It wasn’t pretty (other than Ilya Sorokin’s saves and Calum Ritchie’s cheeky finish), but the Isles pulled it off again to collect two regulation points and stun the Lightning in Tampa. Their march against recent Cup winners and their back-to-back weekend continues early this evening with a visit to the Panthers.
Florida is also playing back-to-back, though without travel, after getting past the Blue Jackets in a wild 7-6 OT affair yesterday that Columbus coach Dean Evason called “a joke.”
J-G Pageau is a candidate to return, though Jonathan Drouin is not.
Saturday’s dozen games also included the Rangers taking the Avalanche to OT, the Bruins defeating the Devils. Everyone in the East is going to be crowded this Christmastime.