After having their six game win streak snapped on Tuesday night in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Tampa Bay Lightning will get a chance to start a new run tonight as they take on the San Jose Sharks at Amalie Arena.
The Eastern Conference leading Lightning are back home after a three game road trip, on which they took five of a possible six points. Despite the disappointing loss in Chicago, the road swing has to be considered a success. Tonight’s game versus the Sharks will mark the debut of the team’s new third jerseys.
With puck drop only a few hours away, the Lightning announced some good news on the injury front. Both Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn are ‘probable’ for tonight’s contest. That bodes well for the Bolts, who have been receiving contributions from young players like them all season long.
Further, the only player who wasn’t able to take the morning skate today because of injury was Victor Hedman; Steven Stamkos had a planned rest day. It certainly sounds like the injury bug is slowly vacating the building.
With more healthy bodies ready to go, Lightning coach Jon Cooper has some difficult decisions to make about tonight’s lineup. The speculation this morning is that Jonathan Drouin might take a seat in the press box. Nothing has been officially announced.
Cooper didn't say who is scratched but Drouin one of last off ice today.
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) November 13, 2014#TBLightning morning lines: Filppula-Killorn-Callahan, Johnson-Palat-Kucherov, Boyle-Brown-Morrow, Namestnikov-Paquette-Drouin.
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) November 13, 2014On the Sharks side of things the Bolts are looking at a team that has slowed down substantially after a red-hot start to the year. San Jose has lost three of its last four games, including contests against the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, and Florida Panthers. This Sharks team, which should be a contender, is ranked 20th in goals-against per game so far this season. The Lightning’s potent offense will have a big opportunity tonight. Hopefully they make the most of it.
I’ll be back with a proper post-game recap. 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.