The Tampa Bay Lightning are still not in a position that should make most fans comfotable. After their overtime win against Seattle, the Lightning have 31 points through 29 games and as it stands right now are the first team out of the playoffs in the eastern conference.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Out West
When Tampa and Vancouver faced off back in October, the Lightning were all over the Canucks, especially in the second period, but couldn't pull away on the scoreboard until the back half of the game. Nikita Kucherov scored twice and Tampa was able to hang on for a 4-3.
Tampa's lines will look different tonight compared to what we saw back in October. The original game was when Brandon Hagel was still with Anthony Cirelli and Steven Stamkos.
Who to watch on Vancouver
Former Bolt J.T. Miller is having a top tier season. He enters the game second in the NHL in points with 40, behind Kucherov (the best around). He will be paired up with Brock Boeser and Nils Hoglander.
Expect for Vancouver to put Elias Pettersson on a separate line, but one that is delievering a leathal one-two punch this season. Pettersson is 6th in the NHL in points this season with 37. Look for him to paired up with Sam Lafferty and Ilya Mikheyev.
Vegas Says...
It probably is not a surprise that Vegas likes Vancouver in this game as -125 favorites while Tampa is a +105 underdog.
The surprise however is that Vegas has the odds that tight given it's in Vancouver and given the up and down nature of Tampa this season.
The over/under is set at the standard 6.5 goals.