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So far, Lightning are among the NHL’s worst penalty-killing units

in Sports/Top Headlines by

In the constant tinkering that is the NHL season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a little work to do.

In particular, their penalty kills needs some fine-tuning. Yikes.

Despite a solid start this season, the Lightning is next-to-the last in the penalty kill at 58.3 percent, ahead of only Minnesota (40 percent). Last year, Tampa Bay was seventh in the league with an 87.7 percent kill rate.

The Boston Bruins, in a 6-3 loss, scored two power plays, one 18 seconds into the penalty and one 23 seconds. Against Detroit, Gustav Nyquist scored 12 seconds into a penalty.

Yes, it’s too early to panic. But expect the penalty kill to be a point of emphasis by coach Jon Cooper when the Lightning plays the Dallas Stars Thursday night.

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Gary Shelton is one of the most recognized and honored sportswriters in the history of the state. He has won the APSE's national columnist of the year twice and finished in the top 10 eight times. He was named the Florida Sportswriter of the Year six times. Gary joined SaintPetersBlog in the spring, helping to bring a sports presence to the website. Over his time in sports writing, Gary has covered 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics, Final Fours, Masters, Wimbledons and college national championships. He was there when the Bucs won a Super Bowl, when the Lightning won a Stanley Cup and when the Rays went to a World Series. He has seen Florida, FSU and Miami all win national championships, and he covered Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden and Don Shula along the way. He and his wife Janet have four children: Eric, Kevin, K.C. and Tori. To contact, visit [email protected].

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