Stamkos: Lightning's top line getting chances despite slump

The Tampa Bay Lightning's top line isn't shining as brightly these days.

After a cracking start that sent Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov to the top of the NHL scoring leaderboard, the unit, rounded out by Vladislav Namestnikov, has cooled off significantly, and the team has lost three of its last four.

The trio has combined for four points over those four games, with Kucherov and Stamkos recording an assist apiece and Namestnikov chipping in a goal and a helper.

After a recent video session, Stamkos - who admits to being frustrated by the recent skid - was encouraged by the opportunities being generated, and believes it's only a matter of time before the Lighting convert them.

"When you go watch afterwards, sometimes it's not as bad as you think when you're going through a little bit of a tough patch in terms of production," Stamkos said Monday, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "We're still getting chances. They're not always going to go in. You know it's not going to last the whole season."

Tampa Bay remains first in the Eastern Conference, but only has a two-point cushion over New Jersey, The Lightning will have every opportunity to get rolling again, however, in a visit to the last-place Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.