Raw Charge
Summary
Time: 7:00 PM Location: Benchmark International Arena TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, KONG, ESPN+, 102.5 The Bone Odds: Lightning -250 Know the Opponents: Davy Jones’ Locker Room The Tampa Bay Lightning did not have a great game against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. They failed to keep pace with the Rangers on the way to a 4-1 loss, snapping their four-game winning streak. Now the Bolts hope recent history repeats itself. After all, it was only a few weeks ago that they lost a game against the Rangers where they were outpaced. Then they went on that aforementioned winning streak. If they want another victory streak to come to fruition, they’re going to get back to basics. Forecheck in the offensive zone, disrupt the neutral zone, and quick breakouts from the defensive zone. That’s what they were doing so well for much of the season, and it led to the results they needed. From the middle of the Islanders game through the entire Rangers game, the Lightning got away from that and spent the last five periods chasing the puck. At the end of their last game, the lines were jumbled up with Nikita Kucherov basically double-shifting on the top two lines from the mid-point of the third period. Gage Goncalves dropped to a line with Conor Geekie and Jeff Viel while the Pontus Holmberg stayed together. Which makes sense since they were the best line on the night. With no practice on Wednesday, we didn’t get a chance to see if any of the changes were permanent or just a temporary salve in a game that had gotten away from the Lightning. With the official recall of Dominic James announced on Wednesday, it looks like he might be back in the mix as well. Will the Bolts switch back to a 12/6 line-up which they haven’t rolled out since opening night, or keep things going with 11/7? Even if they stick with the 11/7 expect to see James in as well as Emil Lilleberg, who is fit and ready to go. Before the season, tonight’s game probably was penciled in as a win. Seattle was projected to be in the bottom-half of the league by most pre-season polls after a lackluster off-season. However, a three-game winning streak has bumped their record up to 5-2, and they’re doing it with offense as they’ve scored 28 goals in their 7 games. It’s been a team-wide effort. Quick, without looking, who is the team’s leader in goals and points? The answers are Frederick Gaudreau (4 goals) and Chandler Stephenson along with Jared McCann (7 points). They have three other players with three goals – Bobby McMann, Mackie Samoskevich, and Jordan Eberle. Meanwhile nine players have at least five points on the season. That’s a pretty nice spread of offense right there. We don’t want rain on their parade (Seattle gets enough rain as it is) but there could be a little bit of a wobble in that foundation. The Kraken’s wins are against Calgary (x2), Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington (a decent win). While they’ve posted 23 goals at 5v5, their expected goals is at 14.61, and they are upside down in scoring chances (43.87%), high-danger chances (44.76%), and shot attempts (42.27%). Small sample sizes and all that, but it’s a bit of a worrying trend. They will finish their five-game road trip with Tampa Bay and Florida, which should be a good test for them. Numbers aside, the Kraken are rolling their lines pretty well right now and getting contributions from everyone, so the Lightning won’t be able to take a shift off tonight. If they can get back to a strong forecheck and slow down Seattle’s breakouts, it will point them in the right direction to start their next winning streak. Lightning Lines (best guess, will be updated if they have a full morning skate) Forwards: Gage Goncalves Brayden Point Nikita Kucherov Brandon Hagel Anthony Cirelli Jake Guentzel Pontus Holmberg Zemgus Girgensons Ilya Mikheyev Jeff Viel Dominic James Conor Geekie Defense: J.J. Moser John Carlson Ryan McDonagh Erik Cernak Victor Hedman Emil Lilleberg Goaltenders: Andrei Vasilevskiy Dennis Hildeby Seattle Kraken Forwards: Jared McCann Matty Beniers Mackie Samoskevich Bobby McMann Chandler Stephenson Jordan Eberle Kaapo Kakko Berkly Catton Shane Wright Ben Meyers Frederick Gaudreau Ryan Winterton Defense: Vince Dunn Adam Larsson Ryker Evans Brandon Montour Ville Ottavainen Joshua Mahura Goaltenders: Phillip Grubauer Joey Daccord