Tampa Bay Lightning (5-1-1) at Columbus Blue Jackets (4–1–0)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017, 7 p.m. (Nationwide Arena)
Seemingly everything went wrong for Tampa Bay a season ago, something that was shown in the team's results against the Blue Jackets.
Columbus had its way with the Bolts a season ago, winning all three games, two of which were in the Sunshine State. In all, the Blue Jackets outscored Tampa Bay by a 13-5 margin in the trio of contests, three losses in a season that ended without a playoff bid for the 2015-16 Eastern Conference finalists.
But while injuries and inconsistent goaltending hurt Tampa Bay a season ago in a disappointing campaign, things have made an 180-degree change this season during the Lightning's strong start. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are scoring like stars, while Andrei Vasilevskiy has settled in between the pipes in his first full season as the starter.
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected back in net as the Jackets start a four-game homestand, while Vasilevskiy should return to the Tampa cage after sitting for Peter Budaj on Tuesday.
You Oughta Know: Nikita Kucherov
If you’re a hockey fan, you know Kucherov, but what he’s doing so far this season is worth delving into. The 24-year-old Russian is off to a scintillating start, scoring in each of the team’s first seven games to become the first player to accomplish that achievement since Mario Lemieux in 1992-93. Overall, Kucherov has eight goals and four assists for 12 points in the first seven games, but his dominance should be no surprise. He led the NHL in power-play markers a season ago with 17 on the way to a 40-goal, 85-point season, which followed seasons of 66 (2015-16) and 65 points (2014-15). By any measure, Kucherov has become one of the most feared and consistent goal scorers in the NHL.
Five Fast Facts
- Going back to last season, the Lightning are 13-2-2 in their last 17 games and 25-7-5 in their last 37, though the team lost a shootout in its last contest at New Jersey on Tuesday.
- Stamkos has scored points in nine straight games going back to last season. He has at least one point in every game this season and is one game away from tying his personal best to begin a season. In his career, he has 594 points in 593 games, though he played just 17 games last year because of injury.
- The Lightning have won four of five games this year while being outshot this season, while Columbus has won four times this year while outshooting its opponent. Teams are averaging 34.9 shots on goal per game against Tampa Bay.
- Tampa Bay has already played three games against Metropolitan Division foes this year, going 2-0-1. In addition to the shootout loss vs. New Jersey on Tuesday, the Lightning has beaten Washington in a shootout (Oct. 9) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 12) in Tampa.
- Former Blue Jackets defenseman Anton Stralman has three assists in the first seven games and is plus-9. Stralman, a 31-year-old Swede, is in his fourth year with Tampa after playing for the Blue Jackets from 2009-11.
Previous Matchups
THIS YEAR: First meeting (of three), with the next Nov. 4 in Tampa
LAST MEETING: Columbus won 3-1 while visiting Tampa Bay on Jan. 13 of last year
Keys to the Game
ONE: Stop the power. The Lightning have scored a power-play goal in each of the first seven games this season, tying the franchise record to start the season. Tampa Bay has scored on 25.8 percent of its man-advantage chances this year, while Columbus has denied 78.6 percent of opposing chances.
TWO: Team defense. Tampa Bay has shown the ability to score, with four or more goals in five of seven games. The Blue Jackets can't rely simply on Sergei Bobrovsky and must be solid all the way around, especially when Kucherov and Stamkos are on the ice.
THREE: Test Vasilevskiy. Tampa's goalie has a goals-against average of 3.00, the highest of his four-year NHL career thus far. Some of that is because of the rubber he's facing – his .914 save percentage is still solid – but there should be chances to put the puck in the net.
Team Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86 | Nikita Kucherov | 7 GP, 8-4-12 | 91 | Steven Stamkos | 7 GP, 2-10-12 | 90 | Vladislav Namestnikov | 7 GP, 3-4-7 |
| 37 | Yanni Gourde | 7 GP, 0-2-2 | 21 | Brayden Point | 7 GP, 3-5-8 | 18 | Ondrej Palat | 7 GP, 3-1-4 |
| 9 | Tyler Johnson | 7 GP, 3-2-5 | 17 | Alex Killorn | 7 GP, 1-6-7 | |||
| 14 | Chris Kunitz | 7 GP, 1-1-2 | 13 | Cedric Paquette | 6 GP, 0-1-1 | 24 | Ryan Callahan | 7 GP, 0-0-0 |
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | Victor Hedman | 7 GP, 1-2-3 | 59 | Jake Dotchin | 6 GP, 0-0-0 |
| 55 | Braydon Coburn | 7 GP, 0-2-2 | 5 | Dan Girardi | 7 GP, 0-0-0 |
| 98 | Mikhail Sergachev | 7 GP, 0-4-4 | 6 | Anton Stralman | 7 GP, 0-3-3 |
| 62 | Andrej Sustr | 2 GP, 0-0-0 |
| # | Player | GS | W-L-OL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | Andrei Vasilevskiy | 6 | 5-1-0 | 3.00 | .914 | 0 |
| 31 | Peter Budaj | 1 | 0-0-1 | 3.69 | .882 | 0 |
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