Lightning Round: Which Frederik Andersen will the Bolts face on Tuesday

In case you missed it this weekend, the Florida Panthers put a dramatic end to the Carolina Hurricanes nine-game winning streak on Saturday. The Panthers scored four times in the first period and held on for a 5-2 win. On Tuesday the Tampa Bay Lightning will face the Canes who will be highly motivated to start a new winning streak.

It’s likely that Freddie Andersen will be in net despite surrendering four goals on twenty-seven shots against Florida. Mainly because Antti Raanta suffered an upper-body injury after this collision with Ryan Lomberg:

The Finnish netminder was sent “home” on Sunday for further evaluations so it’s unlikely he’ll be back and ready to play on Tuesday.

Andersen started the season allowing more than three goals only once in his first seven starts and ripped off a nice string of five straight allowing one goal or less. However, in his last two starts he’s been touched up for a total of seven goals and seen his save percentage dip to .877. That’s not elite at all. Is it a trend or just a blip on the season long radar?

This will be the toughest test the Lightning have faced since they’ve gotten their season back under control. Carolina is one of the deepest teams in the league and one of the few teams that can match the Bolts in terms of speed. With their blueline missing one of their better skaters (Mikhail Sergachev) the speed could give them fits.

Playing a motivated Carolina team should generate some exciting hockey.

Lightning / NHL News

A swing isn’t just a swing to Alex Killorn [Tampa Bay Times]

It’s a little early in the season to be discussing the Lightning’s golf game, yet here we are. Things we learned in this article, Killer tries to play two or three times a week during the season and he recently switched from TaylorMade clubs (hey, that’s what I play with!) to Srixons. It’s also interesting that he swings from the right side despite shooting left-handed.

Why Brian Elliott is an X-factor for the Lightning this season [The Athletic]

With an expectation of starting around 22 games this season, Elliott could have an important role in determining where the Lightning end up in the standings at the end of the season. If he plays like he did against Ottawa, things will be okay.

Tuesday is Miltary Appreciation Night at Amalie [Tampa Bay Lightning]

Among other honors and ceremonies, anthem singer Sonya Bryson-Kirksey will receive the Veterans Council of Hillsborough County award for Patriotism during the second intermission.

Add another photo to the “Celebraties in a Lightning Sweater” collection