Game Twenty-Eight: Tampa Bay Lightning (15-10-2) at Seattle Kraken (15-14-2)
Time: 10:00 PM EST
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
TV/Stream/Radio: FDSNSUN, KHN, KONG, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App
Odds: Lightning -130
The Other Side: Davy Jones’ Locker Room
Do we list the potential lines at the end of this post? Yes, we do. Are we, in any way, confident of the defensive pairings that are included in those potential lines? No, no we are not. Yesterday, we mentioned that things are at sixes and nines when it comes to defensive pairings right now. Unfortunately, the Lightning can’t call in sick tonight, the game must go on and there will be six defensemen (we think) that take the ice against the Seattle Kraken.
We’re pretty sure that Emil Lilleberg and Ryan McDonagh will be out there. Nick Perbix will probably be out there, either on the left or right side. Darren Raddysh is another solid bet. After that, well, it’s anyone’s guess. Victor Hedman and J.J. Moser were not on the ice for practice, and Coach Cooper implied it was highly doubtful that Moser would play tonight. Erik Cernak was on the ice, so that’s good, but we don’t know if that was to see how he was recovering from his latest injury, or if he is indeed ready to return to the line-up.
While nothing official has been announced as of yet, a quick perusal of the Syracuse Crunch’s line-up last night showed one notable absence on defense. Declan Carlile was not on the ice in the 2-1 overtime loss to the Hershey Bears. Was he on a plane to Seattle? Was he hurt? Only The Shadow knows! Well, and the Lightning coaching staff.
It’s a bit of a mess right now, which is a shame, because it takes away from the fact that the Lightning have had a pretty solid road trip in some difficult buildings. They are currently 2-1, and their loss was a couple of inches above the crossbar away from being at least an overtime game. After calling it a “bad hockey game” even Coach Cooper walked things back and praised the defensive effort from his charges.
Worth noting is the fact that, despite the barrage of battered blueliners, the team’s defense has been pretty solid in December. In four games so far they’ve allowed just 7 goals, with 3 of them coming against Calgary. Solid goaltending has helped, but some of the little issues that plagued the Lightning during their last swoon have been worked out of their play. Breakouts have been cleaner and quicker, turnovers have been minimal (but not non-existent), and with the exception of the first two periods against Edmonton, opponents haven’t been getting behind the defense.
How long they are able to sustain this success is certainly questionable. No team can withstand a prolonged absence of three of their four top defensemen, so the hope must be that whatever is ailing Hedman, Cernak, and Moser is temporary. After tonight’s contest, the Lightning have just four games over the next thirteen days, so they will have a chance to heal a bit. Three of those four games are also at home, with the lone road game being in Sunrise, so they will also benefit from not having to travel once they take that long flight back from the Pacific Northwest.
As for the Kraken, it hasn’t been the best of seasons for them. They are middling about in sixth place in the Pacific Division, and are four points out of a Wild Card spot despite having played two more games than the folks ahead of them. Looking at the stats shows that they have been aggressively average this season. They are 16th in goals for, 11th in goals against, 19th in penalty kill, and 23rd in power-play success.
Yes, injuries have hindered their play. Old friend Yanni Gourde is the latest forward to be out after he took just one shift in the Kraken’s recent 2-1 shootout loss to the Panthers. It’s just been a see-saw season for them so far. A three-game winning streak is followed by a three-game losing streak. They lose four in a row, and then turn around and win four in a row. They have won four of their last six, including a 5-1 thumping of Boston their last time out, so maybe things are starting to turn around.
One bright spot in a cloudy season has been the recent play of Shane Wright. The first-round pick hasn’t had the smoothest transition to the NHL, but with two assists against Boston the 20-year-old has run his season total to 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists) and has picked up 8 points in his last 8 games. This year he’s already doubled his career totals with Kraken and have provided them with some desperately needed depth scoring.
If the Lightning want to turn a good road trip into a great one, they need to follow a similar game plan to the one they had in Calgary. Start with defending their own zone, then move the puck quickly through the neutral zone. Capitalize on the special teams advantage, and play through the end of the game. One of the most rewarding aspects of the win in Calgary was the finish. They had the lead in the third period and they didn’t let it go, rather they kept pressing and put the game out of reach.
So put on that pot of coffee and hang around for some late-night hockey with the Lightning.
Potential Lines
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards:
Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Conor Geekie
Gage Goncalves – Nick Paul – Mitchell Chaffee
Zemgus Girgensons – Luke Glendening – Mikey Eyssimont
Defense:
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak (?)
Emil Lilleberg – Steven Santini (?)
Nick Perbix – Darren Raddysh
Goaltenders:
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Seattle Kraken
Forwards:
Jaden Schwartz – Matty Beniers – Brandon Tanev
Jared McCann – Chandler Stevenson – Andre Burakovsky
Eeli Tolvanen – Shane Wright – Oliver Bjorksgtrand
Tye Kartye – Mitchell Stephens – Daniel Sprong
Defense:
Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak – Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans – Will Borden
Goaltenders:
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
