Tampa Bay Lightning Hope To Roast The Anaheim Ducks At Home

By Tasha St. Pierre | Feb 8, 2015

The Tampa Bay Lightning is coming off of a pretty stressful loss last night at the hands of captain Dustin Brown and the Los Angeles Kings. Tonight, the Lightning will have to put the loss behind them as they charge back into the Amalie Arena to go head-to-head with Ryan Getzlaf and the Anaheim Ducks.

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Both of these teams have a lot riding on the line in this encounter. The Tampa Bay Lightning currently sits atop the Eastern Conference in a dead heat with the Detroit Red Wings for the coveted top spot. On the other side of the ice, the Anaheim Ducks sit atop the Eastern Conference with Shea Weber and the Nashville Predators hot on their tail feathers.

The two points from this encounter could allow the Bolts to recapture the lead and assist the Ducks in extending their lead; both very valid ventures.

Much like the Lightning, the Ducks are going to be coming into this encounter hungry for a win. The Ducks have dropped three of their last five games; the latest one being on Friday night in the shootout against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had their home hot streak snapped by the Kings last night in what could have been the Lightning’s opportunity to shine against some of the top Western Conference teams. As you can imagine, the Lightning are ready to get back on the right track, but will fatigue play a factor in tonight’s encounter?

As you know, Ben Bishop had a pretty tough time early on against the Kings and ultimately ended up being pulled in lieu of the Lightning’s new backup goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper would not elaborate on who would be starting between the pipes tonight and with no morning skate to speak of, we will have to wait until tonight’s pregame skate to see who will be in net.

If current expectations hold strong until game time, it looks as if we will see Ducks netminder Frederik Andersen between the pipes tonight. Andersen has put up some pretty solid stats this season. In the 43 games he’s suited up for with the Ducks, he has a 29-7-5 record with a Goals Allowed Average of 2.30 and a Save Percentage of .919.

These numbers are eerily similar to that of Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop. In his 42 games this season with the Bolts, he has a record of 26-9-3 with a Goals Allowed Average of 2.37 and a Save Percentage of .912.

If it comes down to a battle of the netminders, this is going to be a pretty intense battle. The biggest thing the Bolts need to look out for tonight is center (and captain) Ryan Getzlaf. Getzlaf leads the Duck in points with 16 goals and 36 assists for a total of 52 points along with a plus-9 rating.

On the other side of the ice, the Ducks are going to need to keep their eyes on center Tyler Johnson and his fellow linemates Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. Johnson leads the Lightning in points with 51; 19 goals and 32 assists. As a line, the Triplets account for 135 points so far this season.

Each side has a deep-rooted desire to bring home the two points in tonight’s encounter. One thing that the Lightning have on their side is each and every one of us; their Thunder. The team is surely tired as they charge out onto the ice for the second half of their back-to-back weekend, but with the Thunder by their side, they have everything they need to succeed.

What do you think is the key to a win tonight at the Amalie Arena? Do you think fatigue is going to play a major factor in the outcome of tonight’s encounter? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Don’t forget…the puck drops early once again tonight. Take a look at all the information you’ll need to make sure you don’t miss a moment of the action tonight.

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