Tampa Bay Lightning Need To Find Normalcy In Pittsburgh

The Tampa Bay Lightning has been on a rather unpleasant rollercoaster ride as of late. As the Lightning head into the CONSOL Energy Center tonight to face off with Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Bolts will need to get it together and find some sort of normalcy.

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Unfortunately, the Lightning is not heading into tonight’s game, which is the first in yet another back-to-back series, on a very high note. The Bolts were summarily dismantled by Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals for the second time this season on Saturday night in the Nation’s Capital.

If there is any team in the National Hockey League that the Tampa Bay Lightning need a win against, it is the Pittsburgh Penguins. While the Tampa Bay Lightning are still sitting atop the standings in the Atlantic Division, after their recent losses against the Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Buffalo Sabres, they have fallen to fifth overall in the league.

The good news is, they are within one point of the Penguins and a regulation win tonight would potentially propel the Lightning into the third place position, passing the Pens and putting the Lightning into a battle with the Chicago Blackhawks for the number two spot.

As you can imagine, there are a few things that are going to have to happen if the Lightning want to head into this back-to-back series on a high note. The first of which, and I know this is going to sound like a broken record, is the special teams.

The Tampa Bay Lightning power play squad doesn’t seem to be able to buy itself a goal lately, and this is not going to bode well against a Pittsburgh Penguins squad that has a 86.5% penalty kill.

The second, which is something that I have been harping on all season, is that they are going to have to buckle down and take the shot. While those of you who know me know that I have always been a proponent of quality over quantity, two shots on goal in a period simply isn’t going to cut it; especially against a team like the Penguins.

The bad news is, the Lightning will be without two of their valued assets tonight when they take the ice in Pittsburgh. Despite optimism earlier this afternoon, the Lightning will be without defenseman Radko Gudas thanks to a stomach virus.

The Bolts will also be without one of the triplets. Ondrej Palat will not be playing in tonight’s matchup as he nurses a Lower Body Injury that has already caused him to miss two games.

On the other side of the ice, the Pens are battling their own injury demons. The latest player in the NHL to be affected by the recent mumps epidemic is their captain Sidney Crosby, who has been ruled out of tonight’s game. They will also be without Beau Bennett, who is being quarantined for possible mumps infection.

The Pens will also be without right wing Pascal Dupuis (blood clots), left wing Chris Kunitz (Lower Body Injury, broken foot), defenseman Olli Maatta (Upper Body Injury), and centers Zach Sill (Upper Body Injury) and Scott Wilson (leg injury.)

As you can tell, they are going through some pretty tough times right now; much like the Lightning experienced at the beginning of the season.

Another aspect of tonight’s game that will be interesting to watch play out is the battle between the pipes. As most of you are painfully aware, Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop is coming off of a personal three-game losing streak. This is not something that Bishop is exactly used to.

So far this season Bishop has gone 16-6-2 with a Goals Allowed Average of 2.34 and a Save Percentage of .914.

On the other side of the ice, it is more than likely that the Bolts will be facing down Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. According to ESPN, Fleury has won his last six starts against the Lightning. This is something we’re sure the Bolts will be looking to put an end to.

So far this season, Fleury has gone 16-4-2 with a Goals Allowed Average of 2.10 and a Save Percentage of .926. Fleury is also tied with New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist for the number one spot in the National Hockey League in Shutouts with 5.

If there was ever a time for the Lightning to get their act together and put their best skate in front of the other, tonight would be that night. You all know just as well as I do that the Tampa Bay Lightning has the tools they need to get the job done.

The team has faced their fair share of opposition this season. Heck, just count the amount of back-to-back series we’ve encountered thus far. (We’re on number seven for those of you keeping track.)

All the team needs to do is to take a step back, look at the task in front of them, and focus all their energies on keeping the puck out of their zone and taking the shot on Pittsburgh’s net. These simple steps can get the Lightning back on the right track and start this road trip off right.

The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. tonight in Pittsburgh. Are you ready to Be The Thunder?

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