When Conor Geekie lit the lamp against Washington on Oct. 3, it felt like the start of something bigger for the Tampa Bay Lightning forward. Instead, that goal remains his only one of the season, and after nine games he has just one point to his name.
The scoring touch has been hard to find, but the shot volume has dipped too. Geekie opened the year with seven shots over his first three games, then managed only four across his next six. He also went two straight games, on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15, without a shot on goal.
That’s the part that stands out. Geekie is a former first-round pick who made real progress with Syracuse in the AHL last season, and the raw tools are there.
NHL Edge has his hardest shot in the 99th percentile this season, while his average shot sits in the 93rd percentile. He also brings speed, with 25 bursts over 20 mph placing him in the 86th percentile and a max skating speed of 22.58 mph, good for the 85th percentile.
So the question becomes how the Lightning can get more out of him.
Right now, Geekie has spent the season in the bottom six - really the bottom five, with the team playing an 11-forward setup. He’s a center, and Tampa Bay needs him there, which makes moving him up more complicated.
His faceoff work has been solid enough that he’s likely to stay as the fourth-line center for the time being. If Yanni Gourde returns, that could open the door to trying Geekie in a different spot.
He can also play right wing.
There’s also a case for seeing what he can do next to better players. Gage Goncalves has not produced while skating with Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel, and Geekie might be able to bring more to that kind of look.
At some point, the Lightning need to change something. Geekie is in a critical stretch of his career, with this season serving as the final year of his entry-level contract. They need a clearer read on what he is, and the current setup is not giving them much of one.
That’s why it makes sense to keep experimenting. Trying a few different looks can only help the team, and it could help Geekie too.
In Other News...
Lightning Get A Harsh Reminder Against The NHLs Best
The Lightning ran into the kind of night that can remind a team just how sharp the NHLs best can be. Colorado beat Tampa Bay 6-3 in Denver, with the Avalanche getting goals from Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, Nazem Kadri and Fedor Svechkov while Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 31 shots behind them.
Jake Guentzel gave Tampa Bay a pair of goals, but the Lightning could not keep pace once Colorado settled in and started tilting the game. Nathan MacKinnon was right at the center of it throughout, setting the tone for the Avalanche offense and leaving Tampa Bay with another look at the margin for error it faces against an elite opponent. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Affiliate Showed Serious Fight But One Problem Still Lingers
The Syracuse Crunch showed plenty of push in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Rochester Americans at Upstate Medical University Arena, rallying late in the third period just to keep the night alive. Brendan Furry and Ethan Gauthier handled the scoring, while Lucas Mercuri and Dylan Duke each set up two goals as Syracuse found a way to make a tight game out of it.
Still, the lingering issue was the same one that has a way of deciding these margin-of-error nights, because Rochester needed only a brief opening in extra time to end it. Syracuse got the point and the comeback effort it wanted, but the Crunch will have to live with a game that was there for the taking before the overtime finish tipped it the other way. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Exposed A Bigger Problem In This Loss To Colorado
The Lightnings 6-3 loss to Colorado was more than just another blemish on the schedule. Tampa Bay gave up an early goal and spent most of the night chasing the game, even as Jake Guentzel provided a spark with two goals. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 18 shots, but the Avalanche kept finding ways through, with Nathan MacKinnon driving the pace and forcing the Lightning into a reactive game for much of the night.
What made the defeat sting was how little margin Tampa Bay had once Colorado settled in. The Avalanches top line dictated the flow, and the Lightning never really solved it, leaving the larger issue front and center as the game wore on. For a club that expects more from its defensive structure, the concern is not just the result itself but how quickly the cracks showed once Colorado turned up the pressure. [Read more 🡒]