Nuts and Bolts: Lightning look to keep red-hot February going
Tampa Bay has yet to lose in regulation so far this month
by Bryan Burns / TampaBayLightning.com
The Lightning put a seven-game win streak on the line on Thursday night vs. the Sabres at Amalie Arena.
This will be the final regular season meeting between the pair of division rivals. After dropping the first meeting of the season, Tampa Bay has gone on to win each of their last two matchups vs. the Sabres.
Lines from Tuesday's game subject to change.
Forwards
Ondrej Palat - Steven Stamkos - J.T. Miller
Yanni Gourde - Tyler Johnson - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Adam Erne
Danick Martel - Cedric Paquette - Ryan Callahan
Defensemen
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev - Dan Girardi
Braydon Coburn - Anton Stralman
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Thursday's Matchup
The Lightning and the Sabres are playing the final game of their four-game regular season series and the second of two meetings at AMALIE Arena...Tampa Bay is 2-1-0 against Buffalo so far this season...The Sabres earned a 2-1 win in their first matchup Nov. 13 at KeyBank Center, Anthony Cirelli netting the lone goal for the Lightning, who held Buffalo to 19 shots, the fewest they've allowed an opponent this season...The Lightning defeated Buffalo 5-4 in their last meeting at AMALIE Arena (Nov. 29), Cedric Paquette scoring the game-winning goal with 5:41 remaining in a game that featured five lead changes...Tampa Bay was victorious in its last matchup against the Sabres Jan. 12 in Buffalo, Steven Stamkos netting the go-ahead and game-winning goal at 14:44 of the third period and Nikita Kucherov (goal, 2 assists) recording a three-point game...Tampa Bay is 8-2-1 at home vs. Buffalo since the start of the 2014-15 season...The Lightning are 18-4-2 overall against the Sabres since the start of 2013-14...Nikita Kucherov has recorded points in 11 of his last 12 games vs. BUF (6-10--16)...Alex Killorn has points in four-straight games vs. BUF (1-6--7).
Thursday's Storylines
Tampa Bay has yet to lose in regulation in February, going 9-0-2...The Lightning's seven-game win streak is tied for their second longest of the season and tied for their fourth longest in franchise history...The Bolts became the sixth team in NHL history to record three separate win streaks of seven or more games in the same season...Tampa Bay's 11-game point streak (9-0-2) is its second longest of the season (longest: 15-0-1 over 16 games Nov. 29-Jan.3)...Tampa Bay's 46 wins are tied for the third-most in franchise history (most: 54 wins in 2017-18)...The Lightning are on pace for 62 wins and 129 points; only one team in NHL history has compiled 62 wins (1995-96 DET - 62-13-7) and only three have collected 129 or more points in a season (1976-77 MTL - 132 pts., 1995-96 DET - 131 pts. & 1977-78 MTL - 129 pts.)...Tampa Bay's +80 goal differential leads the NHL (2nd: TOR & CGY - +41) and is the highest goal differential through 61 games in NHL history since 2005-06 Ottawa (+95).
Injuries
2018-19 Man Games Lost: 85
Victor Hedman (Lower-Body Injury; Day-to-Day) 1 Game
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game
Vasilevskiy Limited Edition Record Puck
On February 16th, Andrei Vasilevskiy became the Lightning franchise leader in shutouts with 18. Commemorate the record with this Limited Edition Record Puck. Available in store and at TampaBaySports.com, while supplies last.
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.
The Road Ahead
Monday, Feb. 25 vs. Los Angeles Kings
Wednesday, Feb. 27 at New York Rangers
Thursday, Feb. 28 at Boston Bruins