The Tampa Bay Lightning became the first team to be eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs after losing their fourth straight game against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Here is a look back at the highs and lows of the Florida-based team in 2013-14.

Highs

Even though the team wound up swept in the first round, it is easy to forget that this is a team made up primarily of rookies and youngsters. Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Radko Gudas and Nikita Kucherov all had an impact on this team despite the fact that they lacked experience. Palat led the team in scoring with 23 goals and 59 points. Most impressive of all is the fact that the youngster led this team to the playoffs while the team underwent a lot of crisis. Tampa lost Steven Stamkos to injury for four months before having to see captain Martin St. Louis leave under stressful circumstances during the trade deadline. Most importantly, this team still has some solid prospects in the pipeline and could have two first round picks in the upcoming draft.

Another major highlight for the team was how it finished the season. With a chance to take home ice advantage in the first round, the Lightning managed to win their last four games and five of their last eight.

Lows

The on-ice product was solid throughout the year. But the team was affected by a lot of other circumstances. The loss of Steven Stamkos was a big blow for the team, and while they managed to overcome playing without arguably the greatest sniper in the world, who knows how much better this team is in the standings with Stamkos in the lineup.

However the biggest low of the year was Martin St. Louis. The team's falling out with its emblematic star was melodramatic. Manager Steve Yzerman left him off the Olympic roster when it was first announced and then managed to get him on the trip to Sochi only after Stamkos was injured. Most questioned Yzerman's inability to defend his star player and apparently St. Louis did as well. He was traded to the Rangers during the deadline, but not before more embarrassment ensued. St. Louis wrote a strange public letter to the fans in Tampa, emphasizing the fact that things did not go well. It is interesting to note that the team lost five straight games around the March 5 trade deadline, indicating that the story might have been a major distraction in the locker room.

2013-14 MVP

A year ago, the Lightning faltered in the regular season without a top netminder. Ben Bishop solved that problem this season with a stellar breakout year. The 27-year-old played 63 games for the team and managed a stunning .924 save percentage (league average is .915). He was the main reason why this team was able to make a deep run during the regular season despite the loss of the team's two top players. His loss in the playoffs to injury proved critical as the team languished in net.

Elimination Scapegoat

So who is at fault for the Lightning's swift first round exit? That would have to go to backup goalie Anders Lindback, who had a woeful regular season and proved unable to step up his game when it really mattered. The Swedish netminder posted a putrid .891 save percentage during the regular season and only stopped 88.1 percent of the shots he faced in the four playoff games. His run in net was so bad that he did not even get a chance to play the full 60 minutes of Game 4. He conceded three or more goals in every single playoff game against Montreal. If the team had had solid netminding, there is no reason to believe that it would have managed to steal a win or two as Montreal's own goalie Carey Price struggled at times in the series, particularly in Games 1 and 4.