Lightning are on historic pace — and that’s not even scariest part

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Everybody knows the Lightning are good. But do you know just how good? How historically good?

Right now, this almost unbelievably deep group is on pace for 129 points, which would be five more than the previous high of the salary-cap era, the 124 points racked up by the historic 2005-06 Red Wings. This year’s Maple Leafs team is on pace for 115 points, a historic pace in its own right — and they’re watching Tampa just run away with the Presidents’ Trophy.

The Lightning beat the Flyers on Thursday night, 6-5 in overtime, and Hart Trophy candidate Nikita Kucherov called it “unacceptable.” They did blow a 5-2 third-period lead, but, you know, they still won. Half the teams in the league are just happy with the loser’s point.

Yet that is the internal barometer for this team. It’s not necessarily about results right now because those seem to come no matter what. Talent will do that. It’s about the process. Being able to win with a huge lapse in play is a scary predicament come the postseason.

Scarier for the rest of the league is that they seem to be able to weather major injuries without blinking. They were able to get by after goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was down for a month, and he just returned to do things like this.

It looks like J.T. Miller didn’t practice Friday after he left Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury that doesn’t seem all that serious. Good news was the terrific 20-year-old defenseman Mikhail Sergachev was able to practice after he blocked a shot off his foot and was struggling. Sergachev, of course, is the return on the heist of a one-for-one swap with the Canadiens that now-former general manager Steve Yzerman was able to pull off in exchange for Jonathan Drouin in summer 2017. What an absolute steal.

A lot has been made of Nashville’s blueline, and rightfully so. But it’s arguable the best defensive corps is a couple hundred miles south. Anton Stralman — now is he the one who got away or the one who was foolishly pushed off Broadway? — is the team’s smallest defenseman at just under 6-foot, and he just returned from a month-long injury hardly anyone noticed because of the depth (and the wins). The next smallest on the hulking backline is Dan Girardi, whose heart is quite a bit bigger than any measurable asset.

If Victor Hedman will be the perennial Norris Trophy candidate for the next decade, the team’s front-runner this year is another familiar face, Ryan McDonagh. Finally playing healthy for the first time in three years, the former Rangers captain has been the absolute force against teams’ other top lines that made the Bolts so eager to trade for him at last year’s deadline then sign the 29-year-old to a seven-year, $47.25 million deal that starts next season.

The team also has another of the best defensive prospects in Erik Cernak, with Slater Koekkoek not too shabby either.

The depth up front is just as impressive, and that starts with Kucherov and the captain, Steven Stamkos. Remember the year (2011-12) when Stamkos scored 60 goals? Well, his 14 goals in the month of December — still with two more games to go — is his most prolific scoring month of his career. Both he and Kucherov are irreplaceable — but isn’t that true of two of the league’s best, regardless of what team they’re on?

Brayden Point is having himself a year (and a coming payday, see below) with 22 goals and 49 points, while two of the triplets — can we still call them that? — Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat, are contributing, along with another Tampa staple, Harvard’s own Alex Killorn.

Anthony Cirelli is proving to be another nice find by Yzerman, coming in the third round (72nd overall) in the 2015 draft.

Heck, even Ryan Callahan is content playing marginal minutes on the fourth line — and who could blame him?

That’s because this team is turning into a heavy favorite to win the Stanley Cup, even with Toronto right behind it, while Winnipeg, Nashville, Colorado and Calgary are lurking out west. But right now, this league belongs to the Lightning. And so, soon, might the history books.

Dandy Dubois

I keep waiting for the game when I see Pierre-Luc Dubois look like a 20-year-old. But the Blue Jackets’ top-line center plays a game well beyond his years and one right in line with his 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame. Which is hardly to say he’s short on skill, as seen when he caught Kevin Hayes flatfooted and sped right around him for the overtime winner against the Rangers on Thursday night. (That also happened when John Tortorella pulled a move that at least I have never seen before — putting a better face-off man, Brandon Dubinsky, on to start the 3-on-3 period, and when he won it, immediately pull him off for Dubois. Genius or overthinking?)

Everyone thought Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was going to lean toward his Finnish roots and take Jesse Juljujarvi with the No. 3-overall pick in 2016. But he instead chose Dubois, projected as a mid-first-rounder, and it is certainly panning out for the team pushing the Capitals for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

Guentzel’s game-changer

The Penguins rewarded the latest recipient of Sidney Crosby’s wealth of talent by awarding restricted free agent-to-be Jake Guentzel with a five-year, $30 million deal worth $6 million per year. The 24-year-old has found a home on Crosby’s flank, and much to his credit, he has taken advantage. He has 33 points in 36 games this season and has amassed 53 goals and 114 points in 158 career games. More impressive have been his 23 goals and 42 points in 37 career postseason games, which happen to include back-to-back Stanley Cup victories.

The question now is where this leaves the Lightning with Brayden Point and other similar RFAs going forward? Looking for a lot of money, that’s where.

Elias “Calder” Pettersson

The race for Rookie of the Year is not only becoming a runaway for the Canucks’ Elias Pettersson, it is becoming a historic first season in the league. The precocious 20-year-old has 38 points through the first 34 games of his career, putting him fourth-overall in that category behind Joey Juneau (47, in 1992-93), Eric Lindros (44, 1992-93), Alexei Yashin (40, 1993-94) and Joe Sakic (39, 1988-89). Oh, and he’s clutch, like scoring the game-winner Thursday night.

Stay tuned … (to the Sabres)

In our weekly look at the most interesting team in the league, we see a split weekend with a 2-1 loss in Washington — acceptable — and then a tidy 3-0 win at home Saturday against the Ducks. It’s been 4-4-2 in their previous 10, just kind of hanging in there, now 21-12-5 and in third place in the powerhouse Atlantic Division.

Maybe our northern New York brethren had a little too much fun over the Christmas break.

Parting shot

Claude Giroux has the lead in the clubhouse for goal of the year. That stick lift near the end? Holy cow.

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