PROJECTED LINES
Lines are from Friday's morning skate. Subject to change
Forward
Alex Killorn - Vladislav Namestnikov - Nikita Kucherov
Brayden Point - Tyler Johnson - Ryan Callahan
Ondrej Palat - Valtteri Filppula - Jonathan Drouin
Brian Boyle - Cedric Paquette - Erik Condra
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Andrej Sustr
Nikita Nesterov - Braydon Coburn
Jason Garrison - Slater Koekkoek
Anton Stralman - Luke Witkowski
Goalie
Ben Bishop expected to start
FRIDAY'S MATCHUP
The Lightning play their first of three meetings against Columbus and first of two at AMALIE Arena tonight...The Blue Jackets are coached by former Lightning head coach John Tortorella, who guided Tampa Bay to its only Stanley Cup (2004)...Tortorella guided the Lightning to a record of 239-222-38 with 36 ties during his seven seasons in Tampa Bay...The Lightning swept Columbus last season and have won six of the last seven in the series...The Bolts outscored Columbus 11-3 last season, including 5-0 in the third period... Ben Bishop won all three games last season vs. Columbus, recording one shutout and allowing just three goals on 95 shots for a 1.00 GAA and .968 save percentage...The Lightning have won seven of their last eight at home over the Blue Jackets and are 9-2-0 all-time at home against Columbus...Tampa Bay is 14-7-0 with one tie overall vs. Columbus.
LIGHTNING-BLUE JACKETS STORYLINES
Two of the best power-play teams meet tonight with the Lightning ranking third (24.4%) in the NHL and Columbus first (28.6%)...Tampa Bay leads the league for power-play goals (20)...Friday's game also features two of top scoring teams in the league with Tampa Bay ranking tied for fourth for average goals per game at 3.10 and Columbus third at 3.11...Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Lightning are second in the NHL for most combined regular season goals (780) behind only Dallas (808)...Tampa Bay's 13 wins so far this season are tied for third in the NHL...The Lightning own the third-best goal differential in the league (+15) behind the Rangers (+29) and Montreal (+17)
INJURIES
2016-17 Regular Season
Man Games Lost: 30
Current injuries
Brian Boyle - Upper-body injury (DAY-TO-DAY; INJURED NOV. 23) 1 Game
JT Brown - Upper-body injury (DAY-TO-DAY; INJURED NOV. 23) 1 Game
Steven Stamkos - Lateral meniscus tear in right knee (OUT APPROXIMATELY 4 MONTHS; INJURED NOV. 15) 4 Games
Anton Stralman - Upper-body injury (DAY-TO-DAY; INJURED NOV. 12) 6 Games
TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 23 - Recalled F Erik Condra from AHL Syracuse
Nov. 22 - Re-assigned F Erik Condra to AHL Syracuse
Nov. 21 - Recalled F Erik Condra from AHL Syracuse
Nov. 14 - Recalled D Luke Witkowski from AHL Syracuse
NOTEWORTHY
Tampa Bay is 13-0-1 when scoring three goals or more and 48-3-4 over the last two seasons (0-7-0 this season and 11-34-2 last two seasons when scoring less than three)...The Bolts are 8-0-0 when leading after the first period...The Lightning are 9-0-1 when scoring first...Ondrej Palat ranks first in the NHL for takeaways (24)...AMALIE Arena has sold out 75-consecutive games (including playoffs) dating back to the 2014-15 season.
