Game Four: Tampa Bay Lightning (3-0-0) at Ottawa Senators (2-2-0)
Time: 1:00 PM EST
Location: Canadian Tire Centre
TV/Stream/Radio: BSSUN, SN, RDS, ESPN+, 102.5 FM
Odds: Lightning -115
The Tampa Bay Lightning are in Ottawa this afternoon as they start a three-game road trip that will also feature their first set of back-to-back games when they play Toronto and New Jersey on Monday and Tuesday. First, they will have to take on an Ottawa Senators crew that is off to a decent start this season. The Senators have alternated losses and wins through their first four games, with their most recent game a 3-1 loss to the seemingly invincible New Jersey Devils.
Brady Tkachuk (1 goal, 5 assists), Tim Stutzle (3 goals, 3 assists) and a healthy Josh Norris (2 goals, 2 assists) are pacing their offense while Linus Ullmark and his new contract are 1-1 with a 2.58 GAA and .914 Save Percentage. They have had some issues killing penalties (their 69.2% success rate is 27th in the league) but have been dynamic on the power play, converting 37.5% of their chances on the young season.
They have always played the Lightning tough, including last season when they went 3-1 against Tampa Bay. The dynamic speed of their forwards have given the Lightning fits, and there is no reason to expect anything different in this game.
After a tidy 2-0 home stand, the Lightning are taking their show on the road. While the 5v5 play has been excellent, there has been some drop off in their special teams production with the power play ranking 21st in the league at 15.4% and the penalty kill at 15th with an 80% success rate. Granted, they have only allowed two power play goals on the season through three games, so that number is a little skewed.
The power play may be a bit more concerning at this point as they just haven’t figured out the right approach with the new personnel that are manning the first unit. Darren Raddysh and Jake Guentzel have been added to the trio of Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Victor Hedman. After a 2-for-6 performance on Opening Night, they have gone 0-for-7 in their last two games, which includes a 5-on-3 against Vegas that was more than a minute long.
They came close a couple of times on the 5-on-3, and generated probably should have been rewarded with at least one goal as they generated 5 high-danger chances in a short amount of time. Outside of that, entering the zone has been an issue for the first unit. It was especially noticeable against Vancouver when entry after entry was denied at the blue line or quickly swept out after one pass. They have been trying to carry the puck in a lot with Point and Kucherov, something that has been successful in the past, but has yet to click this season.
When that unit does get set up, it’s been decidedly one-sided as other teams are collapsing on the right side where Kucherov likes to run the show. As of yet, Raddysh hasn’t shot the puck consistently enough to make their opponents honor him when they’re short-handed. He did look a little better against Vegas, we haven’t really seen him unleash his big one-timer yet. If he can crank a couple of those at the net, the penalty killers will have to start respecting that and it will open up some more space for Kucherov.
As for Guentzel, he’s looked fairly competent playing the down low position we’ve seen bigger players like Alex Killorn and Nick Paul occupy in the past. At times it does seem a little crowded down low with Kucherov, Point and Guentzel all occupying the same space, so perhaps we might see Kuch loop around to the left side as he was doing in the preseason to mix up the looks a little.
The road trip will be a good test for the Lightning as they face a fast, young team in Ottawa, a good team in Toronto, and a well-balanced team in New Jersey. As always, Coach Cooper will be looking for the team to gobble up more points than games played, and if they can continue the strong 5v5 play we’ve seen through the first three games, they have a good chance to do just that.
As a reminder, this will serve as the live game thread for posting comments today and we’ll have a regular recap later tonight.
Potential Lightning Lines:
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nick Paul
Mikey Eyssimont – Conor Geekie – Conor Sheary
Zemgus Girgensons – Luke Glendening – Mitchell Chaffee
Defense:
Victor Hedman – JJ Moser
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Darren Raddysh – Nick Perbix
Goaltender:
Andrei Vasilevskiy
The lines are based on the assumption that Coach Cooper will keep his rotation going with Cam Atkinson and Conor Sheary as well as Nick Perbix and Emil Lilleberg. There is also the chance he goes back to an 11/7 line-up like he did for their other road game this year.
Potential Senators Lines:
Forwards:
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stutzle – Michael Amadio
Claude Giroux – Josh Norris – Drake Batherseon
Noah Gregor – Shane Pinto – David Perron
Nick Cousins – Adam Gaudette – Zack MacEwen
Defense:
Jake Sanderson – Travis Harmonic
Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven – Jacob Bernar-Docker
Goaltender:
Linus Ullmark
