Brayden Point Quietly Surging for the Lightning

Point has turned a corner now, though, and is playing his best hockey season. His stats show that his expected goals per 60 minutes are at an impressive 1.35, and his shooting talent is 15.5% above average for the season. Point has 11 goals in his past 10 games and 14 in his past 15 games. Of course, he has also had a hat trick relatively recently too. Nikita Kucherov may be the most impactful player on the team this season, but the Lightning’s top center is not too bad either. What exactly is behind Point’s resurgence?

High Danger Chances

Good things happen when you shoot the puck, and Point has been shooting the puck a lot in the past 10 games. In that span, he has had at least six shot attempts in five separate games, with a high of nine shot attempts on March 14 against the New York Rangers. In the past 10 games, Point has only failed to record a shot on goal on one occasion and has had seven multishot games. The game in which he recorded the most shots on goal was, unsurprisingly, the March 14 bout against the Rangers, where he had an impressive six shots on goal. This flurry of shots that Point has put up has resulted in quite a few high- and medium-danger scoring chances.

During the last 10 games, Point has created 11 high-danger unblocked shots and 20 medium-danger unblocked shots. From February 25 to March 2, he had a four-game streak during the 10-game span, with at least one high-danger shot. He also had one multi-high-danger shot game during that span. On the flip side, there have only been three games in the past 10 where he did not have a high-danger shot. Point recorded at least one medium-danger shot attempt in six games out of the last 10. There have been three cases where he had multiple medium-dangerous shot attempts, and on one such occasion, he managed to have a total of seven medium-dangerous shot attempts.

Rebounds and Finishing

Creating rebounds is a great way to get a second chance at scoring or provide an opportunity for a teammate. Point has been creating rebounds and getting shots off of rebounds. He has managed to create seven rebounds over the past 10 games and has had at least .2 expected rebounds created in four out of the past five games. In the past 10 games, he has had at least .2 expected goals from rebounds in five separate games, with a high of .7 expected goals from rebounds on March 21 against the San Jose Sharks.

There have also been five such games out of the past 10 where Point has derived 35% or more of his expected goals from rebounds. His finishing has also been quite clinical. His shooting percentage has been 25% during two games over the past 10 while being at 50% during three games. In the past two games, he was at a perfect 100%. Having accurate shots and following up on missed chances are exactly the kind of skill and effort needed to get to 40 goals and create chances for others. 

Help From Linemates

That is not to say Point has been doing this alone by any means. Kucherov, as mentioned earlier, has been the best player on the Lightning’s roster this season. Another revelation has been Anthony Duclair, a deadline acquisition for the Lightning. Being flanked by such talented players not only means that Point gets fed the puck more often but also makes it more difficult on the defense and opens up the game more. In the past five games, Point has scored eight goals. Only one of those goals has not been assisted by Kucherov. In fact, Kucherov has assisted on seven straight goals from Point. Duclair has only been playing with Point for three games, though it would be surprising if they were separated any time soon.

So far, both have only assisted on one of the other’s goals, but both look to have good chemistry and are creating chances for each other. Even if they are being fed passes from Kucherov more than each other, if both keep scoring, it is mutually beneficial and will make the line more challenging to defend against. It is much harder to stop a line where all three forwards are a serious scoring threat than just two or even one. Duclair and Point have different strengths that complement each other. There is little doubt that both players will continue to see success from playing together. 

What’s Next?

The Lightning have two more games on their West Coast road trip before coming home. They take on the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. After that, it is back to Tampa with a three-game home stand against the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and Detroit Red Wings. The Lightning have been playing great recently, and Point has been a big part of it. There are some tough matchups against playoff teams on that list, and if the Lightning want to keep on rolling, they need Point to keep scoring. Every Point matters at this time of year, and if the Lightning hopes to finish the season strong, it all starts with their top-line center.