3 Takeaways From Lightning’s First 2 Preseason Games

The Tampa Bay Lightning have their preseason underway, getting loosened up for when the games actually matter in a little over a week. So far, two games are in the books, splitting a home and away preseason series against the Nashville Predators.

While it’s early, there are already some things to take away from what we’ve seen. Here are four observations with two preseason games under the team’s belt.

Newest Additions Are Making Good Impressions Early

Two of the newest additions tag-teamed for a goal on Sunday. John Carlson fed the puck to Ilya Mikheyev, and the latter tipped it in to get the Lightning on the board. Jeffery Viel, who signed a five-year contract in July, picked up a multi-goal game in the losing effort on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Denis Hildeby saw his first action with the team between the pipes and looked solid for the most part. He made 23 saves against 26 shots on goal (.895).

It builds some confidence early on for what they could bring to the table once the regular season gets underway. It doesn’t guarantee that it’ll translate, but it’s better than having to try and chalk up a lack of performance to it being the preseason.

It Would Be Nice to See More Offensively From the Prospects

To be fair, Sam O’Reilly has looked really good. He tallied an assist on Sunday, and he was named the first star of the game. He’s also winning faceoffs, which is great if he wants to help bolster the Lightning’s center depth.

Besides him, no other standout prospects have found their way onto the scoresheet. Benjamin Rautiainen, coming off a standout season in Finland’s Liiga, hasn’t even recorded a shot yet.

Ethan Czata and Dylan Duke have at least looked good defensively. It’s a great asset, but that alone won’t get them on the roster opening night.

It’s early. There is plenty of time for them to get going and make a stronger impression. At this time, the only one who likely would have a spot in the NHL is O’Reilly. It helps that they need more center depth than winger depth, but he’s also making the strongest impression.

Nobody has to set the world on fire. They can be good enough to help fill out the bottom six, which would go along way. But for them to do that, we need to see just a bit more on offense.

Geekie Needs a Statement, and He’s Already Getting It Going

Eventually, Conor Geekie is going to reach the make-or-break point. The 2022 11th-overall pick came over to the Lightning in the trade that sent defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the then-named Utah Hockey Club (now Utah Mammoth). That standing in the draft built some hype for what he could bring to the Lightning.