Tampa Bay Lightning Look to Stay Hot as West Coast Road Trip Starts

The Tampa Bay Lightning look to bring their three-game win streak onto the West Coast as they start a four-game road trip in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights Tuesday night.

The Lightning are coming off of a much-needed three-game win streak with home wins over the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers and a big road win vs the league-leading Florida Panthers. Andrei Vasilevskiy has looked like Prime Vasy with 97 saves over the past three wins. There is no better time than right now for Vasilevskiy to play in top form.

The stellar play by the Lightning over the past three games also earned another accolade for Nikita Kucherov as he was named the NHL's first star of the week with two goals, five assists, and seven points across that span. Kucherov still trails Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon by two points in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.

Trade Deadline Acquisitions Fitting in Nicely for the Lightning

Since acquiring Anthony Duclair and Matt Dumba at the trade deadline, both players have contributed nicely to their new jerseys. Anthony Duclair continues his hot streak from when he was a member of the San Jose Sharks with two goals, two assists, four points, and a +5 rating in three games as a Lightning. We even see Duclair skating on the top line alongside Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov.

Although Matt Dumba has yet to record a point as a Tampa Bay Lightning, he has contributed in the physicality aspect which the Bolts desperately needed with the absence of Tanner Jeannot. Dumba has a fight along with a +1 rating in his first 3 games as a member of the Lightning.

Tanner Jeannot Expected to Return to the Lineup Tuesday Night at Vegas

With Tanner Jeannot only playing in four games since the start of the new calendar year, the Lightning desperately miss seeing no. 84 out on the ice playing. Lightning Head Coach, Jon Cooper admitted that the team was being extra cautious with Jeannot as they do not want to rush him back, but make sure he is 100% to return to the ice. As of Tuesday morning, all signs point to seeing Tanner Jeannot return to the lineup for the first time since February 13th.

Vitally-Important West Coast Road Trip Starts Tuesday at Vegas

Tuesday night at Vegas Golden Knights begins the Lightning's west coast road trip, then travel to play San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks.

As points are coming by a premium as the regular season vastly heads to a close, the Lightning would love to fly home with at least five points over these next four games at minimum. The Lightning did themselves a favor over the past three games by widening the gap for the wild card spot, but they cannot get complacent.

Look for the Tampa Bay Lightning to come out fast and hopefully translate their stellar play from the East Coast across the country to the West Coast in this important road trip.