The Tampa Bay Lightning (20-20-4) head to the Staples Center to take on the Los Angels Kings (22-17-4) this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. ET. This is the first time these two teams will face one another this season.
Lightning Outlook
The month of January has been a month to forget so far for the Lightning. They are losers of five of the six games played in 2017 and have been outscored 27-14 during that span.
To put in bluntly, nothing has gone right for the Bolts over the past 16 days. Prior to the new year, Tampa Bay tight-roping the line between a playoff contender and a bottom dweller. These days, it is much more apparent which direction the team is headed.
They have seen a decline in production in almost every aspect of the game besides for the power play. Their defense continues to be one of the worst in the league while the goalie situation has brought up more questions and concerns than assurances.
The Lightning are beginning to separate themselves from the playoff contenders in the Atlantic division and it's not happening the way they had hoped. The Bolts currently occupy sixth place but are four points behind three teams battling for the third playoff spot. Unfortunately, these team is getting closer to the bottom of the division with the passing of each day.
Tampa Bay begins gruesome six-game road trip today and will play four games over the next six days. The Lightning are 8-12-2 on the road so far this season.
Kings Outlook
Unlike the Lightning, the Kings find themselves very much in the battle for the postseason. They currently hold the second wild-card spot but are not far out of creeping into one of the three Pacific Division spots.
Los Angeles is on a two-game winning streak and are 5-4-1 in their last ten. The Kings are have felt very comfortable at the Staples Center this season and currently have a home record of 14-6-1.
The defensively strong Kings will be quite the challenge for the struggling Bolts this afternoon. However, the Lightning cannot afford to let this ship sink any more than it already has. Tampa Bay is hoping to pull off an upset to build off of during this long string of games away from home.