Game #44 – Anaheim Ducks (14-26-1) at Tampa Bay Lightning (21-17-5)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Amalie Arena
Broadcast/Streaming: BSSUN, BSSD, BSSC, ESPN+, HULU
Opponent’s Site: Anaheim Calling
Preview
In the middle of November the Anaheim Ducks had just beaten the Nashville Predators, 3-2, to run their record to a surprising 9-6-0. At that point their record was good enough to hold onto the first wild card spot in the Western Conference. Then…the offense went away.
They would embark on an eight-game losing streak which they snapped with a shootout win over Colorado. They then lost another five games in a row. Since November 14th they’ve gone 7-20-1, dropping them to 29th in the league. Along the way, the injuries have begun to pile up, first it was rookie Leo Carlsson. Max Jones, Trevor Zegras and Pavel Mintyukov have since joined their top draft pick on the sidelines. Starting goaltender (and possible trade bait) John Gibson is also nursing an injury and is day-to-day.
They also traded away young defensemen Jamie Drysdale to the Flyers in exchange for Cutter Gauthier, a talented prospect who is still in college. All of this change has led to one thing, old friend Alex Killorn is on the top line for them now. After missing the first 10 games due to a broken finger, Killer has 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 31 games. He’s currently skating alongside center Mason McTavish (27 points in 34 games) and Frank Vatrano (20 goals in 41 games), the team’s strongest line.
Unfortunately, they haven’t had much offense outside of the top line as they are averaging just 2.01 goals per 60 at 5v5. The only team struggling to score more is San Jose at 1.55 GF/60.
While Gibson has kept them in a lot of games, the defense in front of him has struggled as the Ducks have allowed 12.58 high-danger chances against per game at 5v5. The Lightning should be able to get some quality chances against them, even with a slightly depleted line-up.
Max Crozier was the latest member of the Crunch to be recalled after Erik Cernak left the game against the Devils early. Tanner Jeannot was moved to injured reserve as well, an indication that he might be out a bit longer. The Bolts do have a four-day break after this game, a break that they could use to get healthy.
Stats Match-up
| Game #44 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Anaheim Ducks |
| Overall Record | 21-17-5 | 14-26-1 |
| Home Record | 13-5-3 | 6-16-1 |
| Road Record | 8-12-2 | 8-10-0 |
| Goals For | 140 | 104 |
| Goals Against | 148 | 139 |
| xGF | 135.90 | 116.98 |
| xGA | 138.07 | 144.84 |
| Power Play | 27.9% | 19.2% |
| Penalty Kill | 80.7% | 79.8% |
| Last 10 Games | 6-4-0 | 2-7-1 |
Lines
Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines
Forwards
Steven Stamkos – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nick Paul
Gage Goncalves – Tyler Motte – Conor Sheary
Austin Watson – Luke Glendening – Mikey Eyssimont
Defenders
Victor Hedman – Nick Perbix
Calvin de Haan – Darren Raddysh
Emil Lilleberg – Philippe Myers
Goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
Anaheim Ducks Projected Lines
Forwards
Alex Killorn – Mason McTavish – Frank Vatrano
Ryan Strome – Adam Henrique – Troy Terry
Brock McGinn – Isac Lundestrom – Brett Leason
Bo Groulx – Sam Carrick – Jakob Silfverberg
Defenders
Urho Vaakanainen – Cam Fowler
Jackson Lacombe – Radko Gudas
Robert Hag – Ilya Lyubushkin
Goalies
Lukas Dostal
John Gibson (game-time decision)
Question of the Night
How many goals will Alex Killorn score tonight?
