After a violent closing to the preseason without their starting goaltender, the Tampa Bay Lightning host the injured Ottawa Senators for the regular season kickoff.
Tampa had a controversial closing to the preseason after Brady’s brother’s team, the Florida Panthers, went to war with the Bolts with fines, suspensions, fights, and hundreds of penalty minutes going up on the board. Zemgus Girgensons is on the inured list as a result, and JJ Moser was suspended for his actions.
With concerns coming into the season for depth, the Lightning claimed goalie Phoenix Copley off waivers from Los Angeles and forward Curtis Douglas off waivers from Utah, who will make his NHL debut tonight.
The Lightning’s depth continues to erode after their championship runs as Cam Atkinson, Nick Prebix, and Connor Sheary depaeted this summer. The biggest loss is Issac Howard, who rejected Tampa to win with Edmonton in a trade that sent Sam O’Reilly as the return.
The diamond in the rough here is Jakob Pelletier, a former first rounder of the Flames, and a castaway piece from the Flyers’ trade in the spring was left unqualified and signed with term. He could break out in the Cooper system.
Ottawa is starting the year hurt without Drake Batherson and Tyler Kleven in the opening contest. The Senators have the regular season debuts of forwards Lars Eller and Olle Lycksell, both were free agent signings. Jordan Spence and Kurtis MacDermid, both additions via trade, are healthy scratches.
Linus Ullmark is getting the start against Andrei Vaslievsky.
Keys to Victory
- Early, Easy Points — with the freshness of the season, this is the best opportunity to collect the maximum amount of points possible. With the suspensions and injuries to Tampa, the Senators must capitalize.
- Ullmark Uprest — After a shaky preseason for the undisputed starting goaltender, every performance of his does matter.
- Veteran Experience — The veterans of the roster are on expiring deals. Giroux, Perron, Eller, and Jensen need to prove themselves as they are evolving in to secondary pieces as the young core is taking more spots.
Projected Lineups
Tampa Bay Lightning
Jake Guentzel -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel -- Anthony Cirelli -- Gage Goncalves
Mitchell Chaffee -- Yanni Gourde -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Curtis Douglas -- Pontus Holmberg -- Conor Geekie
Victor Hedman -- Darren Raddysh
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg -- Max Crozier
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
Scratched: Jack Finley
Injured: Zemgus Girgensons (upper body)
Suspended: J.J. Moser
Ottawa Senators
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron -- Dylan Cozens -- Michael Amadio
Ridly Greig -- Shane Pinto -- Claude Giroux
Nick Cousins -- Lars Eller -- Olle Lycksell
Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot -- Nick Jensen
Donovan Sebrango -- Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark
Leevi Merilainen
Scratched: Jordan Spence, Kurtis MacDermid
Injured: Drake Batherson (undisclosed), Tyler Kleven (undisclosed)
Players to Watch
Tampa Bay — Nikita Kucherov — the dark horse for the Hart.
Ottawa Senators — Brady Tkachuk — The heartbeat of the franchise goes with him.
Predicted Final Score
TBL — 3
OTT — 4
OT/SO
Gambling Odds
The Lightning are a -180 and the Senators are a +150 per FanDuel.
How to Watch
The Spot, TSN5, RDSI