Tampa Bay Lightning Vs. Edmonton Oilers: Live Thread For Game No. 32
The Tampa Bay Lightning looked as if they were well on their way to getting back on track before falling to the Vancouver Canucks once again. Can the Lightning make a go of it tonight as they take on the Edmonton Oilers in the final game of their current road trip?
The Tampa Bay Lightning has had fans on quite an emotional rollercoaster as of late. After falling face first into a downward spiral, the Lightning seemed to have found their way back to the light. Unfortunately, just one game later the Bolts found themselves back on the losing side once again.
Now, the Tampa Bay Lightning are presented with another chance to make it right. Just 24 hours after falling to the Vancouver Canucks at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, the Lightning will be headed to Rogers Place to go one-on-one with the Edmonton Oilers.
As one could easily imagine, this is going to be no easy task for the Lightning. Right now, the Edmonton Oilers are third place in the Pacific Division; just four points shy of the first place San Jose Sharks. Of course, this doesn’t paint the whole picture of the Oilers.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Edmonton Oilers have dropped seven of their last 10 games, the latest of which was Tuesday night in a 3-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Needless to say, the Oilers are searching just as desperately for a victory tonight. The difference is, the Oilers have had three days off to get prepared for tonight’s contest.
The biggest threat to the Tampa Bay Lightning comes in the form of Oilers star forward Connor McDavid. McDavid leads the Oilers by a large margin in almost all manners scoring. In the 32 games he’s played so far this season, McDavid has scored 12 goals and 27 assists for a total of 39 points.
On the other side of the ice, Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov continues to lead the way for the Lightning in all manners scoring. In the 28 games Kucherov has played so far this season, he has brought home 13 goals and 17 assists for a total 30 points. Unfortunately, the chances are slim Kucherov will be making his return tonight.
This means one of the Lightning’s other players are going to have to step up in his absence. The obvious choice for this would be the Brian Boyle line. Along with his linemates Valtteri Filppula and Jonathan Drouin, the Boyle line has been the strongest line on the ice, hands down, over the last few games.
In addition to the Lightning injuries fans are already aware of, there is a new name joining the list tonight. Lightning forward Cedric Paquette has been ruled out tonight after being banged up against the Vancouver Canucks last night at the Rogers Arena.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have found themselves in this position once before. Unfortunately, this is not going to be the last time they are faced with these specific challenges either. The one thing Lightning fans can take solace in is the Lightning have always managed to come out on the other side.
It may seem like doom and gloom right now, but there is a lot of hockey left to be played this season. As the old saying goes, it’s not over until the fat lady sings. Well…she seems to have laryngitis right now, so there is still hope the be had.
All it takes is a single spark to ignite a raging fire. Could tonight prove to be the spark the Tampa Bay Lightning has been so desperately searching for? Lightning fans will have to watch and find out.
Next: Bolts Who Need To Step Up In Absence of Leadership
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Topics: Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference