Lightning at Canadiens Game Preview: One more to go

Game Fifty-five: Tampa Bay Lightning (30-20-4) at Montreal Canadiens (25-25-5)

Time: 1:00 PM EST

Location: Centre Bell, Montreal

TV/Stream/Radio: FDSNSUN, TSN2 RDS, NHL Network, 102.5 FM, Lightning App

Odds: Lightning -148

Know the Opponents: Eyes on the Prize

Back on January 21st, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to claw within one point of the third-place Lightning. Since then, the Lightning have righted the ship a bit as they won five of their next eight and are still in third place. On the other hand, the wheels came off of the Canadiens’ wagon as they lost seven of eight games and have, for all intents and purposes, faded from the playoff race.

It’ll still be on the Lightning to go out and get the job done. They picked up the win against Detroit, but it wasn’t their best performance of the year despite the six goals they scored. We often hear the phrase “process over outcomes” from the Channelside offices, but the 6-3 win flipped that saying around. The Lightning won despite wandering from their process for a vast portion of the game. The good news is that they have an Andrei Vasilevskiy in net.

They also finished off their offensive opportunities Chances that were bouncing over sticks, or clanging off the iron went in the net a week ago are now going in the net. Coach Cooper post-game quip about struggling to score four goals in a week, let alone in one period, was a little too on the nose. So, perhaps the tides are turning for the team.

That doesn’t mean they can relax and leave the offense in the hands of the hockey gods. Part of the reason that they’re emerging from their slump is that they kept generating chances even when they weren’t scoring. Puck luck isn’t always gifted to teams, it’s usually handed out to the ones that put in the work in front of the net.

Case in point – Brandon Hagel. The Bolt player most likely to kill a guy with a trident in a street fight went almost two weeks without a goal, but was still out there creating chances, posting a 2.56 iXG in all situations from January 16th to the 28th (fourth on the team). Despite generating 25 individual scoring chances he couldn’t buy a goal. He powered through the frustration and has six goals in his last five games.

As nice as it was to see them pot six goals against the Red Wings, there were portions of the game where they were being a little too slick with their breakout attempts that led to some issues. We often grow frustrated with their over-passing in the offensive zone, but on occasions the forwards and blueliners try to get a little fancy with their outlet passes which lead to a few too many turnovers and long shifts in their own zones.

In order to pick up the win today (and avoid a season-series sweep) the Bolts need to get back to simplifying their breakouts. There were way too many turnovers in the defensive zone which led to sustained pressure from the Red Wings. Too many times Lightning players assumed their teammates would be in a position without checking to make sure they were actually there, allowing the passes to get picked off.

This is the last contest for the Bolts prior to a nice long break (for most of the players) and we’re sure that they’re looking forward to whatever they have planned. The players that are competing in the 4 Nations Face-Off are probably checking out their practice schedules while the players that aren’t competing have their beach vacations lined up (or if you’re Nikita Kucherov, you’re looking forward to whipping pucks at the net in your garage), but they can’t overlook today’s game.

Their recent points streak, along with some positive outcomes from games around the league (Ottawa and Toronto losing) has secured third place for them prior to the break. However, a win today could have them within two points of second place, and possible home ice in the first round of the playoffs. It would also put them four points up in the wild card race and six points clear of being out of the playoffs.

Yes, there is a lot of hockey to be played, but a win today will make that final stretch a lot easier for them over the last quarter of the season.

Potential Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning

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Defense:

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Montreal Canadiens

Forwards:

Defense:

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