Ask Burnsie: What to expect in 2018-19

TampaBayLightning.com beat writer Bryan Burns will answer readers' most intriguing questions in a regular mailbag feature. Be sure to tweet questions to @bburnsnhl and include the hashtag #AskBurnsie to have your question answered in a future mailbag. If your question wasn't answered today, resubmit it and we'll attempt to get it in for another edition. Have fun with your questions too; the more off-beat the query the better.

Who were you impressed with during preseason besides Joseph? (via @realchattykathy)
I might be taking the easy way out with this answer, but Brayden Point, to me, looks like he's reached another level to his game.
He's always been a quick skater, but he just looks so much faster this preseason. There were a couple of plays, particularly in the exhibition game at Orlando's Amway Center, where it was almost unfair how quickly he was able to track down a puck carrier or blow by opponents as he made a move to the net.
Putting up 65-plus points and earning an All-Star Game selection last season has really given him a lot of confidence, and I think you're going to see even more production out of the third-year pro.
Heck, bold prediction, but he might just lead the team for scoring.
Also, I thought J.T. Miller continued to build on the chemistry he built with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov and had a great training camp. But, really, he seemed to thrive with any players he lined up with. He just has so much jam to his game and is so difficult to dispossess of the puck. I think he's going to be a pivotal player for the Lightning this season and expect him to approach his career highs of 22 goals and 56 points from the 2016-17 season.

With the @OrlandoHockey now an affiliate, any chance of more games or events in Orlando? (via @AngisUniversal)
I think you'll definitely see this relationship between the Lightning and the Solar Bears continue to grow.
Every player I spoke to after the game was impressed with the Amway Center and the fan support at the preseason game in Orlando.
"I liked the crowd, the couple loud chants 'Go Bolts' and stuff like that," Mathieu Joseph said following the game. "It's always good to go where there's not a lot of NHL hockey and it's also for the fans, and if you can grow (hockey) in Florida, that's also good."
With an announced crowd of 10,781 showing up at Amway Center and the relative ease of travel for both teams, I would expect this Lightning vs. Panthers in Orlando could become a fixture on the preseason schedule.
What Crunch players are most likely to see a call up this season even for just a game or two? (via @reclaimerm3gtr)
Erik Cernak really solidified himself as a future NHL player with his training camp and performances during the preseason.
Head coach Jon Cooper said during a training camp media session Cernak took a major step forward within the organization last season while with AHL Syracuse and was a better skater than most give him credit for. Cernak certainly looks the part of a NHLer with his 6-foot-3 frame and sturdy, muscular build (for some reason, whenever I see him, I think of Dolph Lundgren. Like, I could totally see him going up to an opponent during a game and saying, "I must break you.")
He showed an improved shot in preseason, and he wasn't afraid to use it either, registering nine shots during the preseason, tied for third on the Lightning among all players. Only Mathieu Joseph and Cedric Paquette had more.
I would suspect should the need arise for a defenseman callup from Syracuse, Cernak will get the first look. And it's my opinion once he does get that look, he'll probably never look back.
I also thought Alexander Volkov had a strong training camp and preseason building off his phenomenal rookie pro season in Syracuse last year. Should the Lightning have a need for a skilled forward at some point this season, expect Volkov to get his shot. He's another player that once he comes up, I think it will be difficult to send him back down.
Of course, some of the veteran Crunch players like Gabriel Dumont and Michael Bournival - and you can throw Andy Andreoff in that mix now too - will undoubtedly see action in Tampa Bay at some point this season as injuries dictate.

How long do you think Joseph stays on the roster? If he does well, who do you think goes? (via @gwoiv)
Unless he's overwhelmed by the NHL level - which I don't think will happen - expect Joseph to stay with the Lightning for the duration. I see a similar trajectory for Joseph as we saw for Anthony Cirelli last season. Once he gets in the lineup, he'll be a mainstay.
Should note that Cirelli was Joseph's centerman in Syracuse last season before getting the call to join the Lightning, so those two have chemistry from playing together previously and I expect that to continue into this season for the Lightning. I think you'll often see those two paired on a line whenever they're in the lineup together.
Now that Domingue has impressed in the preseason, how many games would you play him for this year? (via @martin \\14)
There will be a concerted effort to decrease Andrei Vasilevskiy's workload this season after he tailed off a bit down the stretch of the regular season. Now, what does that mean as far as starts? Hard to say. Last season, Vasilevskiy started 64 games and appeared in 65. I could see the Lightning trying to keep his starts somewhere between 55 to 60 this season, closer to 60 being my guess.
But a lot of that will depend on the play of Louis Domingue. And if his performance last season and again this preseason is any indication, the Lightning should feel more than comfortable inserting their backup into the lineup.
Domingue was a revelation last season for the Lightning after a mid-November trade with Arizona brought him to Tampa Bay. He went 7-3-1 in his first season with the Bolts and won some key games too, notably an early-January start in Detroit when the Lightning were coming off two-consecutive losses and were looking to avoid their first three game losing streak of the season. Later that month in Nashville, his net was under siege through the first period, and he put together a heroic effort just to get out of the period giving up only two goals. He kept the game close, and the Lightning rallied late, Steven Stamkos tying the game in the final 90 seconds and Yanni Gourde scoring the overtime game-winner for one of the Bolts' best victories of the season.
So, to answer your question, I think Domingue will get at least 20 starts this season and maybe closer to 25.