Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings Preview and Game Day Thread

Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings: GAME #58

Time: 8:00 pm Eastern Time

Location: Little Caesars Arena

Broadcast/Streaming: BSSUN, BSDET, ESPN+, HULU

Opponent SBNation Site: Winging It In Motown

The Tampa Bay Lightning are back on the road with two quick stops in Detroit and Pittsburgh this weekend. After losing to the Buffalo Sabres, the Bolts are again facing a highly-motivated team, who’s massively pushing for a playoff spot.

The Lightning will be missing Erik Cernak, who was suspended for two games for elbowing Kyle Okposo during their previous game on Thursday. Besides him, the team is already missing Zach Bogosian, who is away from the team on a personal matter. In Cernak’s absence, Cal Foote will likely return to the lineup. Foote hasn’t played since last week’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. So far this season Foote played in just 25 games with the Bolts, recording one goal and two assists, averaging about 14 minutes per game. His name is often involved in rumors about potential Tampa Bay’s trade deadline moves.

The Red Wings have a perfect record against the Lightning this season as they’ve beaten them in both games so far. While it was mostly Ville Husso, who stole the win for Detroit in their first game, stopping 44 shots on that night, the Bolts struggled at 5-on-5 against the Red Wings’s top line, eventually allowing seven goals in that game.

With the Lightning facing the Penguins tomorrow night, Brian Elliott could be getting the start for the Bolts. In his last outing. Elliott played well in his last outing, getting credit for a 26-save shutout in the Lightning 1-0 shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes. The veteran netminder played against the Red Wings earlier this season, surrendering 5 goals on 29 shots in a 7-4 loss back in December.

Meanwhile, the Red Wings made a change in their approach to the trade deadline over the last couple of weeks. Just several days ago they were considered mostly as sellers, trying to trade Tyler Bertuzzi, who was even on the Lightning’s radar for a moment. That change significantly lately as Detroit posted seven wins in nine games since the All-Star break, reviving their playoff hopes. Currently they’re tied with Buffalo for the second wild card spot, while having a three-point gap behind the New York Islanders and five games in hand.

Dylan Larkin is leading his team with 57 (22+35) points in 56 games this season, that’s 20 points more than the second-best player Dominik Kubalik. Jakub Vrana recently returned to the line-up after entering NHL/NHLPA player assistance program early in the season and then being assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins, where he spent the majority of the season. He played in both recent games against the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers, overall this season he has two points in four games.

The Red Wings’ Lucas Raymond is questionable for tonight’s game after missing last two weeks with a lower-body injury he sustained during a practice on February 10.

Comparison chart:

Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings Comparison

Tampa Bay Lightning Potential Lines

Forward Lines

Brandon Hagel - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov

Anthony Cirelli - Steven Stamkos - Alex Killorn

Ross Colton - Nick Paul - Patrick Maroon

Vlad Namestnikov - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Corey Perry

Defense Pairings

Victor Hedman - Nick Perbix

Mikhail Sergachev - Cal Foote

Haydn Fleury - Ian Cole

Goaltenders

Brian Elliott

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Detroit Red Wings Potential Lines

Forward Lines

Tyler Bertuzzi - Dylan Larkin - Dominik Kubalik

Michael Rasmussen - Andrew Copp - David Perron

Jakub Vrana - Joe Veleno - Robby Fabbri

Filip Zadina - Pius Suter - Oskar Sundqvist

Defense Pairings

Jake Walman - Moritz Seider

Ben Chiarot - Filip Hronek

Olli Maatta - Robert Hagg

Goaltenders

Ville Husso

Magnus Hellberg