Tampa Bay Lightning looks to start second half off strong

The Tampa Bay Lightning are set to start the second half of the season off against the Dallas Stars on Monday.

After seeing stars such as Andrei Vasilevskiy and Victor Hedman in last weekend’s NHL All-Star Game festivities in St. Louis, the Lightning is ready to get back on the ice. Coming off a 9-day break from hockey, the Lightning looks to come back to normalcy.

On Monday Night they take on the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on National TV. The Stars themselves are coming off an eight-game break so expect there to be a rust factor for both teams involved.

Head-to-Head Matchup

The Lightning doesn’t get any favors coming off a long break as right off the bat they face off against a good Dallas Stars team. Dallas is currently third in the Central Division with 58 points. The Stars have lost two straight, but they’re 7-3-0 in their last 10 contests.

The Lightning themselves couldn’t have had a better ending to the first half of the season. In their last game before the All-Star Game break they beat the Winnipeg Jets 7-1 in Winnipeg. In the game, Anthony Cirelli scored his first NHL hat-trick and the Lightning picked up a crucial two points that put their season total at 62. The Lightning is also hot themselves as they are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.

Overall, a big difference between the two opponents is the scoring prowess of the Bolts. The Lightning has scored 175 total goals this season. Dallas, on the other hand, has scored 125 total goals this year. That makes sense when you also look into each teams’ Power Play percentages.

This season the Lightning are currently second in the league with a 27.5% Power Play percentage. The Stars haven’t been as fortunate with the man-advantage as they are 16th in the league with a 19.7% Power Play Percentage.

Bolts To Watch Out For

The Lightning has, without a doubt, have had success over the last couple of months. Much of this success can be credited to the Bolts’ stars in their lineup that have finally stepped it up. Nikita Kucherov, the Lightning’s leading point-getter has scored five goals in his last five games.

Steven Stamkos, the Bolts captain, has also led the way with four points in his last five games. Last but not least, one of the Lightning’s All-Stars and Vezina winning goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy has been as hot as any goaltender in the league. Vasilevskiy hasn’t lost a game in the net in over a month and has won 10 straight games.

Vasilevskiy will try to extend his streak and his league-leading 24 wins total Monday night in Dallas. Monday night’s tilt between the Lightning and the Stars will be televised on NBCSN.