Tampa Bay Lightning looks to keep streak alive against Colorado Avalanche
The Tampa Bay Lightning looks to pick up their 11th straight victory as they head to the Pepsi Center to take on the Colorado Avalanche.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been on fire the past couple of weeks. The Lightning has not lost a game since their 3-2 overtime loss to Ben Bishop and the Dallas Stars back on January 27. If the Bolts can come up with another victory tonight, the boys in blue will have built themselves an 11-game win streak.
The Lightning’s recent success has not come without its share of adversity. The Bolts have dealt with numerous injuries throughout the course of their recent streak. Just a few names which have made this list include Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and forward Nikita Kucherov.
Despite all the obstacles in their path, the Tampa Bay Lightning has continued to find ways to get the job done. This is going to be an all-too-important factor heading into tonight’s contest against the Colorado Avalanche. Regrettably, the Lightning hasn’t had much luck against the Avalanche this season.
These two teams have only met once so far this season and it was definitely an eventful one, just not in a good way. Back on October 19, the Avalanche made their way into the Amalie Arena where they dealt the then-struggling Lightning a disappointing 6-2 defeat.
The key phrase in that last sentence is “then-struggling.” The Lightning found themselves in a very dark place at the start of the season. The team seemed to still be dealing with some lingering issues following their early exit from the postseason and had yet to find their groove.
Since then, the Lightning has gone from being completely out of any possible playoff picture to being a mere one point away from snatching the top spot in the Atlantic Division from the Boston Bruins with a game-in-hand in their favor. Ideally, this means the Avalanche are meeting a very different Lightning team tonight in Denver.
The Tampa Bay Lightning is still dealing with a few nagging issues heading into tonight’s contest, but if the Lightning’s recent track record is any indication, the Bolts should still find themselves in a decent position.
Injuries
The Lightning has made some good strides towards getting healthy once again. Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Anthony Cirelli have all made their way back into the Lightning lineup. Regrettably, there are two players who are still dealing with injuries.
The Bolts blueline will be without the assistance of both Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta as the team heads into the Pepsi Center. Both defensemen are dealing with Lower-Body Injuries and are currently classified as week-to-week. Considering the Lightning has already passed the halfway point in the season, one has to wonder how much play these two will get before the end of the season depending on how much longer they’re out.
Milestone Watch
The Tampa Bay Lightning has a couple of good opportunities to set themselves up for some new milestones in tonight’s game. As the Boston Bruins, who are just three points ahead of the Lightning in the Atlantic Division, do not play again until Wednesday, a Lightning victory would bring them one step closer to capturing the first-place spot in the Division.
Of course, this could turn into a game of cat and mouse for the Bolts and Bruins as the Lightning will be off until Thursday until they make their way to the T-Mobile Arena to take on the Vegas Golden Knights. At the very least, this is going to be an interesting battle to watch over the coming weeks.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has an opportunity to set a new franchise record in tonight’s East vs. West battle. Should the Lightning bring home a victory over the Avalanche tonight, the Lightning will set a new franchise record for the longest win-streak, a record they almost broke earlier in the season.
Newcomer Alert
The Tampa Bay Lightning has made an interesting addition to their lineup. Last night, the Lightning struck a deal with the New Jersey Devils which would see forward Blake Coleman make his way to the Bolts Nation. Heading the other direction would be forward Nolan Foote and the Vancouver Canucks first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, which previously belonged to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It doesn’t look as if Coleman will be joining the team in Denver tonight. Right now, he is not included in the Projected Lineup. According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, Coleman expects to join the team on Thursday as they head into Vegas to take on the Golden Knights and could make his debut at that point.
The Bolts Nation certainly has a lot to look forward to tonight in Denver. The Lightning could set a new franchise record and seize control of the Atlantic Division with one single win. At the same time, tonight’s contest should be treated no differently than any other game this season.
The Lightning would definitely love to right a couple of wrongs from last season with a solid run in the postseason. The best way to accomplish this is to continue to take each game one at a time and focus on the task at hand rather than concentrating on the road ahead.
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The puck is scheduled to drop at 9:00 pm Eastern Time in Denver. It’ll be interesting to see how the Lightning responds as they kick off a three-game Western Conference road trip against the Avalanche. Here’s hoping the Lightning makes history once again and starts off this trip on the right foot.