Tampa Bay Lightning Hope To Finish Off Season Right Against Buffalo
The Tampa Bay Lightning head into the Amalie Arena tonight to finish off their season series against Matt Moulson and the Buffalo Sabres.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has had an interesting couple of weeks here lately, but as we head into the final weeks of the season it is time for the boys in blue to focus their efforts and concentrate on getting every point possible as they make their way towards the post season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has taken three of the four encounters between these two clubs this season. If they have anything to say about it tonight, that number will increase to four. This would seem like an easy enough task, but as the Lightning make their descent into the final games of the season, underestimation can sink even the best of teams.
When you look at the numbers, they are polar opposites. Whereas the Tampa Bay Lightning has been consistently fighting for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Buffalo Sabres have been battling tooth and nail to claw their way up from the bottom of the league.
Also, the NHL Trade Deadline was a bit of a fire sale in Buffalo. The Sabres said goodbye to four players in their various movements, one of which was goaltender Michal Neuvirth. On the other side of the ice, the Tampa Bay Lightning was fairly quiet during the trade frenzy, making only two player trades.
As we said before, to the naked eye this would look like an open and shut case; the Tampa Bay Lightning brings home the two points. The only thing is…it isn’t. When you are a team like the Buffalo Sabres, and have assuredly been eliminated from playoff contention, you have absolutely nothing to lose.
This gives some people the reckless abandon to put the pedal to the metal and see just how much you can make things happen and change the dynamic in things. Also, as we mentioned before…when you underestimate a team like the Sabres, you open the door for disappointment to come creeping in.
Here are a few things the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to have to do if they want to bring home the two points tonight. First and foremost, they are going to have to play a consistent 60 minutes of hockey. A sloppy second period cost the Lightning big on Sunday night in their 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers.
Secondly, they are going to have to hit the gas in the first period and come out swinging. The Tampa Bay Lightning is 25-6-4 in games where they score first. We don’t know about you, but we would say those are pretty good odds.
Last, but certainly not least, the Lightning are simply going to have to find a way to stay out of the penalty box. This is not a knock on the Lightning’s penalty kill squad, which has been decent this season, but the simple fact of the matter is that there are only so many times you can leave the door open before someone is going to come crashing through it.
There is no denying that the Lightning has what they need to come out on top. Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson has scored points in four of the last five games. The 24 year old Washington native has scored 3 goals and 3 assists for a total of 6 points in the last five games.
Also Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop, who is currently 4th in the National Hockey League in wins, has maintained a 31-11-3 record so far this season with a Goals Allowed Average of 2.39 and a Save Percentage of .913.
If the Lightning can simply keep their focus, hit the gas hard, and stay out of the box, they should have no issues bringing home the two points tonight.
Don’t forget, the puck drops at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Amalie Arena. Click here for all the information you need to make sure you don’t miss a moment of the action tonight as the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Buffalo Sabres in their final meeting of the 2014-15 hockey season.
Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Trade Brett Connolly to the Boston Bruins
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