Sundays in Salt Lake: Lightning vs. Mammoth preview

Game Twelve: Tampa Bay Lightning (5-4-2) at Utah Mammoth (8-3-0)

Time: 3:30 PM EST

Location: Delta Center, City of Saints, Utah

TV/Stream/Radio: Scripps, NHLN, SN, TVAS, Utah16, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App

Odds: Lightning -115

Know the Opponents: Utah on Ice

The Tampa Bay Lightning righted the ship on a season that was listing a bit too much to start the season. Their reward for clawing their way back to contention – a road trip through the mountains that kicks off in Salt Lake City against a Utah Mammoth team that exceeded expectations through the month of October.

Perils can be encountered by those that venture into this area of the country unprepared, just ask the Donner Party. While the Lightning are in no danger of losing their oxen while crossing the Great Salt Lake Desert, they are in danger of losing the ground they gained in the standings if they scuffle during this road trip that takes them from Salt lake City to Denver to Las Vegas, and finishes up, after a brief stop in Tampa, in Washington.

A 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers ended the Mammoth’s eight-game winning streak, which included three road wins and victories over Colorado and Winnipeg, the only teams ahead of them in the Central Division standings. They have that blend of young talent on the verge of breaking out mixed in with some strong veteran performances that will test the Lightning.

As for the Bolts, Nick Paul is joining them on the road trip, but isn’t expected to play. That delays a roster decision that has become a lot thornier than Julien BriseBois or Coach Jon Cooper were planning. Dominic James has done nothing to justify being removed from the line-up, nor has Zemgus Girgensons. Both have been playing regularly despite Coach Cooper leaning on an 11/7 rotation over the past few games.

That has made sense as it has allowed him to keep Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Emil Lilleberg in the line-up while rotating in Darren Raddysh. Things will be a little more complicated with the return of Max Crozier to the line-up, which is expected today. Based on practice the other day, Crozier was taking regular rushes with D’Astous. The odd skater out will likely be Raddysh. [UPDATE! Crozier is not in the line-up. Curtis Douglas gets the start with the team he was originally with as Coach Cooper goes 12/6.]

Up front, things are probably going to stay the same. Yanni Gourde was not on the ice for Friday’s practice, but that was dubbed a “maintenance day” by the team. Expect him to be back out there with Girgensons and Pontus Holmberg, a line that has been doing their job by tilting the ice in the Lightning’s favor and being general pains to play against.

The one line that is still looking for their footing a bit, even during this current winning streak, is the Jake Guentzel – Brandon Point – Nikita Kucherov trio. Over the last four games, they have been together on the ice for just two goals. A little deeper dive into the stats is a little more reassuring. They have outchanced their opponents 21-8 with a high-danger advantage of 8-2. They are generating the chances, and with the scoring talent of all three, it’s just a matter of time until the goals start going in for them.

While it’s nice that they are piling up the chances, it’s better to see that they are limiting the chances against them. While they may be one of the most prolific trios in Lightning history, they tend to give up almost as many chances as they generate. Despite spending about 10 fewer minutes together over the first seven games of the season (two of which Kucherov missed) they surrendered 7 more scoring chances and 3 more high-danger chances than they have during the current winning streak.

Wins always start in the defensive zone, so it’s not really a coincidence that the Lightning are getting better results with those three not being as irresponsible with the puck as they were earlier in the season. In fact, that goes for the entire team. They aren’t giving other teams as many easy chances with turnovers and it’s led to more zone time for the Lightning, and less pressure on the defense.

That is a trend that needs to continue as they go through one of their tougher road trips of the season. If they can pull off more points than games played, it’ll be a success. No need to wait around to start picking up those points, so getting off to a good start with a win in Salt Lake City would be nice to see.

Potential Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning

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Utah Mammoth

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