Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes Game 62
Time: 7:-00 pm Eastern Time
Location: PNC Arena
Broadcast/Streaming: ESPN+, BSSUN, BSSO
Opponent SBNation Site: Canes Country
With the trade deadline in the not so distant past, the Tampa Bay Lightning have the roster that they hope will carry them all the way through the playoffs and back to the promised land. We should see the debut of the revamped third line with new additions Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul skating with Ross Colton.
It will likely take them awhile to find their chemistry, much like it took Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow a minute or three to catch on to the system. As long as it happens in time for the playoffs it’s all good. The good news is that they should have plenty of time to bond with their new teammates as tonight’s game kicks off a four-game road trip that takes them from Raleigh to Boston to Detroit to New York before they return home.
The games against Carolina and Boston will be good tests for the Lightning to see how their new-look line-up will fare against playoff competition. The Hurricanes are leading the Metro Division with a 41-15-6 record while Boston is just a point behind the Lightning as of this morning. While the Florida Panthers have a comfortable six point lead, only a single point separates the Lightning, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Boston Bruins. Tampa Bay needs wins now.
While a lot of eyes will be on the third line, it’s the top two lines that will need to be able to run and gun with the Hurricanes. While Brayden Point is humming right along, some of his linemates could use a boost. The struggles of Ondrej Palat and Anthony Cirelli in finding the back of the net is well documented, but even Steven Stamkos (7 games without a goal) and Nikita Kucherov (1 goal in his last 9) have hit a bit of a scoring rut. These streaks happen throughout the season and it’s unlikely that it will last much longer. Still, tonight would be a great night to put an end to some of these droughts.
Carolina waited until the last moment to pull of their deadline deal, picking up Max Domi right before the 3:00 PM buzzer. He’s not expected to be in the line-up tonight, but will bring some added offense to them down the stretch. They are currently 11th in the league at 3.26 goals per game so a little extra firepower couldn’t hurt. Defense has been their strength this season, keeping teams to a league best 2.37 goals against per game.
It should be a pretty fun contest, and much like the game against the New York Rangers over the past weekend, should have a playoff-esque feel to it.
Tampa Bay Lightning Lines
Forwards
Ondrej Palat – Brayden Point – Anthony Cirelli
Alex Killorn – Steven Stamkos – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Ross Colton – Nick Paul
Pat Maroon – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Corey Perry
Defensemen
Victor Hedman – Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh – Zach Bogosian
Mikhail Sergachev – Erik Cernak
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Carolina Hurricanes Potential Lines
Forwards
Teuvo Teravainen – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov – Vincent Trocheck – Martin Necas
Steven Lorentz – Jordan Staal – Jesper Fast
Brendan Smith – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Derek Stepan
Defensemen
Jacob Slavin – Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei – Brett Pesce
Ian Cole – Ethan Bear
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen
Antti Raanta
