The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens will take to the ice at the Bell Centre for Game Two of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series tonight. After snatching a double-overtime victory in the first game, Tampa Bay will be looking to take control of the series with a second win this evening.
Because Game One lasted 82:06, it will be interesting to see whether or not fatigue plays a role in this one. The Canadiens should be somewhat rested, as they had a nice break between the Quarterfinal and this series, but the Lightning have barely taken their foot off the gas since starting the postseason. Still, as Brian Boyle noted this morning:
Boyle on difficulty of playing two days after 2OT game. "I think we’re all in pretty good shape, or we should be. We’re pro athletes."
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) May 3, 2015If the Lightning are going to steal a second victory in Montreal, it sounds like they’ll do it with the same lineup that took Game One. Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune tweeted that, barring injury, Mark Barberio and Jonathan Drouin are the expected scratches. That means Brenden Morrow, the guy who played for five minutes in a game that lasted 80-plus, is in the lineup again. Jon Cooper says Drouin sits because he has to play the 20 guys who he thinks give him the best chance to win. Could someone explain how Morrow fits into that? I’ll hang up and listen.
Granted, that ‘barring injury’ caveat could come into play. Tyler Johnson, who was injured in Game One, did take the optional morning skate today, but he hasn’t been confirmed as ready for tonight. With that said, expect that he’ll be in the lineup when puck drops.
On the other side of things, Montreal is expected to go with the same lineup again. That doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as the Canadiens played a phenomenally solid Game One. Michel Therrien was happy with his group, and a number of the players noted that they were pleased with everything but the result. Can they repeat that performance? We’ll just have to wait and see.
That’s all for now. 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.