Mishkin's Musings: Keys to a 4-1-0 homestand

Beginning the season with five consecutive home games sounds great, doesn't it? Well, it's great only if a team can take advantage of the favorable schedule. The Lightning knew that a challenging five-game road trip (which begins Saturday in Minnesota) spanning three different time zones awaited them after the homestand. So there was some pressure on the team to do well in the opening five. Fortunately for the Bolts, they avoided potential potholes and accumulated eight of a possible 10 points. Here are some of the reasons why they were so successful.

So it was a wonderful start to the season. But there's no time for the Lightning to savor it. The five-game-in-eight-day-three-different-time-zone trip starts Saturday.