Following another third period lapse against Columbus, the Tampa Bay Lightning are still winless on the road to begin their 2023-24 campaign.
The Bolts get another chance tonight to collect that elusive first road win as the Lightning return to Ottawa tonight for a matchup against the Senators.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Weren’t we just here?
This will be the second time the two teams have faced off in Ottawa this season. The Lightning fell 5-2 back on October 15. Tampa tied the game at 2-2 before a Mathieu Joseph goal late in the second period put the Senators up for good.
Perhaps frustrated by their inability to close the game out against Columbus, Jon Cooper juggled the lines at practice yesterday. Most notably, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov were placed on separate lines, with Steven Stamkos remaining on his on line apart from the two.
Who to watch on Ottawa
The Senators started the season well, going 3-1. Since they have gone 1-4 and currently sit in last place in the Atlantic Division with eight points.
Ottawa has also been embroiled in controversy since Tampa last saw them. Shane Pinto has been suspended 41 games for accusations of sports betting. Then word came out that Ottawa has to forfeit a future first round pick after they’ve didn’t disclose the no trade clause of Evgenii Dadonov in 2021 when they traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights.
On the ice, Ottawa is still led by Brady Tkachuk, Claude Giroux, and Valdimir Tarasenko.
Vegas Says…
Reflective of the fact that the Tampa Bay Lightning have yet to win a road game and that Ottawa beat Tampa last time they played, Tampa is a +100 underdog while Ottawa is a -120 favorite.
The over/Under is set at the standard 6.5 goals.