Fresh off a disappointing loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Tampa Bay Lightning are back in action tonight to take on the New Jersey Devils. With a rather paltry 1-2-0 record on the road, the Lightning will be looking to right the ship against one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams. Despite losing Zach Parise in the off-season, the Devils have performed admirably to start this season. With a 3-0-1 record at the Prudential Center, the Devils are not to be taken lightly.

As mentioned, the Lightning have struggled on the road to start this season. In what has become a bit of a trend during Guy Boucher’s tenure as Lightning head coach, the team is incredibly good on home ice and less than inspiring on the road. Simply put – championship teams know how to win at home, and on the road. With this being the second game of an increasingly important four game road trip, the Bolts need to buck the trend sooner rather than later.

Recent history between these two clubs hasn’t been kind to the Lightning, but this year’s Bolts squad is different. With solid goaltending, a good defense and some of the league’s best forwards, this Lightning team is balanced and impressive. That being said – as seen in the last two games, teams know how to beat the Lightning. It takes a grinding defensive effort, and if there’s one team that knows how to bring that sort of effort to the rink it’s the New Jersey Devils. As such, it’s incredibly difficult to get a read on this game.

To be blunt – the Devils are always dangerous. Even without Parise, players like David Clarkson, Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrick Elias are always ready and willing to hurt opposing teams on the scoreboard. For example, take Clarkson. Through nine games this season, he has amassed seven goals and twelve points. He’s a physical player, a leader, and one of the most underrated forwards in the NHL. Dealing with him will be no easy task for the Bolts’ defense.

For the Devils, this game represents an opportunity to continue what can only be described as a great start to the season. Despite struggling to score goals at times, the Devils have looked like the kind of team that has what it takes to grind out victories against other top tier teams. Simply put – they play to win.

From the Lightning’s perspective, this game needs to be about getting back to what made this team successful during the first six games of the season. While it’s harder to generate offense on the road, the Bolts need to get back to that high flying offense that saw them confounding opposition defenses shift in and shift out. The Lightning are not setup to win 1-0 games; this team needs to score to be successful.

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Now, here are some pre-game notes.

* Anders Lindback will get the start for the Lightning after another strong showing against the Flyers in the team’s last game. With a 0.912SV% and a 2.73GAA, Lindback is providing the Bolts with the kind of goaltending they need. To state it succinctly – he is giving the team a chance to win every time he steps out onto the ice.

* According to the Devils’ website, expect Martin Brodeur to get the start in the Devils’ net tonight as he looks to build on a start to the season that has seen him do what he does best – win. Regardless of age, Brodeur is still one of the scariest goaltenders in the league; his reputation alone is something to fear. It’s great to see him succeeding at such an “advanced age,” and it will be great to see him tonight.

* Despite being medically cleared to play after taking the brunt of a Zac Rinaldo punch, BJ Crombeen hasn’t been put in the lineup for tonight as of yet. Guy Boucher hasn’t announced his decision and may wait until just prior to puck drop to do so. It’s good to see Crombeen is healthy and ready to play given just how dire things looked when he left the ice in the Flyers game.

* Both Marc-Andre Bergeron and Brendan Mikkelson will slot into the lineup tonight meaning that Brian Lee is most likely sitting this one out.

* Per the Lightning’s website – the last two times these teams have met, a Lightning player has recorded a hat-trick. First it was Martin St. Louis and then Ryan Malone in February and March of 2012. Will that streak continue tonight? Stranger things have happened. Who’s your pick to continue the hat-trick streak?

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As always, thanks for reading. Predictions?

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