It will be a battle of the bottom of the Atlantic Division as the Tampa Bay Lightning (19-19-4) host the Buffalo Sabres (16-15-9). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Lightning and Sabres have only played one other time this season and that was back in the middle of November. The Bolts took that game with ease winning 4-1. However, things were looking a little different then than they do now for the Lightning.
Lightning Outlook
As I mentioned in a recent post, the sky is falling for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Losers of four straight games, the Bolts have started their freefall down the Atlantic Division. The team currently sits in sixth place put is only one point ahead of the seventh-place Sabres and eighth-place Red Wings. Thursday night's game has to be viewed as a must-win for Tampa Bay if they want to put a stop to this plummet.
The team could see the return of both Brian Boyle and Ben Bishop which can only mean good things for the beaten up Bolts. Injuries have taken their toll on this team making nearly impossible to maintain any sort of consistency on the ice with players moving back and forth between Tampa Bay and Syracuse.
The Lightning will hope that Boyle can return to the way he was before he was sidelined as he was arguably the best player on the team at that point. The return of Bishop to the goal crease is simply a relief. Although the future appears to be in the hands of Andrei Vasilevskiy, he has been in goal every game since Bishop's injury and appears both mentally and physically exhausted.
To put it simply, Tampa Bay needs to get some sort of positive out of their game against Buffalo if they want a realistic chance at turning this disappointing season around. The amount of games in the season are only getting fewer and some teams are beginning to gain separation from those at the bottom.
Sabres Outlook
Overall, the 2016-17 has been another disappointment for the hockey franchise in the city of Buffalo. However, things have begun to take a turn for the better. The Sabres are winners of three of their last four games and have obtained at least point in every contest this month. Road games have not been too horrible for this team as they have a 7-7-6 record away from home up to this point.
Realistically, the chances of the Sabres making the postseason are quite slim. However, they are not out of the realm of possibility. A win on Thursday would put them ahead of the Lightning in the standings and only three points back of third place in the division, barring the Senators lose their game to Pittsburgh.
The truth is, all of the pressure to win this game falls on the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are the team not living up to expectations at this point. Win or lose, the outcome will be more detrimental to the Bolts.