Tampa Bay Lightning: Why the 1-3-1 Is Bad for the NHL

The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the most talented teams in the NHL, with enough offensive firepower to make an opponent's head spin.

The Lightning also happen to run one of the league's most frustrating defensive systems, the 1-3-1.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the team should drop its identity and change overnight simply because people don't like the system.

In fact, the main reason that people don't like this system is because the Lightning are so good at running it.

Still, despite how effective this system might be, it is still bad for the NHL.

It Slows the Game Down

All you have to do is take a look at the box score of some of Tampa Bay's games to see how the 1-3-1 slows them down. 

In their last game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the two teams combined for a grand total of 39 shots. To put that into perspective, the Colorado  Avalanche and New York Islanders combined for 84 shots in the game that they played on Thursday night.

NHL rules were modified to avoid this type of slowdown and showcase the skills and speed of the players. This system slows the skill and speed of all the players, not just the opponents of the Lightning.

Refusing to attack the puck is definitely not something that the NHL had in mind with the way the rules are being enforced now.

Success Is Contagious

As I said in the beginning, one of the big reasons people don't like this system is because it is so effective.

This should be concerning if people just remember the recent history of the NHL.

Remember how Jacques Lemaire and the New Jersey Devils had so much success with their 1-2-2 neutral zone trap?

Pretty soon every single team in the NHL was running some form of this trap. Some teams were more aggressive than others, but the end result was a slower game that had far less scoring.

It wasn't until the league modified the rules to call all of the clutching and grabbing that the 1-2-2 lives off of that the game finally was able to speed up again.

If the Lightning end up winning a couple of Cups with this system, you can count on seeing more and more teams trying it out.

Boring the Fans Is a Bad Thing

This is more of a byproduct of the previous two slides.

Slowing the game down and making action hard to come by will lead to fewer shots and fewer goals.

The NHL has been very up-front about wanting a wide open game that showcases the skills and talents of the players, and the past few seasons have been wildly successful at doing just that.

The NHL knows that fans want to see a fast game, goals scored and hard hits.

The 1-3-1 certainly doesn't allow for a lot of goals, kills the speed and doesn't see quite as much hard hitting, though that still exists.

Taking away all of the things the fans want to see could potentially lose the NHL some of the fans that it has gained in recent years.

Stifles Own Players

The Tampa Bay Lightning have some of the most exciting and talented players in the NHL today.

They have names like Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier. This is a team that can put up some crazy numbers.

This 1-3-1 system, however, can stifle those kinds of numbers.  In 2010-11, Stamkos and St. Louis both managed to break 90 points in this system, but the next highest-scoring player on the team was Lecavalier with 54 points.

So while the team still has found success in scoring, imagine the potential scoring from these guys if their first responsibility wasn't to sit back.

They easily could be the highest-scoring team in the NHL.

The question that comes to my mind is with St. Louis expected to retire soon, how long will they be able to rely on St. Louis and Stamkos to provide that much offense?

That is something that can only be answered with time.

To Conclude

Guy Boucher has been a great coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

His 1-3-1 system has been incredibly effective and has been a reason for the recent success of this Lightning team.

It is a system that allows them to control the play of the game, and play a very efficient counter-attack game.

As effective as the system is, it has some negative results.

This 1-3-1 slows the game down, takes away the fast pace and action, makes for fewer scoring chances and goals and does not allow for the speed and skill of the players to be showcased.

So while this system is very effective and Tampa Bay runs it very well, it is still a system that is bad for the game of hockey.

Kevin Goff is a Featured Columnist for the Colorado Avalanche and NHL on Bleacher Report. For more NHL news and discussion,