The Tampa Bay Lightning entered the final week of February on a three-game losing streak, all in regulation, with the two most recent losses coming against the Ottawa Senators and the Washington Capitals, by a combined score of 9-5.

At that point, they were just seven games above NHL .500 and had just two more wins than total losses. They were 18th in the league in expected-goals percentage in all situations, had a minus-two goal difference, and were barely clinging to the final Wild Card slot in the East.

But that three-game skid seems to have been the slap in the face they needed.

Since then, they're 6-2-1, outscoring opponents 36-27. Their three most recent wins are against actual playoff teams and by a combined score of 18-6. But perhaps most important: Andrei Vasilevsky has stopped 91 of