Before the present season started, I predicted that Tampa Bay would dominate not only the Atlantic Division but the Eastern Conference as well; hell, I thought Tampa had a good chance of going all the way to the Stanley Cup finals and winning the whole shebang. I based that premised on the fact that Tampa was two wins shy of winning the 2014/15 Cup and the only reason why they were two wins shy was because of the repeated failure to score on the open net during the finals.

To come so close only to lose should have been sufficient motivation to inspire an even greater effort from the Lightning. Imagine my shock when Tampa opened this present season utterly lacking in energy and spark; flirting for a time near the bottom of the Atlantic Division; struggling to stay above .500%

But now entering the home stretch of the regular season, Tampa, to paraphrase the late Casey Stengel, has come slow but fast; methodically stringing wins together since early January (they’ve gone 9-2-0 in their last ten games); improving offensively (the Lightning have averaged 2.91 goals per games in games 41-51 as opposed to their 2.53 in games 1-40); playing better defense during their streak than they have during the first 40 games of the season (1.82 GAA in games 41-51 as opposed to a 2.45 GAA in games 1-40). The Lightning are back in playoff contention, presently in second place in the Atlantic Division behind their cross-state rival Florida Panthers.

Tampa has come back despite sub-par efforts from Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov (it’s not just those two; Tampa Bay are not in the top ten in overall offense and power-play offense).Their only stand out is goalie Ben Bishop who has the second best GAA in the NHL and is tenth in save percentage. Thanks to Bishop and Vladisav Namestnikov Tampa has the fifth best defense in the NHL right now.

Still, the Lightning as a team, need to do better on the tactical level. They are in contention but they need to reassert the strengths that took them to the Stanley Cup finals. They need to remember what it took to get them to that special place.

For Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, inspiring a special effort from his team will have even greater personal meaning. His coaching value right now is a +14. If the Lightning can win 39 of 64 remaining team points in the season; win the Atlantic Division title; and win the Stanley Cup then he will crack the top 50 ranks as defined by my rating system promulgated in my book Bench Bosses: the NHL’s coaching elite. If the Lightning fall short in any of those categories then Jon Cooper will have to wait for next season to knock on the door of NHL coaching greatness.

This is a test for Jon Cooper as well as the Lightning players themselves. Great coaches inspire their teams to make big movements; that’s what separates the greatness from mediocrity and futility. For Cooper and the Lightning they stand at the metaphorical crossroads: either they go through the motions and show the world that they were yesterday’s one season wonders who merely got lucky; caught lightning in a bottle and went further than they truly deserved; or else they can reach deep down inside themselves; tap into that same insouciant spirit that carried them to the Stanley Cup finals last season while this season they take it all the way; to the gates of glory; to the realm of greatness that separates the elite from the also-rans.