Lightning’s Rush Defense Strength for 2024-25 Season – Hockey Writers – Tampa Bay Lightning

Despite facing a tough season opener, the Tampa Bay Lightning opened the campaign with an impressive 4-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Friday night (Oct. 11). After parting ways with star defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in a trade with the red-hot Utah Hockey Club and reacquiring an aging Ryan McDonagh, many questions surrounded the Lightning’s aging defense.

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Sergachev was the definition of skill and offense, but the team will have to rely on a well-rounded, organized defense this season. Will other defenders step up to replace Sergachev? The team may have found their answer. Statistically, Tampa Bay secured a top-level pass rush against the Hurricanes to open the 2024-25 season.

2024-25 Lightning Hand-Tracked Microstats Dataset Background

I plan to manually track lightning microstats throughout the 2024-25 season. This will include data points such as passes, field entries, and additional statistics that the NHL does not include. I will continue to share my results throughout the season, so stay tuned for updates.

In the first game of the campaign, head coach Jon Cooper dressed 11 players and seven defenders, which is unusual. With the emergence of Emil Lilleberg, Cooper has some tough decisions to make on the green line early on. I followed seven defenders in the opener against Carolina. Keep in mind that these stats are all recorded from 5-on-5 play, so power plays, extra attacker situations and 3-on-3 overtime minutes are not included.

Hand-Tracked Microstats Support Lightning’s Stellar Rush Defense

In about 44 minutes of 5-on-5 play, the Lightning faced 38 zone entries from the Hurricanes. Of those 38 entries, 27 (71%) were attempted entries or controlled entries. Meanwhile, the other 11 were abandoned. I want to focus on the efforts to carry the Nyaziyo defenders that they faced in this game. They did an excellent job of preventing Carolina from getting the offense going, the most dangerous way to create scoring opportunities in today’s NHL.

A key statistic tracked by a defender in the speed protection dataset is denied entries, where the defender prevents an offensive attacker from entering the area or creating an opportunity to strike a rider. Of the 27 who were struggling on Friday night, the Lightning rejected 13 (48%), which is a good thing if you compare it to last season; the Lightning defense denied just 25.09% of the caught-ins they faced, given a sample size of 12 games rather than one.

The new defensive pairings fit together well, and JJ Moser stood out in his Lightning debut. He is Victor Hedman’s perfect partner at this stage of his career. Moser allows the veteran to take offensive risks or lay low. Meanwhile, Moser will sit down and defend the rush in another way, where he has denied that two out of three (67%) have treated him badly. In addition, McDonagh has revived Erik Cernak, who struggled without him last season. This pair closed together, and McDonagh defended four possessions (80%) that were carried to him, while Cernak stopped two of five (40%).

Even the depth was straight on opening night. Late bloomers like Nick Perbix and Darren Raddysh made their presence known with Carolina’s offensive linemen down the stretch. Perbix denied two of five rushes (40%) to him, and despite the protected minutes, Raddysh stopped all three carries against (100%). Players like Hedman are not known for their defensive prowess, and young defender Lilleberg has a job to do when defending turnovers. The pair faced six loadings and didn’t deny a single one, but the sample size was too small to draw any big conclusions.

Take Small Samples with a Grain of Salt

While Tampa Bay looked good defending the rush in its first game, take the data with a grain of salt. The sample size is small, and with more tracked games throughout the season, more accurate claims and conclusions can be drawn. However, it was nice to see the Lightning defense in good shape to open the season with all the question marks surrounding the core over the summer. The Lightning host the Vancouver Canucks in their home opener tonight.