Lightning at Red Wings Game Preview: Another day, another important game

Game Fifty-four: Tampa Bay Lightning (29-20-4) at Detroit Red Wings (28-21-5)

Time: 1:00 PM EST

Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

TV/Stream/Radio: ABC, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App

Odds: Lightning -142

Know the Opponents: Winging it in Motown

The Detroit Red Wings under Todd McLellan are nothing if not streaky. After he was hired they rolled off a seven-game winning streak. Then they had a three-game losing streak (including a 5-1 loss to the Bolts). Now, they’re on another seven-game heater (including a 2-0 win over Tampa Bay). The latest winning streak has nuzzled them up right behind the Lightning as they enter today’s contest just one point behind the Bolts in the standings.

So, after claiming two wins against the Senators that allowed them to leap-frog Ottawa into third place, they now need a win to keep Detroit (and possibly Ottawa) from doing the same thing to them. Expect it to stay this way for at least the next couple of weeks in the Eastern Conference.

It’s going to be another grind of a game as the goaltending duo of Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon have been brick walls during this winning streak. Talbot is carrying a .938 Save Percentage and 9.45 GSAx over the last few weeks while Lyon is at .946 and 6.00. Their play has masked the fact that, during this streak, the Red Wings have been giving up quite a few scoring chances (29.55/60, sixth-most during the time frame).

That should be good news for a team like the Lightning that feasts on generating scoring opportunities. The key will be to capitalize on them. During their four-game point streak, we’ve seen them get back to actually scoring goals. They aren’t quite up to the scoring pace they were at during their torrid start to the season, but it’s been an improvement over whatever January was.

The lines will likely be mixed-and-matched again, especially if Anthony Cirelli is out. Dylan Duke was recalled on Friday and would slot into the third-line role that Conor Sheary had against Ottawa on Thursday. One of the nice things about injuries is it does give players chances they might otherwise not have. Gage Goncalves found himself on the top line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov and he didn’t disappoint as that line generated a team-high 12 shot attempts. Goncalves ended up an assist and three shots on net in almost twelve minutes of play.

Expect a little chippiness in the game as well. There is a chance that J.T. Compher will be back in the line-up for the Red Wings, and they haven’t forgotten the hit from Emil Lilleberg that led to the veteran missing a few games.

Potential Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning

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Detroit Red Wings

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