PROJECTED LINES
Lines are subject to change. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said after Thursday's optional morning skate that defenseman Victor Hedman (illness) will miss his third straight game.
Forwards
Ondrej Palat - Vladislav Namestnikov - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Tyler Johnson - Joel Vermin or Erik Condra
Brian Boyle - Valtteri Filppula - Jonathan Drouin
Michael Bournival - Cedric Paquette - Gabriel Dumont
Defensemen
Nikita Nesterov - Anton Stralman
Jason Garrison - Andrej Sustr
Braydon Coburn - Luke Witkowski
Goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy expected to start
THURSDAY'S MATCHUP
The Lightning and the Sharks are playing their second of two meetings this season...San Jose scored a 3-1 victory over the Lightning in Tampa on Nov. 12...In that Bolts' loss, the Sharks opened a 3-0 lead before Anton Stralman scored the Bolts' lone goal (his first of the season) in the third period...Ben Bishop made 17 saves on 20 shots in the loss...Tampa Bay has won in its last two visits to San Jose, outscoring the Sharks a combined 9-5...Prior to their current two-game win streak in San Jose, the Lightning had lost five in a row there...The Bolts are 8-8-0 with one tie all-time vs. the Sharks in San Jose...The Lightning and the Sharks have split their two-game regular season series each of the last two seasons...The Bolts have lost four of their last six meetings with San Jose...Tampa Bay is 16-18-0 with two ties all-time overall vs. the Sharks.
LIGHTNING-SHARKS STORYLINES
The Lightning are playing the third game of a six-game road trip, the trip tying a season long for days (11) and games (also: Oct. 25-Nov. 1)...Since recording a four-game road win streak from Nov. 14-19, the Bolts have lost 11 of their 13 road games since, going 2-8-3 over that stretch...The Lightning have scored two or less goals in seven-straight road games, their longest such stretch since scoring two or less in nine-consecutive road games from Nov. 12-Dec. 10, 2010.
INJURIES
2016-17 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 137
JT Brown - Upper-body injury (DAY-TO-DAY; INJURED JAN. 7) 5 Games
Ryan Callahan - Lower-body injury (INJURED JAN. 7; ANNOUNCED ON JAN. 15 EXPECTED TO MISS APPROXIMATELY 4 WEEKS ) 5 Games
Victor Hedman - Illness (JAN. 16) 2 Games
Brayden Point - Upper-body injury (OUT 4-6 WEEKS; INJURED DEC. 28) 10 Games
Steven Stamkos - Lateral meniscus tear in right knee (OUT APPROXIMATELY 4 MONTHS; INJURED NOV. 15) 29 Games
TRANSACTIONS
Jan. 17 - Recalled D Jake Dotchin from AHL Syracuse
Jan. 15 - Recalled F Joel Vermin from AHL Syracuse
Jan. 14 - Re-assigned F Matthew Peca to AHL Syracuse
Jan. 13 - Recalled F Erik Condra from AHL Syracuse
Jan. 10 - Re-assigned D Slater Koekkoek to AHL Syracuse
Jan. 10 - Re-assigned G Kristers Gudlevskis to AHL Syracuse
Jan. 10 - Recalled F Gabriel Dumont from AHL Syracuse
Jan. 10 - Recalled G Kristers Gudlevskis from AHL Syracuse
Jan. 10 - Re-assigned G Adam Wilcox to AHL Syracuse
HOW YOU DROUIN
Tampa Bay forward Jonathan Drouin saw his career-best five-game point streak come to an end Jan. 17 at ANA but has two goals and four assists over his last six games and has recorded points in eight of his last 10 games (3 goals, 6 assists)...Drouin ranks tied for third on the Lightning for scoring (13-16-29), tied for second for goals, fourth for assists and tied for first for power-play goals (6)...Since Dec. 1, Drouin has recorded 10-12--22 in 21 games and is averaging 1.05 points per game, ranking tied for seventh in the league for PPG over that span...Since Dec. 1, Drouin ranks tied for third in the NHL for power-play points (4-6--10).
FIL-ING THE NET
Lightning center Valtteri Filppula scored the Bolts' lone goal Jan. 17 vs. ANA to extend his point streak to a season-long five games (goal, 4 assists)...Filppula's current point streak is his longest since recording points in 12-straight games from March 8-30, 2014 (5 goals, 11 assists)...Filppula saw his career-long-tying four-game assist streak (Jan. 8-16) come to an end in Anaheim...Filppula ranks tied for third on the Bolts for scoring (7-22--29) and third for assists.
