Hockey

Break comes at a decent time for the Lightning

TAMPA — Constantly flying west for street diversions can be taxing for any East Coast group.

“But we adapt pretty well,” Lightning F Mathieu Joseph said.

Tampa Bay’s bye week starts today after Saturday night’s 6-3 win against the Sharks at Amalie Arena, and with the bye week driving into the All-Star break, that indicates 10 days off before the Lightning’s next amusement. The break couldn’t come at a superior time for a group that has spent a great deal of its season out West.

Since the season began, the Lightning has had the greater part its games on the road (about 52 percent).

It has at any rate gotten the hardest of its travel out of the way. Of its 24 street amusements, 17 have been in an alternate time zone. Just a single progressively diversion in St. Louis will take Tampa Bay outside of the Eastern time zone for regular season. That implies less time on a plane and additional time at home.

Joseph said Saturday that traveling so often can be troublesome for everyday things, for example, resting yet it’s only a modification the group needs to make.

A month ago the Lightning completed a four-amusement trip (3-0-1) three days before Christmas, just to have another four-diversion street stretch beginning on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s been tiring,” F J.T. Miller said. “It’s kind of like a Western (Conference) schedule a little bit.”

Miller said that front-loading the season with long trips might be worth the easier travel down the stretch.

Joseph is just looking forward to remaining in a similar time zone.