Bolts by the Bay
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Anaheim Ducks at Tampa Bay Lightning Preview

By Austin Hart

TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 14: Anthony Cirelli #71 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates a game wining goal in overtime during a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Amalie Arena on April 14, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 14: Anthony Cirelli #71 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates a game wining goal in overtime during a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Amalie Arena on April 14, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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Back at home for the first time in almost two weeks, the Tampa Bay Lightning (35-17-3) host the Anaheim Ducks (17-33-7) tonight with puck drop slated for 7:00 p.m. ET. The Lightning are massive favorites (-530) at home according to FanDuel, paired with an over/under at 6.5.

The Bolts are in the midst of a two-game skid after dropping the last two games of their road trip. After a 1-0 shootout loss to Arizona, Vegas was able to get a victory over the Lightning 5-4 on Saturday. Tampa Bay ran into an extremely hot Golden Knights team that had pucks flying at Andrei Vasilevskiy early and often. Jonathan Marchessault scored twice in the first to lead the onslaught, and Vegas never looked back. The Lightning need to regain their footing here tonight against an inferior opponent record-wise this season.

Anaheim is coming off of a tough 4-3 OT loss yesterday to the Florida Panthers. They struggled to maintain their various leads throughout the game and eventually fell short in overtime. The Ducks are an abysmal 1-6-0 this season in the second game of back-to-backs. Their only win came earlier this month in overtime against the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. Anaheim is one of the bottom-feeders of the league, tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the lowest point total in the NHL. This needs to be a game where the Lightning can take advantage of the downward trend for the Ducks in back-to-back games, especially in front of the home crowd.

The Lightning secured a victory in the only other meeting with the Ducks this season back on October 26th. A 4-2 win was highlighted by a late Power Play goal for Brandon Hagel that gave Tampa Bay the edge.

INJURIES: Lightning D Erik Cernak missed his second straight game against Vegas and is considered day-to-day.

Ducks G Anthony Stolarz and D Jamie Drysdale remain on IR. D Urho Vaakanainen and LW Justin Kirkland will likely be out, but there is a chance RW Troy Terry could suit up.

Odds (Courtesy of FanDuel): TBL -530 ML/ANA +390 ML, O 6.5 -132/U 6.5 +108

Where to watch: Bally Sports Sun, NHL Power Play, ESPN+

Where to listen: Lightning Radio 24/7, 102.5 MHz-FM

Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

February 21, 2023, 7:00 p.m. ET

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