The Western Conference leading Anaheim Ducks (15-4-1) and the Eastern Conference leading Tampa Bay Lightning (13-5-0) will take to the ice tonight at the Tampa Bay Times Forum for their first of two meetings this season.
Both the Ducks and Lightning head into tonight’s contest dealing with some pretty impactful injuries. As every person not born yesterday knows, Steven Stamkos is out for the Lightning after breaking his tibia in Boston earlier this week. He underwent successful surgery and is expected to begin rehab as soon as possible. In addition, Sami Salo, Keith Aulie, and Tom Pyatt remain out for the Lightning.
Even without Stamkos, the Lightning have the ability to win hockey games. In their first contest without number-91, the team went out and thoroughly dominated the Montreal Canadiens. Had it not been for a stellar (read: un-freaking-believable) performance by Carey Price, the Bolts would have won by a wide margin. It’s never easy for a team to lose one of the best players in the world for a long period of time; grabbing a 2-1 shootout win from the Canadiens should provide a big confidence boost for the Lightning moving forward.
From the Lightning’s website:
“We understand this isn’t a one game absence for us, this is one of many, but we need to bring this type of effort and they’ve pretty much brought this all year. It was a big step in overcoming what we know is going to be a big challenge for us. This is a big step in knowing we can overcome it.… – Head coach Jon Cooper on picking up their first win amidst the loss of Steven Stamkos
Lost in the fray surrounding the Stamkos injury is the fact that the Lightning are 8-2-0 in their last ten games. Simply put, the Bolts are playing some good hockey right now. If they want to grab a win tonight against arguably the best team in the league, they’ll need to keep that up. That means Ben Bishop will need to be great, as he has been all year. That means the team’s blue line will need to continue playing as one big unit. That means the offensive guns will need to continue to find the net at key times. There’s no other way to put it; tonight’s game is a big test for this Lightning team. Jon Cooper is expected to ice the same lineup he dressed in Montreal.
The Ducks, for their part, are missing key cogs like Ryan Getzlaf and Saku Koivu. To make things worse, it sounds as though Corey Perry is questionable for tonight’s game as he continues to battle the flu. Jonas Hiller, however, will return to the Ducks’ crease after missing their last few games.
As good as the Ducks have been, their road record leaves something to be desired. At 7-4-1, the Ducks have been beatable away from the Honda Center. Like the Panthers did against the Ducks two nights ago in Sunrise, the Lightning must take advantage. With the opportunity to show the hometown fans that they can win without Steven Stamkos, you can bet that the Bolts will come out with a lot of energy tonight.
As always, thanks for reading.
Stamkos is in good spirits...
Nice to be back home in tampa. Can't thank all the staff at Mass General enough for all their hard work and dedication the past 4 days !
— steven stamkos (@RealStamkos91) November 14, 2013
Thanks to all my family, friends, and fans for all the well wishes! I will be back as soon as possible !!
— steven stamkos (@RealStamkos91) November 11, 2013