Game Twelve: Tampa Bay Lighting (7-4-0) at Winnipeg Jets (10-1-0)
Time: 3:00 PM EST
Location: Canada Life Centre
TV/Stream/Radio: FDSNSUN, TVAS, TSN3, ESPN+, 102.5 FM
Odds: Lightning +114
In their last game, the Tampa Bay Lightning had a chance to exact some revenge on Minnesota, but a couple of third-period miscues turned a 1-1 game into a 5-3 loss.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a few times and in this league, you can’t do that. Every little goal matters, every little play matters. And it was a tough one today,” is how Mitchell Chaffee put it after the game.
Against the 10-1 Winnipeg Jets, the Lightning can’t afford to make the same sort of mistakes or the Jets will skate them off of the ice. On paper this is not a great match-up for the Lightning as it is. Winnipeg is leading the league in goals scored at 52 while Tampa Bay is allowing 3.82 goals a game on the road and have allowed five goals in four of their last five road games. The Jets’ power play is humming along at a robust 45.2% while the Lightning’s road penalty kill is 24th at 72.7%.
Overall, the Jets have been playing solid team defense with a 2.36 goals against per game, third in the league. Connor Hellebuyck is a big reason why as he is up to his usual shenanigans with a .923 SV% and a 4.3 GSAx. That has covered up for some average possession numbers. Winnipeg is 13th in scoring chances against and 22nd in shots on goal against at 5v5. They have been good at limiting the high-danger chances as they rank 9th in the league. Their PK has also been average as they are 17th in the league at 78.3%.
So the Lightning will have some chances to score goals, but the focus should be on keeping the puck out of the net. Winnipeg has been getting a lot of production from their blue line, and shots from the point has often troubled Andrei Vasilevskiy. The forwards are going to have to get out and force the shots wide or block them to help ease the load on Vasy.
It’s cliche, but the Lightning are going to have to play all 60 minutes today. They can’t have their normal lackluster second period. Expect a playoff-level like grind to this game. That’s the level of dedication the Bolts will need in order to pull out a victory.
Potential Tampa Bay Bay Lightning Lines
Forwards:
Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Conor Geekie
Mikey Eyssimont – Nick Paul – Mitchell Chaffee
Zemgus Girgensons – Luke Glendening – Cam Atkinson
Defense:
Victor Hedman – JJ Moser
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg – Nick Perbix
Goaltender:
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Winnipeg Jets Potential Starting Lines
Forwards:
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Gabriel Vilardi
Cole Perfetti – Vlad Namestnikov – Nikolaj Ehlers
Nino Niederreiter – Adam Lowry – Mason Appleton
Morgan Barron – Rasmus Kupari – Alex Iafello
Defense:
Josh Morrissey – Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg – Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley – Colin Miller
Goaltender:
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie