Game #26 – Dallas Stars (14-5-3) at Tampa Bay Lightning (10-10-5)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Amalie Arena
Broadcast/Streaming: BSSUN, ESPN+,
Opponent’s Site: Defending Big D
Preview
No one likes losing 8-1. Players, coaches, fans, owners, general managers would all tell you that they would prefer not to be at the end of that score. However, it happens from time to time in the world of sports. The important part of losing 8-1 is how a team reacts to it. Do they say “woe is us” and slump their way to three or four more losses, or do they acknowledge it, turn the page, and figure out how to not let it happen again?
That’s the question facing the Lightning tonight. After the 8-1 loss to the Stars on Saturday afternoon, they had a day to deal with it. Now, they have something that doesn’t come along very often in a NHL regular season a chance to extract a little immediate revenge. The Stars are in town to take on the Lightning again tonight.
While the loss did punctuate a four-game losing streak for the Lightning, it’s not the end of the world. Just a little over a week ago, it looked like the Lightning had their season back on track with wins in four out of five games, including an 8-2 thrashing of the very good Carolina Hurricanes. Even though the road trip soured, in their first they losses, they’ve played really well for the majority of the games. Unfortunately, they’ve just paid for each and every mistake it seems by allowing them to end up in goals.
With just 10 wins in their first 25 games, the Lightning are not where they want to be and this season has been a struggle. Yet, despite that, they are just a point out of a playoff spot and four points out of the third spot in the Atlantic Division. Yes, they have played a couple of more games than the teams they are chasing, but the fact remains is that we shouldn’t be scouring prospects or lining up trade proposals just yet.
To get back on track, they need to start with outplaying the Stars in the first period. After that, outplay them in the second period. Finally, finish strong in the third period. The Bolts really do need to start breaking this down almost to shift-by-shift levels. They can’t win six games in one night, but if they can win three periods and post a W, they can build off of that for the next game.
While the loss to the Stars was a defensive mess, they’ve actually been playing fairly decently during this losing streak. If they can get back to not allowing the odd-skater rushes or getting trapped in their own zone, then they can work on converting some of the offensive chances they’ve generated. Hockey is a weird game. As Coach Cooper pointed out, they scored 8 goals on 14 shots against Carolina and since then have gone on a 5-for-144 cooler. This is not a team that will shoot 3.4% for much longer.
The season is 82 games long and the loss to Dallas is just one game. If they can throw a win out there tonight and then another against Pittsburgh at home, they’ll head out on their west coast trip with a little confidence. A long road trip could be just what this team needs to get themselves together and figure out who they are.
Stats Match-up
| Game #26 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Dallas Stars |
| Overall Record | 10-10-5 | 14-5-3 |
| Home Record | 6-3-3 | 6-4-1 |
| Road Record | 4-7-2 | 8-1-2 |
| Goals For | 83 | 79 |
| Goals Against | 93 | 62 |
| xGF | 84.6 | 72.42 |
| xGA | 80.15 | 66.50 |
| Power Play | 31.8% | 22.7% |
| Penalty Kill | 82.4% | 88.5% |
Lines
Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines
Forwards
Steven Stamkos – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Michael Eyssimont
Tanner Jeannot – Nick Paul – Alex Barré-Boulet
Tyler Motte – Luke Glendening – Austin Watson
Defenders
Victor Hedman – Nick Perbix
Mikhail Sergachev – Erik Cernak
Calvin de Haan – Darren Raddysh
Goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
Dallas Stars Projected Lines
Forwards
Jason Robertson – Roope Hintz – Joe Pavelski
Mason Marchment – Matt Duchene – Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn – Wyatt Johnston – Ty Dellandrea
Sam Steel – Radek Faska – Craig Smith
Defenders
Ryan Suter – Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell – Jani Hakanpaa
Thomas Harley – Joel Hanley
Goalies
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Question of the Night
Can they get to the magic number of three goals against a team that plays really well on the road?
