Tampa BAE Lightning Game 59: Midwest Mean
Don't let 2 become 3
The Tampa Bay Lightning are kicking off a four game road trip tonight at 9:30 p.m. EST against the Minnesota Wild on a nationally broadcast TNT game.
This road trip could not have come at a worse time for the Lightning and could not go to a worse place than Minneapolis. The Lightning are on a two game skid that has seen them surrender 11 goals, pull their starting goal tender, and lose more forwards to injury. Going on the road isn’t ideal. Going on the road to Minneapolis? Now, that’s just terrible timing.
The Lightning are a very pedestrian 13-19-1-3 vs the Wild (Remember when ties were a thing? Weird). On the road against Minnesota? They are a horrific 3-13-2. This Minnesota team has not always been good, but they sure love to beat the Lightning at home. The Lightning went 0-2 against the Wild last year and this will be the first of two games the teams will play during the regular season this year.
And, look, I get it. They only play the Wild twice a year. But still, that road record is hot stink. For a team looking to regain their footing, I would not have picked road trip. I definitely would not have picked a road trip starting against a team you’ve gone massively upside down with in their own arena. Such is NHL scheduling, I suppose.
The Wild are playing really solid hockey. They currently sit in third place in the Central Division and are, most likely, a playoff lock. They have been getting outstanding goal tending from Filip Gustavsson (2.58 GAA, .910 SV%), have a top 5 power play, and play a defensive style of hockey that can grind teams to a halt, and they absolutely love blocking shots with 953 total. The Lightning are going to have their work cut out for them.
If they want to win the game, I think it comes down to scoring first, keeping the Minnesota power play off the ice for as long as humanly possible, and—for the love of God—do not fall behind 3-0. Doing that and coming back against Carolina was fun and cool. Doing and then getting whipped by Buffalo was frustrating and dumb. Doing it for a 3rd game in a row? Woof. That’d be awful.
Stay up late and watch some hockey. See you at 9:30! Go Bolts!