Nuts and Bolts: Lightning aim to get offense going vs. Pens

The Lighting and Penguins close out their regular season series at Amalie Arena on Saturday night.
The two teams split their first two meetings of the year, both of which were played at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The Bolts won the first matchup 4-3 in November and the Penguins bounced back with a 4-2 win last month.

Lines from Saturday's morning skate. Subject to change.
Forwards
Ondrej Palat - Steven Stamkos - Nikita Kucherov
Yanni Gourde - Brayden Point - Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - J.T. Miller
Adam Erne - Cedric Paquette - Mathieu Joseph
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Braydon Coburn - Mikhail Sergachev
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy execpted to start
Saturday's Matchup
The Lightning and the Penguins are completing their three-game regular season series tonight and playing their only meeting of the season at AMALIE Arena...The Bolts and Pens are playing for the second time in an 11-day span...Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh have split the two previous meetings...The Lightning earned a 4-3 win over the Penguins in the first meeting Nov. 15 in Pittsburgh, Brayden Point tallying his first career hat trick (natural), all three goals coming on the power play in a span of 91 seconds over the first and second periods, to help the Bolts overcome a 2-0 deficit, and Yanni Gourde netting the game-winning goal at 7:56 of the second period, also on the power play, with the game tied 3-3...Louis Domingue stopped 28-of-31 shots in the second start in his run of 11- consecutive starts (11/13-12/3)...That win ended a three-game regular season losing skid in Pittsburgh for the Bolts...J.T. Miller has recorded points (2-4--6) in four of his last five games vs. PIT...Alex Killorn is on a five-game assist streak vs. PIT (8 assists total) and has more regular season assists against the Pens (14 in 20 games) than any other NHL team...Nikita Kucherov has recorded points in five of his last six games vs. PIT (4-6--10)...Steven Stamkos has tallied points in seven of his last eight games (4-8--12) vs. PIT (DNP in 2016-17 vs. PIT due to injury).
Saturday's Storylines
The Lightning are looking to avoid losing three games in a row for the first time this season and the first time since March 24-29, 2018...Tampa Bay is aiming for its 40th win of the season tonight, which would give it six-consecutive 40-win seasons and 10 40-win seasons in franchise history...The Lightning have recorded 82 points through 54 games, their most points through the first 54 games of a season in franchise history, bettering the previous mark of 77 points in 2017-18...Tampa Bay continues to lead the NHL standings, a position it has held solely since Dec. 2, and owns a nine-point lead over second-place Calgary and a 13-point lead over Toronto for first in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division...The Lightning lead the NHL for goals per game (3.76) and rank sixth for goals allowed per game (2.76)...Since Jan. 1, the Bolts have allowed 2.29 goals per game (32 goals over 14 games), ranking fifth in the League for goals allowed over that stretch behind NYI (1.67), STL (2), MTL (2) and DAL (2.21)...Tampa Bay owns the top power play in the NHL (28.8%) and the second-best penalty kill in the League at 84.6% (1st: ARI - 84.8%)...If the season ended today, the Lightning power play would rank tied for seventh all-time in the NHL (1st: MTL - 31.9% in 1997-78).
Injuries
None
2018-19 Man Games Lost: 80
Parking Info
As our partners at Water Street Tampa continue to develop the 60 contiguous acres in the neighborhood surrounding AMALIE Arena, we ask for your patience and consideration when planning your visit to cheer on the Lightning or enjoy a concert, event or family show. We are pleased to report that the development project is well underway with a hotel and USF Health's Morsani College of Medicine in the midst of construction while we expect to see groundbreakings on several other projects during the 2018-19 season. Roadways are being realigned, traffic patterns are changing and new transportation options are emerging - all with a vision of creating a more user-friendly environment in the blocks surrounding AMALIE Arena.
As you plan your trip downtown, we aim to keep you informed of these new developments, offering you all you need to know about arriving at AMALIE safe and on time for your game or event.
Visit
TampaBayLightning.com/parking
for more information.
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game
ADIZERO Lightning Third Jersey
Get the all-new ADIZERO Lightning Third Jersey with authentic lettering. Available exlcusively online at TampaBaySports.com and at all store locations.
The Road Ahead
Sunday, Feb. 10 at Florida Panthers
Tuesday, Feb. 12 vs. Calgary Flames
Thursday, Feb. 14 vs. Dallas Stars