Tampa BAE Lightning Preview Game 9: The Morning After

The Tampa Bay Lightning are back on the ice inside Benchmark International Arena today at 5 p.m. to take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Last night the Bolts took all the good sports luck that Tampa had as they (barely) won and USF came up just short. I cobbled together the really awful image below to summarize my general feelings.

The Lightning won. They almost didn’t and it was against one of the worst teams in the league, but they won. Let’s check out their next opponent to see what they’re up against tonight.

The Vegas Golden Knights are currently 1st in their division sporting a 5-1-2 record through eight games. This will be the second game of a three game road trip for the Knights after they got beat 3-0 by the Panthers in Sunrise last night.

Vegas has been off to a hot start this year scoring four or more goals in every game but one prior to last night’s loss. However, their defense has also been leaky as they have surrendered three or more goals three times prior to last night as well.

A large part of the slump the Knights currently find themselves in is due to some heavy injuries. The Knights will be without: Adin Hill, Mark Stone, Noah Hanifin, & Alex Pietrangelo. That’s $31.9 million in salary cap and some really big names including their starting goal tender.

Speaking of goalies, the Knights recently did the nasty thing and signed Carter Hart. I don’t think he’s able to play yet if I remember the terms of his resigning correctly which leaves an interesting question as to who will play in net for the Knights.

I think it means the Lightning will face Carl Lindbom who was recently called up from their AHL affiliate. Lindbom has only played two games this year in the AHL. He played 36 AHL games last year and 26 games in the Swedish Hockey League prior to that, but his stat line is pretty good. (Read as Games Played, Wins, Losses, Ties, OT Loss, Shots Against, Goals on Average Allowed, Save Percentage)

It’s weird to say, but the Lightning have a real chance to take down Vegas and get a win streak going. Here’s what they’ll need to do:

• Score First - They are playing a goalie who likely didn’t expect to be called up and has super limited North American experience. If they can score early and get a two-plus lead, they have a chance to rattle him.
• Get Better on the Power Play - Last night the Bolts were one for six on the power play and that includes some decent 5-on-3 time. They really should have scored more than one time when up an extra attacker. They aren’t likely to get six chances again tonight. Whatever they get, they need to make it count.
• Skate Faster & Defend the Rush - As has been the case all season, the defense continues to struggle in the neutral zone, especially on rush chances that they love giving up. Jojo was OUTSTANDING for his team last night stopping 37 (!!!) out of 40 shots against the Ducks. The Knights might be short handed, but they have some sharp shooters. The Lightning simply cannot let the same thing that happened last night happen again.

All in all, this should be a fun game. Early reports are telling us that Cooper is likely going 11-7 tonight, a scheme that has mostly served the Bolts well. Let’s hope this is the start of a good long winning streak. See you at 5 p.m.! Go Bolts!