3 teams that will be back in the playoffs this season

More than one team that missed out on the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs should find its way back into the dance in 2018.

This past spring's postseason featured the usual crop of powerhouses, but a few talented clubs were surprisingly absent.

One went deep into the spring two years in a row before suffering a major setback this past campaign, while another followed up a historic achievement with a coaching change and failed to overcome a couple of health setbacks of its own.

A third club boasts two of the most gifted offensive players in the game, but fell short of expectations due to poor goaltending.

Here are three squads that will return to the postseason in 2018:

Tampa Bay Lightning

Steven Stamkos' torn meniscus was obviously a devastating blow for the Lightning, and despite their best efforts, they couldn't sneak into the playoffs after losing their captain to the significant injury in November.

Still, after reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and the Eastern Conference Final one year later, Tampa Bay only missed out on qualifying for the postseason by a single point in 2017. The Lightning finished with more regular-season wins than the Toronto Maple Leafs, who edged them out for the second wild-card spot in the East, and the Nashville Predators, who made an improbable run to the final in June.

Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman did some tweaking in the offseason, acquiring defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev for electric winger Jonathan Drouin, and adding depth players Chris Kunitz and Dan Girardi.

If Stamkos can stay healthy for the balance of the 2017-18 schedule, Tampa Bay shouldn't have too much trouble returning to the playoffs.

Florida Panthers

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

The Sunshine State's other squad should also get back in the postseason next spring.

Losing two of their best players, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, to injury last season put the Florida Panthers in an early hole that arguably cost Gerard Gallant his job as head coach.

Still, Florida boasts one of the best and most exciting collections of relatively young players in the NHL, including Barkov, Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad, and Vincent Trocheck - and the Panthers added Evgeny Dadonov, a 30-goal scorer in the KHL last season, to the roster this summer.

Florida fell flat in 2016-17 after winning its first Atlantic Division title in the previous campaign, but if the Panthers' two young stars can avoid significant injury this time around, getting back into the postseason shouldn't be difficult.

Dallas Stars

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Jim Nill's been the busiest GM in the league this summer, and his Stars are primed for a return engagement in the playoffs as a result.

Nill addressed the club's goaltending woes by acquiring Ben Bishop and signing him to a six-year contract in May, then added steady defenseman Marc Methot in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights and signed free-agent forwards Martin Hanzal and Alexander Radulov in early July.

Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn combined for 141 points last season, but the Stars didn't have the offensive depth, nor the stability on defense or in goal, to compete for a playoff spot.

However, the new-look Dallas squad should show enough improvement to grab a Western Conference wild-card spot this April.

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