Lightning at Ducks Preview: Two is better than one when it comes to points on the road

Game #71 – Tampa Bay Lightning at Anaheim Ducks
Time: 8:30 PM EST
Location: Honda Center
Broadcast/Streaming: BSSUN, BSSD, BSSC, ESPN+, Hulu

Opponent’s Site: Anaheim Calling

Preview

Look, I’m not going to lie. This preview is being written before the Lightning take on the L.A. Kings on Saturday night. The combination of a 10:30 PM start times and a 5:30 AM alarm didn’t leave much time to write a preview on back-to-back game night. So we’re either celebrating a season-high, six-game winning streak, or looking for the Lightning to rebound with a win and finish the road trip with a 4-1 record. Either way, these late-night games haven’t been in vain as Tampa Bay has continued to munch points and maintain their spot in the playoff race.

The playoffs are not in the cards for the well-rested Ducks (who haven’t played since their 4-0 win over the Blackhawks on Thursday). At 24-43-3 they are in a look-to-the-future mode as they hope to add some more top-tier talent in the draft this summer. Even with their mid-season trade of 21-year-old Jamie Drysdale, they still have a nice core of kids getting playing time this season.

Their number-one center, Leo Carlsson is just 19. Their number-two center, Mason McTavish is just 21 and their third pair of defensemen consists of 23-year-old Jackson LaCombe and 20-year-old Pavel Mintyukov. They also might be getting their most exciting player, Trevor Zegras (who is 23} back tonight. So many youths!

So, while they might be racking up the losses, they’re at least doing it with the core of their future team.

They have sprinkled in some veterans to help the kids learn about hockey. One of those graybeards is our old friend, Alex Killorn. It hasn’t been the season Killer has hoped for since signing his big free-agent deal last summer as injuries have hampered his effectiveness. When he’s been in the line-up, he’s produced as he has 14 goals and 16 assists in 51 games. It’s just an unfortunate fact that he’s only played in 51 games.

Another older veteran has been a pleasant surprise for them. Frank Vatrano signed a three-year contract with the Ducks prior to last season and had a nice 22-goal season for them in 2022-23. This year, the 30-year-old has built on that and hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. Along with his career-high 21 assists, his 51 points leads the Ducks in scoring this year. It’s actually a bit of a surprise that he didn’t get moved at the deadline as his $3.65 million cap hit is fairly reasonable for a 30-goal scorer.

Another veteran who wasn’t moved at the deadline is goaltender John Gibson. It hasn’t been a great season for the 193-game winner as he’s posted an .894 SV%, 3.40 GAA, and a 1.79 GSAx. Honestly, that last number is pretty impressive considering the Ducks are giving up 31.2 scoring chances per 60 minutes of play this season. Only the San Jose Sharks have given up more high-danger chances than Anaheim’s 13.8 per 60 minutes. What we’re saying is that the Bolts should have a few more quality looks at the net than they did against the Kings (I’m assuming it was a close, defensive effort for L.A.).

Despite the Ducks’ less-than-optimal record, this won’t be an easy game for the Lightning and they’ll have to be 100% engaged if they want to finish this trip on a high note.

Stats Match-up

Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines

Forwards
Anthony Duclair – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Steven Stamkos
Mitchell Chaffee – Nick Paul – Mikey Eyssimont

Tanner Jeannot – Luke Glendening – Tyler Motte

Defenders
Victor Hedman – Darren Raddysh
Matt Dumba – Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg – Nick Perbix

Goalies

Jonas Johansson

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Anaheim Ducks Projected Lines

Forwards
Alex Killorn – Leo Carlsson – Troy Terry

Frank Vatrano – Mason McTavish – Ryan Strome

Max Jones – Isac Lundestrom – Brett Leason

Ross Johnston – Bo Groulx – Jakob Silfverberg

Defenders
Cam Fowler – Olen Zellweger

Urho Vaakanainen – Gustav Lindstrom

Pavel Mintyukov – Jackson LaCombe

Goalies

John Gibson

Lukas Dostal

The Playoff Race