Lightning at Senators Preview and Game Thread:

Game Seventy-five: Tampa Bay Lightning (44-25-5) at Ottawa Senators (39-29-6)

Time: 7:00 PM EST

Location: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa

TV/Stream/Radio: FDSNSUN, RDS2,TSN5, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App

Odds: Lightning

Know the Opponents: Silver Seven Sens

Story Lines and Notes

The Tampa Bay Lightning head into Ottawa looking to run their winning streak to five games and keep the pressure on the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs in the race to the top of the Atlantic Division. Coming off of a statement win against the Islanders where they locked things down in the third period on the road, the Bolts take on a Senators team that has given them some fits over the years.

That being said, they may be catching the Sens at the right time as their top center, Brady Tkachuk, has been dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him out of their loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. He is likely a game-time decision, but with little to be gained or lost for Ottawa in this contest, there is a good chance he sits out tonight. The Senators are pretty much locked into the first wild-card spot in the east.

After clawing their way back into the playoff picture with a six-game winning streak, the Sens have hit the skids a little of late, winning just three of their last eight while dropping games to Buffalo (twice) and Pittsburgh, teams that they should, at least on paper, have beaten.

They’ll be looking at tonight’s game as a bit of a measuring stick, and a potential first round match-up. If the Lightning do end up claiming the top spot in the Atlantic, they’ll play the first wild-card team, and that’s Ottawa right now. The offense has dried up a little during their recent stretch as they’ve only hit the four-goal mark once over that stretch. Not having Tkachuk in the line-up will make it even harder for them to run and gun with the Bolts tonight. Newcomer Dylan Cozens, the centerpiece of their deadline deal, has put up 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) in 13 games since moving over the border.

Linus Ullmark has kept them in games and is showing that he is a true number-one goalie. Their success tonight, and in the playoffs, will ride on his shoulder.

As for the Bolts, they’ll starting to resemble a team that can compete in the playoffs. Strong goaltending, production from their stars, and depth scoring, especially from the blueline, have helped propel them onto their four-game streak. Nikita Kucherov is back to his old tricks. After going back-to-back games without a point against Boston and Carolina, he’s put a nine-game point streak together and totaled 19 points (5 goals, 14 assists) since. It also seems like Oliver Bjorkstrand is settling in with his new team as he has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in his last 6 games.

The Lightning had a solid victory against the Islanders the last time they were on the ice. They put up another four goals, and after a few coverage breakdowns over the first forty minutes, locked down the defense in the third period, not allowing New York to get anything going. That type of performance hails back to their Cup run days when they got the lead and a put an anaconda-like grip on the other team. That’s playoff hockey right there, and if they can keep that rolling over the next eight games, it will bode well for their playoff hopes.

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