Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning preview: Is anyone else still tired?

What are the odds this one goes long distance, too?

By LaurenKelly24@laurkelly24 Aug 13, 2020, 11:00am EDT

Columbus Blue Jackets v Tampa Bay Lightning - Game One

Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning: ROUND 1, GAME 2

Time: 3:00 pm Eastern Time

Location: Scotiabank Arena

Broadcast/Streaming: NBCSN, SN, SUN, FS-O, TVAS

Opponent SBNation Site: Jackets Cannon

Preview:

Well. Who’s ready to do this again?

If you somehow missed Game 1, which lasted an astonishing six-and-a-half hours and became the fourth-longest game in NHL playoff history, here’s a quick summary. The Lightning and Blue Jackets went toe-to-toe for eight periods, both goaltenders were exceptional, and overtime hero Brayden Point could barely speak in his postgame interview due to exhaustion.

That’s all in the past though, and the Bolts can’t afford to stay there. The Blue Jackets will have undoubtedly already reset themselves from what was a heartbreaking loss for them. It took a deflection, an own goal, and a knuckle puck in 5OT to beat Joonas Korpisalo, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

If Game 1 was any indication, goals will be hard to come by in this series. Thankfully, Andrei Vasilevskiy was equally up to the monstrous task of being perfect in the last five periods of that game and he’ll need to repeat that performance again tonight.

The Lightning will need to continue their strategy of peppering Korpisalo with shots and shutting things down defensively. They might not be so lucky to escape momentary lapses in judgement in Game 2 — including two bench minors for too many men on the ice.

Will fatigue be a factor in today’s game? That will be the biggest concern for members of both teams. And unless something changes, Tampa Bay will once again be without Steven Stamkos. Which will technically be the third full game these two have played since the start of the series.

Here’s hoping this one doesn’t last as long.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Forwards

Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Tyler Johnson

Barclay Goodrow - Yanni Gourde - Blake Coleman

Cedric Paquette - Mitchell Stephens - Carter Verhaeghe

Alex Volkov, Mathieu Joseph

Injured: Steven Stamkos

Defense Pairs

Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak

Mikhail Sergachev - Kevin Shattenkirk

Victor Hedman - Zach Bogosian

Braydon Coburn, Luke Schenn

Injured: Jan Rutta

Goaltenders

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Curtis McElhinney