The Tampa Bay Lightning takes on the New York Rangers in what promises to be an emotional night for Lightning fans.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been on a bumpy ride over the last couple of weeks, but thanks to the heroics of a couple of players, the Lightning has continued to come out on top. Tonight, things are about to get really interesting. The Lightning will do battle with the New York Rangers for the first time since the blockbuster deal made in the final moments before the NHL Trade Deadline.
The emotions are going to run high on both sides of the ice. Tonight will be the first time Rangers forward Vladislav Namestnikov will make his way into the Amalie Arena since learning of his trade to New York. On the flip side, this will be the first time Lightning forward J.T. Miller will do battle with his former team.
The Lightning continues to lead both the Atlantic Division and the NHL in points; however, the Nashville Predators are dangerously close to overtaking the Bolts for the league lead. The Predators are just one point shy of the Lightning in the overall standings, which means if the Bolts want to hold onto the top spot, they will need to bring home a victory tonight over the Rangers.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Hopefully, the Lightning will be able to end the vicious cycle they’ve been trapped in lately and be able to bring home the aforementioned victory in regulation instead of attempting to give the fans a heart attack with a seventh-consecutive overtime and/or shootout game.
One of the keys to a Lightning victory tonight is going to be sealing up some of the holes in the defense. In Tuesday night’s game against the Florida Panthers, the defense allowed goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to face a whopping 49 shots on goal. If the Lightning wants their goaltender to be in the best possible shape when the postseason starts, they need to stop leaning on him and take some of the pressure themselves.
Of course, the offense is not completely free and clear in this situation, either. The offense is going to need to improve their puck possession and stop allowing so many errant passes and/or turnovers in both the offensive and defensive zones.
The Lightning has a few advantages coming into tonight’s battle against the Rangers. The biggest of these advantages is they are in the midst of an eight-game homestand. There is definitely something to be said about the ability to sleep in your own bed at night. Also, there is no travel to cut into said sleep and allows more time for the team to practice.
While everyone in the Bolts Nation anxiously awaits puck drop, let’s take a closer look at all the information fans will need in order to stay on top of all the action between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Rangers tonight from the Amalie Arena in the heart of Downtown Tampa.
Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Rangers
Venue: Amalie Arena
Location: Tampa, Florida
Date: Thursday, March 8,, 2018
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
TV Info: Fox Sports Sun, TVAS
Radio Info: Lightning Radio on 970WFLA or TBL Power Play on iHeartRadio
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go App in the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store
The Tampa Bay Lightning has a lot on the line at the moment. While they are essentially locked in for the postseason at this point, the team needs to ensure they are on the top of their game. Once the postseason kicks off, it is all or nothing. You either bring your ‘A’ game or you go home.
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The Lightning is absolutely stacked to the gills with talent; especially after the wheeling and dealing Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman did just before the NHL Trade Deadline. If the Lightning continues to play their cards right, they could be looking at a solid run for the Stanley Cup.