Mishkin's Musings: Four questions heading into Lightning-Blue Jackets

It's Lightning-Blue Jackets … again. For the second year in a row, the teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs. Here are four questions for the Lightning as they prepare to meet the team that swept them out of the postseason last year.

1. How Will The Lightning Manage To Offset The Potential Absences of Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman?
Even though the Lightning hoped that Stamkos would have been able to play in at least one of their three round robin games, Stamkos wasn't in the lineup for any of them. Hedman left Saturday's game against Philadelphia in the first period and did not return. On Monday, Jon Cooper stated that Hedman's status for Game One will be determined on Tuesday.

If the Lightning are without one or both of these players, how will they adjust? Since Stamkos hasn't played in any of the round robin games, we've gotten a pretty good look at how they would construct their lineup without him. Ondrej Palat has been playing with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov while Tyler Johnson has been skating on a line with Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn. Both lines have been productive during the Lightning's time in the bubble. Johnson has also slotted in for Stamkos on the Lightning's primary power play unit. Johnson scored the Lightning's power play goal on Saturday against Philly. He also assisted on the other Lightning power play goal during round robin play - Killorn's deflection tally against Boston. Stamkos has been an important part of the penalty kill this season - his ability to win faceoffs in the defensive zone has helped the Lightning get immediate clears. Mitchell Stephens has been used in that role and, like Stamkos, has been effective at winning draws and setting up clears.

The Lightning not only played two and a half periods without Hedman on Saturday, they also didn't have him for their exhibition against Florida on July 29. In those instances, Mikhail Sergachev has taken Hedman's spot on the man advantage and joined Killorn, Johnson, Point, and Kucherov on that power play unit. The other unit, after Johnson and Sergachev moved to the first group, featured Kevin Shattenkirk, Palat, Yanni Gourde, Anthony Cirelli and Pat Maroon against the Flyers.

Hedman plays on the penalty kill, too, of course. But the Lightning typically use a comprehensive rotation of defensemen when killing penalties. So those defensemen may be asked to play more frequently when the Lightning are shorthanded.

We don't know which defenseman would come into the lineup if Hedman is out. Jan Rutta was unfit to play on Saturday, so his status is also up in the air. They also have Braydon Coburn and Luke Schenn available. But no one player can do everything that Hedman, a four-time Norris Trophy finalist, can bring to the ice. It wouldn't be surprising to see more five-on-five minutes out of Ryan McDonagh, however.

2. How Will The Lightning Handle Columbus' Tight Defensive Structure?
Columbus' ability to take away the Lightning's time and space was a big component of their series win last year. Their team defense was excellent this season, too. The Blue Jackets finished tied for third in fewest goals allowed per game. This tight structure helped them overcome a rash of injuries throughout the season.

The Lightning added a number of players - both during the offseason and at the trade deadline - that they feel will help them in a playoff series against strong, defensive, physical teams like the Blue Jackets. The Lightning cannot allow themselves to get frustrated and impatient if there's not a lot of room on the ice for them to make plays. These are games they may need to "grind" out. Their lineup this year is filled with players well-suited to play that kind of game.

The round robin contests against Washington and Boston were examples of tight, physical, close-checking games. And in both, the Lightning did play "patient" hockey. They want to keep that same mindset in the series versus Columbus.

3. Can The Lightning Replicate Toronto's Success In Generating Chances Against Columbus?
Toronto may have lost the qualifying series to Columbus, but it wasn't because the Maple Leafs didn't generate enough scoring looks. Yes, there were segments throughout the series in which the Blue Jackets suffocated the Leafs and Toronto's top players were quiet. But there were also segments in which Toronto applied heavy pressure and created Grade-A scoring chances. This was especially true in the deciding Game Five, but Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo was the difference. In recording a 33-save shutout, he turned aside a high volume of dangerous Toronto looks. Korpisalo produced a similarly strong performance in his Game One shutout, making a handful of saves on shots from the slot.

Will the Lightning be able to create such looks against Columbus' structured team defense? And if they can, will they be able to get beat either Korpisalo or Elvis Merzlikins, who played in Games Three and Four of the Toronto series?

4. Will The Way That The Blue Jackets-Maple Leafs Series Unfolded Have An Effect On This One?
This is really a question for both teams. The Columbus-Toronto series was a grueling, emotional, roller-coaster ride through five tough games.

So the Lightning will be facing a team that is already battle-tested. And it passed that test with flying colors. The Blue Jackets absorbed a brutal gut-punch in Game Four, blowing a 3-0 lead with under four minutes left in the third period and squandering a chance to advance. But less than 48 hours later, they threw that punch right back, posting a shutout victory in Game Five. The Lightning had wanted to use the three round robin games to get ready for their first playoff game. As much as possible, they tried to play those games with a playoff-like intensity. But now the real postseason begins. And they'll need to find a level that the Blue Jackets have already reached.

Still, the Blue Jackets are battle-tested because, well, they've been in a battle. Not only did the series contain wild momentum swings, it also featured a lot of hockey in a short period of time. The teams played their five games over an eight-day span. Two of those contests went into overtime. Game Five against Toronto began on Sunday at 8:00 PM. Game One between the Lightning and Blue Jackets is Tuesday at 3:00 PM, only 43 hours after the start of Game Five.

Can the Jackets avoid any emotional dips at the start of this series? Conversely, can the Lightning match the level of their battle-tested opponent?