Tampa Bay Lightning Look To Extend Streak To Nine
The Tampa Bay Lightning looks to expand their current win streak to a record-setting nine games as they return home to the Amalie Arena to face the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has done what some people thought impossible. After a rocky start to the season that was littered with injuries and miscues of all manner, the Tampa Bay Lightning has proved all their detractors wrong by setting a new team record and extending their win streak to eight games.
Tomorrow night, the Tampa Bay Lightning will charge home to the Amalie Arena right here in sunny Tampa, Florida for an opportunity to face off with Carolina Hurricanes and extend their lead over their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers. If the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to accomplish this feat there is one thing they will most certainly need…consistency.
The Lightning needs to hit the ice with a fiery passion in their souls; one that would rival their passion from the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. As the game progresses, the Bolts need to maintain the same amount of pressure; potentially even make their opponents work just a little bit harder for every inch on the ice. If they can do this for 60 minutes of hockey, the Lightning will find themselves in a pleasurable position when the buzzer sounds.
Right now, there are two players on the Carolina Hurricanes the Tampa Bay Lightning will need to be especially mindful of tomorrow night as these two Eastern Conference teams clash in the center of the ice. The first of those players is Hurricanes alternate captain Jordan Staal.
Staal is currently tied with Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm for first place on the team in terms of assists. In his 65 games played so far this season, Jordan Staal has scored 16 goals and 23 assists for a total of 39 points. This places him in first place on the Hurricanes in overall points.
Another player the Tampa Bay Lightning should be mindful of as they take on the Hurricanes tomorrow night is Hurricanes left wing Jeff Skinner. Skinner has scored 22 goals and 15 assists so far this season for a grand total of 37 points. These numbers place Skinner first on the team in terms of goals scored and second in overall points behind Jordan Staal.
On the other side of the ice, it is Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos who is leading the way for the Bolts. The captain has played in all 64 games with the Lightning this season. In that amount of time, he has been able to score 29 goals and 23 assists for a total of 52 points. One of those goals came last night against the Ottawa Senators when Stamkos was able to hit the empty net in the final seconds of the 4-1 victory.
Right behind Steven Stamkos is Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov led the way for the Bolts in just about all manner of scoring until he was forced to miss two games with an injury. Despite the two games lost, Kucherov has been able to score 25 goals and 26 assists for a total of 51 points this season. Much like Stamkos, one of Kucherov’s goals came in last night’s 4-1 victory over the Senators.
Nikita Kucherov was able to convert a turnover in the offensive zone into a beautiful goal in the final minutes of the third period. Kucherov’s goal would put the Tampa Bay Lightning up 3-1 over the Senators. In case you missed the beauty of a goal last night, here’s another look for you courtesy of NHL.com.
The Tampa Bay Lightning may have struggled early on this season, but as the postseason looms off in the distance, the Tampa Bay Lightning has found their groove and is ready to do whatever it takes in order to find themselves in the hunt once again for the greatest prize in all of sports, the Stanley Cup.
The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 p.m. Keep in mind, the Florida Panthers are also scheduled to play tomorrow night. The kitty cats will take on the Arizona Coyotes at 9:00 p.m. EST. Should the Lightning defeat the Hurricanes and the Coyotes defeat the Panthers, the Lightning will take sole possession of the first place position in the Atlantic Division.
Next: Nikita Kucherov Leads 3 Bolts Players Headed To Team Russia
What do you think will be the key to a Tampa Bay Lightning victory tomorrow night against the Carolina Hurricanes? Which player do you think will be the difference maker in the contest? Let us know what you think in the comments below.