(My Sportsbook) - A quick glance at the Southeast Division standings will show that the Tampa Bay Lightning are in second place, but it doesn't reveal the strange path the team has taken in order to get there.

The Lightning are 8-8-1 on the season, but have been anything but consistent so far. Tampa has posted a pair of three-game winning streaks this year, but also had a stretch with six consecutive losses.

Currently, the Bolts are in the middle of a hot streak as they have won three straight on the heels of the aforementioned six-game slide. Fortunately for Tampa, all three victories in the current stretch have come against divisional opponents.

The Lightning's proclivity for hot-and-cold streaks in not really surprising since the team lives and dies on its offensive prowess. Tampa is sixth in the league with 3.18 goals scored per game and 25th with the same exact number of tallies surrendered per contest.

Tampa has four players with 18 or more points. Vincent Lecavalier has notched a team-high 24 points, Vaclav Prospal has 21, and Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards have notched 20 and 18 points, respectively.

The goaltending situation has not been solid for the Lightning as starting netminder Johan Holmqvist has continued to struggle. The 29-year-old backstop is 8-5-1, but has sub-par numbers otherwise with a .893 save percentage and lofty 2.87 goals against average.

The Lightning's current streak seemingly shows that Tampa is headed in the right direction, but if this season's trend holds, the next cold stretch is just around the corner.