The Tampa Bay Lightning are out on the road at the SAP Center tonight for a tilt with the San Jose Sharks. This is the second and final meeting between the two clubs this year; the Sharks beat the Lightning by a 2-1 score back on November 13th at Amalie Arena.
Unlike the Lightning, who sit comfortably near the top of the Atlantic Division, the Sharks are jockeying for position in the Pacific. While they currently sit second, the Sharks are only one point up on both the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks; both Western Canadian squads have games in hand on the Sharks as well. The unfortunate reality for San Jose is that of a team fighting for a playoff spot. Every point counts for them right now.
The bad news for San Jose is that they will likely face a motivated Lightning team tonight. Losers of two straight games, the Bolts no longer sit atop the Atlantic. After losing a close one against the Nashville Predators and being embarrassed by the St. Louis Blues, Jon Cooper’s Tampa team will undoubtedly be looking to right the ship this evening.
Perhaps working in the Sharks’ favor, however, is the fact that Tampa has been pretty bad at SAP Center over the last few years. Per Bryan Burns, the Lightning have lost five straight in San Jose. It’s vitally important that they snap the streak tonight, as things don’t get any easier tomorrow in Los Angeles. Cashing in on the first night of a back-to-back set is always the goal.
Even so, based on the underlying numbers, it’s clear that the Lightning will have an opportunity to do just that. The Sharks are a middle of the road possession team with fairly weak goaltending, as evidenced by the team’s .917 save percentage at five-on-five (per Puckalytics); while the Lightning’s is a hair worse, Tampa makes up for it with an incredibly strong possession game. The bottom line here is that the high-flying Bolts are set to face a team that is giving up 2.37 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play. Only nine teams in the league give up more. The opportunity to take advantage is knocking – Tampa just has to open the door.
As mentioned, this is a key contest for the road team. Having had a few days off to practice, there will be no excuse if the Bolts come out flat. While the Sharks do have their issues, there’s no denying that tonight’s opponent is a quality one. It’s going to take a solid performance to grab two points.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.