In the second game of a home back-to-back, the Tampa Bay Lightning (39-21-6) host the Winnipeg Jets (37-26-3) with puck drop at 7:00 p.m. ET. FanDuel has the Lightning at a small favorite yet again on the money line at -194, paired with an over/under at 6.5.
Tampa Bay claimed a nice victory to start of their back-to-back last night against the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-1. A tied game almost all the way through, Brayden Point came through with his second goal of the night to break a 1-1 tie with a minute remaining in regulation. His magical season continues, but unfortunately Tampa Bay took a hit last night as well, losing Steven Stamkos to an apparent leg injury. He’ll more than likely be out of the lineup tonight when Winnipeg comes into town.
The man makes it look easy. pic.twitter.com/u7TrfQDDJE
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 12, 2023
The Jets are also coming off of a back-to-back, playing last night in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers. A lengthy back-and-forth duel led to an OT win for the Jets 5-4 as Mark Scheifele put home the game winner. Former Bolt Vladislav Namestnikov also had a fantastic night for Winnipeg, scoring two goals and adding an assist. That will certainly be a fun storyline to watch coming into this game as Tampa Bay hosts Namestnikov for the first time since dealing him prior to the trade deadline. This could also be an opportune time for the Lightning to get a win over a very solid playoff team given the back-to-back nature of the Jets’ games as well, especially with the Jets coming off of a long and physical overtime game.
The Lightning and Jets have faced off one time earlier this season on January sixth. The Jets came away with a 4-2 victory in Winnipeg behind some solid goaltender play and a potent offense. Pierre-Luc Dubois had two goals on the night and Josh Morrissey added three assists for Winnipeg as the Lightning hope to have a different result here tonight. Backup goaltender Brian Elliott played for the Bolts last night against Chicago, so it’s a good bet that Andrei Vasilevskiy will be in net tonight. Connor Hellebuyck pla
yed last night for Winnipeg, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Jets plan to work the goalie position on a back-to-back.
INJURIES: Lightning C Steven Stamkos left last night’s game and his status is undetermined.
Jets centers Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cole Perfetti are currently on IR.
Odds (Courtesy of FanDuel): TBL -194 ML/WPG +160 ML, O 6.5 +104/U 6.5 -128
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
March 12, 2023, 7:00 p.m. ET