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Lightning Meet Flyers for Key Conference Match-up

March 18, 2013, 5:53 PM ET [34 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It’s do or die for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as they get set to take on the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Trailing the Flyers by two points and with a game in hand, the Lightning have a huge opportunity to make up some much needed ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Despite a lot of less than inspiring performances this year, the Lightning are still mathematically alive. Needing roughly 14 wins in their last 20 games to make the playoffs, the Bolts have to start getting the job done just like they did in their last game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Lightning and Flyers have already met twice this season, with each team winning once at their respective home arenas. If anything, that bodes well for the Lightning who have already defeated the Flyers by a score of 5-1 at the Forum earlier this season. In that contest, the Lightning got contributions from all of their big stars. Steven Stamkos, Teddy Purcell and Vincent Lecavalier all scored, and Anders Lindback stopped 24 of 25 shots fired his way. All in all, it was a great performance that the Lightning should be looking to repeat tonight.

Unfortunately, the Lightning group that beat the Flyers all the way back in January is not the Lightning team that has graced the ice in recent weeks. Plagued by inconsistency, the Lightning are struggling to put together consecutive solid performances. That could all change tonight.

Anders Lindback will get the start tonight after taking last game off in place of Mathieu Garon. Since his “benching” of sorts, Lindback has been incredibly solid. He has allowed two or fewer goals in most of his recent starts, and he has certainly given the guys in front of him a chance to win. If the Lightning’s offense could start producing at the clip everyone knows it’s capable of, this team could be very dangerous moving forward.

Per the Lightning’s website, the rest of the lineup will remain unchanged from Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes. For those who need a refresher – that means that Vincent Lecavalier and Benoit Pouliot will remain out, and Radko Gudas will continue to play a big role. If it’s not broken don’t fix it. The lineup that took to the ice against the Hurricanes played one of the best games this Lightning team has played all year.

Unfortunately for the Lightning, the Flyers are much better than their record would indicate. They boast offensive stars, a physical team, and a goaltender that certainly has the ability to steal games. The Flyers know how to win games, and you can bet they'll be looking to do just that this evening.

All in all, the Lightning have a great opportunity to get right back in the thick of the race. A win tonight, and the Lightning could find themselves real close to the playoff picture with a lot of winnable games coming up down the stretch. A loss tonight, and the Lightning will find themselves four points back of the Flyers with only 19 games remaining. As said, it’s do or die for the Lightning. Get the job done.

As always, thanks for reading. Predictions?
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