Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
When: 7 PM EST | Tickets: Check availability
Media: Sun Sports (cable) | 970 AM WFLA (radio) | Twitter Live Stream
Opponent Coverage: Mile High Hockey
The storied career of goalie Patrick Roy is legendary. He made his NHL debut on February 23rd, 1985 with the Montreal Canadiens, playing a single period and facing two shots total, but that earned him win #1. By the time his playing days were done at the end of 2002-03, Roy had amassed 551 wins with 66 being shutouts.
Now, as an NHL coach, he’s won the Jack Adams as the coach-of-the-year in his NHL debut season with the Colorado Avalanche last year and has another 71 wins to his name as a head coach. It’s impressive what the man has accomplished as a player and as coach.
It’s almost more impressive that none of those wins has ever come in the Tampa Bay area.
Roy only played 8 games during his career in Tampa Bay, going 0-7-1 (that third column is ties; not an overtime/shootout losses). He had his first game as a coach in town on January 26th and… Tyler Johnson was good at The Hockey that night 0-1-0. Things certainly shift when you include games played in Montreal and Denver, but it just seems like the oddest kind of anomaly someone like Roy could have on a triumphant career.
Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Avalanche won their last game; they’re both similar in their past 10 with the Lightning having one more win (7-3-0 as to 6-3-1).
Victor Hedman, who has been out with the dreaded ambiguous lower-body injury the past two games, is back. He’s participated in practice both yesterday and today and is a near certainty to go tonight, though he’s listed as a game-time decision for the club.
Ben Bishop was confirmed as the starter not just for tonight but also for the game against the Canucks on Tuesday.
The Avalanche power play unit is near the bottom of the league in conversion percentage with a 14.8% success rate, the Lightning’s man-advantage is 15th with an 18.4% conversion rate. Coincidentally Tampa Bay is also ranked 15th on the penalty kill at the moment, with an 80.8% kill-rate. Colorado’s ills stop at the penalty kill; the Avalanche are 7th in the NHL with an 84.8% effectiveness when down a man.
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