiens and goalie Carey Price four to two. It all came down to the Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins game. The leafs defeated the penguins 5-3 making the lighting ineligible for the playoffs.

Even though the bolts did not make the postseason there are a lot of positives from this season. The lightning’s attendance was stellar this season which is a huge achievement being a southern team and having a bad month like january. Espn ranked us the best overall sports franchise. We also know that Andrei Vasilevskiy can be a good starting goalie. Even though this was a lost season not all hope is lost.