Game 73: Nashville Predators (34-30-9) at Tampa Bay Lightning (45-21-6)

Time: 5:00 PM EST

Location: Benchmark International Arena, Steven Stamkos’ house for sixteen seasons

TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App

Odds: Lightning -205

Know the Opponents: On the Forecheck

For much of the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been lagging behind the rest of the league in terms of games played. Entering today’s play, only San Jose (71 games) have suited up fewer times as the Bolts are in a group of teams that have 72 games under their belt. The team they are chasing, the Buffalo Sabres, have played 74, but today the Lightning cash in one of those games.

Buffalo, who picked up a shootout win on Saturday night, get to do whatever folks in Buffalo do when they have a few days off as they don’t play again until Tuesday. So, the Lightning have a chance to even the points total (and move ahead of them by percentage points) with a win over Nashville today. The thing about games in hand is that a team eventually has to play them. In order to make them worthwhile, the Lightning have to actually win the game.

It’s rare that a team playing on a back-to-back with an early start time is considered a more rested team, but that’s the case for the Lightning as they won their game in the bright sunshine of day. Meanwhile, the Predators played at 7:00 PM last night, in Nashville. Then they had to jump on a plane and fly to Tampa. That’s a shame.

Nashville comes in clinging to the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, but on a two-game losing streak. Their lead over Los Angeles has shrunk to one point while they now trail Utah by five points. So, like every other team that has darkened the Lightning’s doorstep over the last few weeks, they are desperate for points.

“The urgency level has to rise, though… We’ve got to find the urgency. And with those things comes the execution. If you don’t execute, you can’t play fast. We didn’t play fast tonight.”

Nope, that’s not Coach Jon Cooper talking about the Lightning, who have somehow picked up points in four games that they’ve started off trailing by multiple goals. That was Predators’ head coach Andrew Brunette (8 goals in 32 career games against the Lightning) speaking after Nashville’s 4-1 loss to Montreal.

Both teams will be looking to get off to a good start. Yes, the Lightning have shown a remarkable ability to come from behind in these games, but it’s not a sustainable habit, especially in the playoffs when teams playing with a lead know how to lock things down. Whatever they do during the first intermission should probably be moved to warm-ups.

The Lightning managed to score four goals yesterday without the services Nikita Kucherov, who was out with an illness along with Nick Paul, and it seems 50/50 that he’ll be in the line-up today. Coach Cooper was non-committal following the game last night. Scott Sabourin and Steven Santini filled in as the Lightning went 11/7.

Well, it was more like 11/6 as Santini played less than two minutes. It didn’t appear that the defenseman was hurt on any of his three shifts, but he didn’t appear after the first period. There is a good chance that the flow of the game, and the effectiveness of the defensive pairings (especially the Emil Lilleberg/Charle-Edouard D’Astous combination) kept him on the bench as the Lightning started and completed the comeback.

Being able to better manage their lines would be another benefit to playing with a lead. Three forwards (Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, and Gage Goncalves) played more than 20 minutes yesterday. Two others (Anthony Cirelli and Jake Guentzel) were almost there. With the condensed schedule, that’s a good way to burn out a few players.

It’s always good to see Steven Stamkos in the building, even if he’s wearing the wrong colors. The 35-year-old is having a bounce back season with 36 goals, including a league-leading 10 game-winning goals. He’s scored five times in the last five games as he’s trying to help carry this team into the playoffs.

It looks like it will be a battle of the back-ups as Andrei Vasilevskiy went for the Lightning and Juuse Saros was in net for the Predators. Justus Annunen has played twice against Tampa Bay, posting an 0-2-0 record with a .830 SV% and a 6.16 GAA.

Potential Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning

Forwards:

Gage GoncalvesBrayden PointJake GuentzelBrandon HagelAnthony CirelliNikita Kucherov (?)Zemgus GirgensonsYanni GourdePontus HolmbergCorey PerryNick Paul (?)Oliver Bjorkstrand

Defense:

J.J. MoserDarren RaddyshRyan McDonaghErik CernakCharle-Edouard D’AstousEmil Lilleberg

Goaltenders:

Jonas JohanssonAndrei Vasilevskiy

Nashville Predators

Forwards:

Steven StamkosRyan O’ReillyLuke EvangelistaFilip ForsbergMatthew WoodJonathan MarchessaultZachary L’HeureuxErik HaulaTyson JostReid SchaeferFedor SvechkovOzzy Weisblatt

Defense:

Brady SkjeiRoman JosiNicolas HagueAdam WilsbyNick PerbixRyan Ufko

Goaltenders:

Justus AnnunenJuuse Saros