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| TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING |
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18–9–1 (37 points; .661%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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7:00 P.M. – THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15 AMALIE ARENA TAMPA, FL |
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| TV: Bally Sports Ohio, ESPN+ |
After a shutout at the hands of Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers, the Columbus Blue Jackets look to rebound Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. faceoff against Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It's the first of what is one of the Columbus' hardest pair of games of the season. The Lightning are 18-9-1, and Saturday's opponent — the Boston Bruins — are 23-4-1.
Here's what to know when the puck drops between the Blue Jackets and the Bolts:
| CBJ | SEASON STATS | TB |
|---|---|---|
| 2.86 | GOALS FOR | 3.61 |
| 4.07 | GOALS AGAINST | 2.96 |
| 14.1% | POWER PLAY | 27.9% |
| 78.3% | PENALTY KILL | 80.2% |
| 29.4 | SHOTS FOR | 31.9 |
| 35.5 | SHOTS AGAINST | 31.0 |
| 45.2% | CF% (EVEN) | 51.3% |
| 51.0% | FACEOFF % | 48.8% |
| PROJECTIONS | ||
| ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK | 29% | |
| ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER THE 538 | 26% | |
| CAESAR'S SPORTSBOOK BETTING | TB -335 | |
| LIGHTNING: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| TUE, 12/13 | vs. KRAKEN | W, 5-2 |
| SAT, 12/10 | vs. PANTHERS | W, 4-1 |
| THU, 12/8 | vs. PREDATORS | W, 5-2 |
| LIGHTNING: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS | STEVEN STAMKOS | 16 |
| ASSISTS | NIKITA KUCHEROV | 31 |
| POINTS | NIKITA KUCHEROV | 42 |
TALKING POINTS: TB
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The Lightning had a rough opening week or so to the season, going 1-3-0 in their first four — the win, of course, coming over the Blue Jackets in Columbus' home opener. But the Lightning have been great since then, posting a 17-6-1 record over the last two dozen games and losing consecutive games just once.
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As they have been for so long now, the Lightning's special teams are a huge difference maker. They're in the top ten in both power play (27.9%, which ranks 5th) and penalty kill (80.2%, which is 10th).
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It's the usual suspects putting up big numbers for Tampa Bay this season. Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals (16), but it's Nikita Kucherov who is having the best all-around season for the Lightning. He leads the team in assists (31) and points (42), and is one of four Lightning skaters with double-digits in the goal column (11).
- Andrei Vasilevskiy is having another stellar season for the Lightning, but not as good as he has been in the past. A save percentage of .913 to pair with a 2.63 goals against average is something Blue Jackets fans would revel in, but both figures are the worst for Vasilevskiy since the 2015-16 season, his first as a regular starting netminder,
CBJ
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RESPOND.
When Columbus lost 9-4 to the Buffalo Sabres last week, they responded with consecutive wins against the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings. Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the Panthers was less than ideal — the Jackets will need to respond in a big way Thursday.
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POINTS FOR JOHNNY
It's a tough season, but Johnny Gaudreau has a chance to break the record for points in a season by a Columbus skater. That record currently belongs to Artemi Panarin, who had 87 points in his second (of two) seasons with the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau has 31 points and has played in all 28 games this season — a pace of 91 points.
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FIGHT FOR SPOTS
Adam Boqvist is skating again and Nick Blankenburg isn't too far off from a return. For guys like Marcus Bjork, Tim Berni, and Jake Christiansen, it means that the time to shine and keep a regular roster spot is now. Keep a close eye on these young blue liners.
PROJECTED LINES
Updated: 7:05 a.m. // Subject to Change
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Johnny Gaudreau | 38 | Boone Jenner | 14 | Gus Nyquist |
| 59 | Yegor Chinakhov | 96 | Jack Roslovic | 29 | Patrik Laine |
| 91 | Kent Johnson | 34 | Cole Sillinger | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 50 | Eric Robinson | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Vladislav Gavrikov | 47 | Marcus Bjork |
| 75 | Tim Berni | 44 | Eric Gudbranson |
| 23 | Jake Christiansen | 2 | Andrew Peeke |
| Starting Goalie | Backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Elvis Merzlikins | 40 | Daniil Tarasov |
