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Tampa Bay Lightning Kick Off Back-To-Back Weekend Against The Winnipeg Jets

By Tasha St. Pierre

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The Tampa Bay Lightning continue their four-game road trip at the MTS Centre against the Winnipeg Jets as the Bolts kick off their back-to-back weekend.

The Tampa Bay Lightning continue their road trip through the Western Conference as they charge into the MTS Centre to take on captain Andrew Ladd and the Winnipeg Jets. Tonight’s East vs. West matchup also kicks off a back-to-back weekend for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning and the Jets enter tonight’s content on some pretty even ground. Both the Bolts and the Jets come into tonight’s encounter off a stinging loss; the Lightning in their 5-4 shootout loss against the Nashville Predators and the Jets in their 4-2 loss against the St. Louis Blues. As you can imagine, both teams will hit the ice tonight with a hunger and determination to leave the MTS Centre with a win tonight.

One of the biggest questions coming into tonight’s encounter is whether or not Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper planned to play Ben Bishop in net tonight against the Jets, giving him his eighth straight start of the season, or whether newly acquired netminder Kevin Poulin would get an opportunity to guard the pipes tonight.

According to Tampa Bay Times Staff Writer Joe Smith, it seems as if a decision has been made in the matter. Ben Bishop was the first goaltender off the ice at this morning’s practice, which is generally a good indicator Bishop will be the netminder between the pipes tonight against the Jets.

This opens the door for many questions surrounding the Tampa Bay Lightning’s net. After tonight’s matchup in Winnipeg, the Bolts have just one more game before Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy returns to practice with the team. That one game just happens to be a rematch of the Stanley Cup Finals as the Tampa Bay Lightning head to the United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks.

Could the Tampa Bay Lightning be looking to start Poulin in what is quite possibly one of the most anticipated games of the season, or will they elect to run Bishop in his second back-to-back series of the 2015-16 season? The answer to this question is largely unknown at this point; however, we think the outcome of tonight’s game will have a rather large impact on that decision.

Throughout the course of the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning has shown some moments when the special teams seems to kick into gear and are able to capitalize on the opportunities in front of them. Unfortunately, there has also been those times when they have gone completely off the rails and fell flat on their faces. If the Tampa Bay Lightning want to remain successful this season, they are going to have to find a happy medium.

While the Tampa Bay Lightning has certainly dealt with their fair share of adversity this season, whether it be on the injury front or a game time issue, the Lightning has done a fairly good job of coming out on the other side better than they were before. If there is any team that can fight through and find their way to victory, it is the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The captain has certainly kicked things into gear as of late. In Tuesday’s game in Nashville, Steven Stamkos scored his 5th goal of the season giving him a distinct lead in goals amongst his teammates. At the same time, this brings Stamkos to a total of six points this season, tying him with defenseman Victor Hedman and left wing Jonathan Drouin for the most points on the team.

The Tampa Bay Lightning has a lot of offensive firepower, and if they continue to keep their heads in the game, and everyone stay healthy, the Lightning could become one of the most offensively dominant teams in the National Hockey League. As with any journey, it begins with a single game. That game is tonight at the MTS Centre.

The puck is set to drop at 8:00 p.m. tonight in Winnipeg. Are you ready to Be The Thunder as the Tampa Bay Lightning charge into the MTS Centre to take on the Winnipeg Jets?

Next: Andrei Vasilevskiy Set To Return To Practice Next Week

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