Penguins at Lightning Preview and Game Thread: Back at home

Game Seventy-one: Pittsburgh Penguins (29-32-11) at Tampa Bay Lightning (40-25-5)

Time: 7:00 PM EST

Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa

TV/Stream/Radio: FDSNSUN, SN-PIT, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App

Odds: Lightning -285

Know the Opponents: Pensburgh

Story Lines and Notes

The good news is that the Lightning’s three-game road trip is over. What started with a promising win over the Dallas Stars flamed out a little with losses to Utah and Vegas over the weekend. Now that the time zone hopping portion of the season is over, the Lightning can buckle down and focus on qualifying and getting ready for the playoffs.

It’s kind of odd that only one team, the Washington Capitals, has clinched a playoff spot despite most teams having played at 70 games of their schedule so far. The goal of parity is at its peak this season and no team exemplifies it more than the Penguins. Despite a sub .500 record, and a trade deadline that saw them trade some of their players away for draft picks, Pittsburgh is still in the playoff hunt technically. With ten games to go, they are six points behind Montreal for that last wild-card spot.

Of course, the numbers are a bit tainted as there are four teams between Pittsburgh and Montreal, and the Penguins have played more games than all but one of those teams (the Boston Bruins). Could the Penguins go on a run and sneak into that final spot? Of course, weirder things have happened over the years, but it’s not likely.

They have been playing better of late, and a lot of that rests on the back of Old Man Sid. While the man who he will always be lumped in with, Alex Ovechkin, is chasing an immortal number, Sidney Crosby is just putting up points at a consistent pace. He’s at 78 points (25 goals, 53 assists) in 70 games and is well on his way to another 90-point season. While he’s not going to pass Wayne Gretzky on the goals or points chart, Crosby did pass The Great One in one offensive category – most points with a single franchise. Sid now has 1,670 points with Pittsburgh, one more than Gretzky had with the Oilers. Granted, Crosby still doesn’t own the franchise record in that department as Mario Lemieux recorded 1,723 with the Penguins (Gordie Howe holds the record with 1,809 for the Red Wings).

In net, Tristan Jarry has returned from his semi-exile to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to rediscover his form at the NHL level. Since his recall from the AHL he is 4-1-1 with a .924 SV% and 2.47 GAA. Not too shabby for a player that cleared waivers prior to the trade deadline.

On the other end of the ice, according to reports from the morning skate, Jonas Johansson was back practicing with the team after having to leave them over the weekend for personal reasons. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the first skater off of the ice, so he will likely get the start tonight.

The lines were shuffled a bit this morning as well with Nikita Kucherov returning to the top line with Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel. Yanni Gourde returned to centering the third line while Nick Paul moved out to the wing on the second line. If the Bolts return to their 12/6 line-up, this will likely be the rotation.

While the Lightning missed a chance to move up in the standings over the weekend, it wasn’t all bad news, especially in the Vegas game. Yes, they got behind early and couldn’t mount a comeback, but Brayden Point, who had been scuffling along all month, found the back of the net against Utah. If he can get back on track, a lot of good things will happen down the stretch.

If our math is correct (and it might not be) the Lightning’s magic number is right around 13 points. So any combination of them picking up 13 points or the New York Islanders (the first team outside of the wild-card race) losing 13 points will guarantee them a playoff spot. The Bolts do have a home-and-home with the Islanders early next month which could put the matter to rest, but picking up as many wins down the stretch will not only help them clinch, but keep their dream for winning the division alive.

Stats

Potential Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning

Forwards:

Defense:

Goaltenders:

Pittsburgh Penguins

Forwards:

Defense:

Goaltenders: