from Andrew Berkshire of Sportsnet,

You could argue that the biggest disappointment this year has been the performance of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a true Cup contender the last couple years that now needs a series of miraculous events in order to capture a wild-card spot, but with the injuries that team has dealt with I don’t think they can be called disappointing.

Same goes for the Florida Panthers, who over-performed last year and faced raised expectations that weren’t realistic, then suffered long-term injuries to half their top-six forwards, Aaron Ekblad, and Roberto Luongo.

The two biggest disappointments this season have been out West, where the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets are both way out of the playoffs, but the sorrow comes for different reasons.

The Kings missed the playoffs in a fluke situation two years ago due to going 2-8 in the shootout, but after making it last season only to get bounced in Round 1, this year feels like the end of an era. The core is still strong, but unlike Chicago, the Kings have had trouble replacing their depth players to stay effective, and it’s haunted them.

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