Tampa Bay Lightning at Dallas Stars: GAME #52
Time: 1:00 pm Eastern Time
Location: American Airlines Center
Broadcast/Streaming: ABC
Opponent SBNation Site: Defending Big D
DraftKings Line: Lightning +1.5 O/U 6
After defeating the Colorado Avalanche in their last game, the Tampa Bay Lightning have another Stanley Cup Final rematch. This time they’re facing the Dallas Stars, their opponent from the 2020 Stanley Cup Final. Don’t forget it’s another early game — the puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 PM ET – and it’s on network TV!
With the the game against the Stars, the Lightning are heading onto a four-game road trip, during which they’re going to play against some strong teams besides Dallas, including the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche. The victory in the last game should elevate their confidence after a slow return from an All-Star break.
After missing the last game, Nick Paul is still doubtful for today’s game, although Jon Cooper expects that he should be ready for the rest of the trip. Paul’s absence potentially means that the Lightning will roll 11/7 line-up once again with Cal Foote mixing in as a seventh defenceman. Brayden Point was also absent from the yesterday’s practice due to having a maintenance day and will play tonight in Dallas.
It will be the second and the last regular season meeting between Tampa Bay and Dallas this year. In their first meeting the Bolts defeated the Stars 5-4 in overtime at Amalie Arena. Alex Killorn scored an overtime winner and Brian Elliott recorded his fourth-straight victory. Getting a win tonight, however, will be a challenge for the Lightning as the Stars are currently on a seven-game point streak, shutting down the opponent three times over the last ten games. The Lightning also aren’t particularly great on the road, losing half of their away games and ranking only 24th in the league in point percentage in that category. Although the Lightning still have a solid record of playing against the Stars at the American Airlines Center, winning five of their ten latest games at this venue.
Meanwhile the Stars are having one of their best seasons in recent years. They’re comfortably sitting at the first place in their own division with a five-point lead over the Winnipeg Jets. Jason Robertson is leading his team with 69 (33+36) points in 53 games. With Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski they form one of the best line in the league this season, which currently ranks 10th among all forward lines, that played at least 200 minutes together, in expected goal share, according to Moneypuck.com. Jake Oettinger has been also one of the best players on this team this season, putting up career-high .926 save percentage and 2.22 GAA and bringing his name into a Vezina Trophy conversation.
Comparison chart:
Tampa Bay Lightning at Dallas Stars Comparison
| Game # 48 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Dallas Stars |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Record | 33-16-2 | 30-13-10 |
| Home Record | 21-4-2 | 15-5-6 |
| Road Record | 12-12-0 | 15-8-4 |
| Goals For | 183 | 178 |
| Goals Against | 151 | 134 |
| xGF | 176.19 | 180.89 |
| xGA | 163.44 | 157.33 |
| PP% | 26.7% | 24.8% |
| PK% | 79.9% | 83.5% |
Tampa Bay Lightning Potential Lines
Forward Lines
Steven Stamkos – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Alex Killorn
Vlad Namestnikov – Ross Colton – Corey Perry
Pat Maroon – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Defense Pairings
Victor Hedman – Zach Bogosian
Ian Cole – Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev – Nick Perbix
Cal Foote
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Dallas Stars Potential Lines
Forward Lines
Jason Robertson – Roope Hintz – Joe Pavelski
Mason Marchment – Radek Faksa – Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn – Wyatt Johnston – Ty Dellandrea
Marian Studenic – Luke Glendening – Denis Gurianov
Defense Pairings
Miro Heiskanen – Colin Miller
Ryan Suter – Nils Lundkvist
Esa Lindell – Jani Hakanpaa
Goaltenders
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
