Tampa Bay Lightning at New Jersey Devils: GAME #69
Time: 7:00 pm Eastern Time
Location: Prudential Center
Broadcast/Streaming: BSSUN, MSGSN, HULU, ESPN+
Opponent SBNation Site: All About the Jersey
Preview:
Just 48 hours after they last met, the Lightning and the Devils get back together for another hockey contest. Tuesday’s match ended with a 4-1 victory for the Lightning as they overcame a lukewarm first period (aided by a couple of posts) to rather thoroughly defeat New Jersey. Branden Hagel scored a goal and added two assists as he was all over the ice and Andrei Vasilevskiy only allowed an early Damon Severson goal before shutting the door the rest of the way.
There was a sense that the more-experienced Lightning team showed the young Devils a thing or two about winning a playoff-type game. Tonight, will be a test to see if the Devils can adjust their play to match the Lightning. Don’t expect too many changes on New Jersey’s side, except perhaps a change in net with the youngster Akira Schmid getting the start over Vitek Vanecek, who struggle a bit in the second period.
On the Lightning side, it appears that Steven Stamkos may draw back into the line-up after missing the last game. He practiced with the team yesterday, taking reps on the second line with Nick Paul and Ross Colton as Coach Jon Cooper mixes things up a little bit. Anthony Cirelli dropped down to a third line with Alex Killorn and Tanner Jeannot.
Pairing Paul and Stamkos could be an attempt to kickstart Paul’s offense as he’s gone 12 games without a goal and only has one tally over his last 23 games. Paul scored 5 goals when he was on a line with Stamkos and Killorn, the most he’s scored with any teammates this season. While he’s embraced a less-offensive role on the third line, it would be nice to see him start finding the back of the net again.
The two teams will have have a few days off after tonight before getting back together for one more match next Sunday at Amalie Arena.
Comparison chart:
Tampa Bay at New Jersey Comparison
| Game # 69 | Tampa Bay Lightning | New Jersey Devils |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Record | 40-22-6 | 44-17-6 |
| Home Record | 24-6-5 | 19-13-2 |
| Road Record | 16-16-1 | 25-4-4 |
| Goals For | 235 | 234 |
| Goals Against | 205 | 178 |
| xGF | 234.55 | 243.77 |
| xGA | 214.12 | 192.41 |
| PP% | 25.4% | 21.4% |
| PK% | 79.9% | 82.2% |
Tampa Bay Lightning Potential Lines
Forward Lines
Brandon Hagel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Ross Colton – Steven Stamkos – Nick Paul
Tanner Jeannot – Anthony Cirelli – Alex Killorn
Pat Maroon – Michael Eyssimont – Corey Perry
Defense Pairings
Victory Hedman – Nick Perbix
Mikhail Sergachev – Darren Raddysh
Ian Cole – Erik Cernak
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
New Jersey Devils Potential Lines
Forward Lines
Tomas Tatar – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Timo Meier – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat – Erik Huala – Jesper Boqvist
Miles Wood – Michael McLeod – Curtis Lazar
Defense Pairings
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Ryan Graves – John Marino
Brendan Smith – Damon Severson
Goalies
Akira Schmid
Vitek Vanecek
