Tampa Bay Lightning D Slater Koekkoek Scratched For Third-Straight Game
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Slater Koekkoek has been named a healthy scratch for the third-straight game this season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have taken fans on quite the rollercoaster ride to start off the season. The good news is, despite their first period troubles, the Bolts have always found a way to come back and bring home the victory.
Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper hasn’t made very many changes to the lineup over the course of the last few games. The only real exception to this has been giving Andrei Vasilevskiy a chance to take the ice early in the season. When something isn’t broken, don’t fix it…right?
Unfortunately, this philosophy hasn’t worked out well for one Tampa Bay Lightning player who has been scratching and clawing to make his way to the big game, Lightning defenseman Slater Koekkoek. According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Koekkoek will be scratched for his third straight game tonight against the Panthers.
It almost seems like insanity to bench someone like Koekkoek who has been working so very hard and taking his game to the next level in the hopes of earning his spot.
According to Smith, Slater Koekkoek has been mixing in with defenseman Nikita Nesterov on the third pairing.
The situation at hand brings to mind one question…if Coach Cooper was prepared to let Andrei Vasilevskiy get a start in during the first couple games of the season in order to give him some playing time, why can’t the same thing be said about Slater Koekkoek?
Over the course of the preseason, these two players were equals in just about every way when it comes to defensive stats. Both players had a total of three blocked shots each along with two hits apiece for a hits per game average of .7.
The difference between Koekkoek and Nesterov comes in on the offensive side of things. In the three games the duo played over the course of the preseason, Nikita Nesterov was able to come home with two goals and two assists for a total of four points. Unfortunately, Koekkoek came up empty in this category.
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While Nesterov has been holding strong defensively over the course of the first two games of the season, we have yet to see any of the offensive prowess we saw in the preseason. Wouldn’t it speak to reason to allow an equally matched player some time on the ice to see what he can do?
Unfortunately, Slater Koekkoek will have to wait at least one more game before taking the ice with the Tampa Bay Lightning and show the world what he can accomplish. Hopefully, Koekkoek will get that opportunity in the next couple of games, preferably at home here in Tampa Bay.
Tonight, the Tampa Bay Lightning lace up their skates to do battle with their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers. Last season, the Panthers seemed to have the Lightning’s number. Hopefully, the Lightning will have a little more to say about that this season.
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