Lightning clinch playoff spot after missing out a year ago
Kim Klement / USA Today Sports
The Stanley Cup Playoffs will include the Tampa Bay Lightning this time around.
After beating the Edmonton Oilers in regulation Sunday evening, the Lightning officially clinched a spot thanks to a New Jersey Devils regulation loss in Anaheim later in the night.
The Lightning have been rolling since the puck dropped on 2017-18 and are the second team to clinch, following the Nashville Predators.
The berth comes a year after Tampa Bay finished a single point behind Toronto in the race for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
In years prior to that, Tampa Bay advanced to the Stanley Cup Final (2015) and lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals (2016).