Winnipeg Jets at Tampa Bay Lightning: Game 67
Time: 7:30 pm Eastern Time
Location: Amalie Arena
Broadcast/Streaming: SUN, TSN3
Opponent SBNation Site: Arctic Ice Hockey
Preview:
The Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the Winnipeg Jets to town for their second game of a four-game homestand. The Jets come in having stomped over the Columbus Blue Jackets to take over the Central Division lead on Sunday. Backed by a four-goal performance from Blake Wheeler, the Jets maintained their one-point lead over the Nashville Predators in a tight division.
On the other hand, the Lightning rebounded from having their 10-game win streak snapped by Boston, trouncing the Senators with goals from their blueline and Nikita Kucherov. Andrei Vasilevskiy won his ninth straight game. The loss to Boston was a speed bump, but the Bolts have continued to cruise down the stretch.
Special teams may be a factor tonight — Tampa tops the league in powerplay and penalty kill percentage. The Jets’ powerplay has been lethal too, since Patrik Laine has gotten out of his slump, but they haven’t been as successful shorthanded. Winnipeg has allowed four powerplay goals on nine opportunities in the last three games.
The Jets’ blueline depth has been tested lately, with Dustin Byfuglien, Josh Morrissey, and Joe Morrow all out with injuries. Adam Lowry will serve the second game of his two-game suspension tonight. Even with the deadline acquisition of Nathan Beaulieu, Winnipeg’s defense looks shallow.
Anthony Cirelli was the lone player missing from practice yesterday, but the team said he was receiving treatment, and he should play tonight. Braydon Coburn was the extra defenseman, so he’ll likely sit tonight.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards
Ondrej Palat – Steven Stamkos – Yanni Gourde
Tyler Johnson – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn – J.T. Miller – Anthony Cirelli
Adam Erne – Cedric Paquette – Mathieu Joseph
Scratched: Ryan Callahan, Danick Martel
Defense
Victor Hedman – Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Anton Stralman – Mikhail Sergachev
Scratched: Braydon Coburn
Goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Winnipeg Jets
Forwards
Patrik Laine – Mark Scheifele – Blake Wheeler
Kyle Connor – Kevin Hayes – Nikolaj Ehlers
Brandon Tanev – Andrew Copp – Bryan Little
Mathieu Perreault – Par Lindholm – Jack Roslovic
Scratched: Matt Hendricks
Defense
Nathan Beaulieu – Jacob Trouba
Dmitry Kulikov – Tyler Myers
Ben Chiarot – Sami Niku
Injured: Dustin Byfuglien, Josh Morrissey, Joe Morrow
Scratched: Bogdan Kiselevich
Suspended: Adam Lowry
Goalies
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
