Lightning vs. Devils: Projected lines, storylines, injuries

After a Game 4 win that gave the Bolts a 3-1 series lead, Tampa Bay returns to AMALIE Arena on Saturday with the chance to finish off the Devils on home ice.

Lines from Friday's practice. Subject to change.
Forwards
J.T. Miller - Steven Stamkos - Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Yanni Gourde
Chris Kunitz - Cedric Paquette - Cory Conacher/Ryan Callahan
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh - Anton Stralman
Braydon Coburn - Mikhail Sergachev
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Louis Domingue or Peter Budaj
Saturday's Storylines
Tampa Bay owns a three-games-to-one lead in its Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against New Jersey and is looking to close out the series with a victory today...The Lightning have never lost a best-of-seven playoff series when leading three-games-to-one...The Bolts have won six of their last seven games at AMALIE Arena versus the Devils...Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one point in all four games so far in the series (4-5--9) and multiple points in the last three games (3-5--8)...Nikita Kucherov has points in 10 of his last 11 games overall versus NJD (7-12--19)...Steven Stamkos has tallied at least one point in all four games so far in the series (1-4--5)
Saturday's Matchup
The Lightning are 12-7 all-time in playoff clinching games and 8-3 in clinching games at home...The Bolts are 8-9 all-time in Game 5s and 5-3 in Game 5s at home...Tampa Bay is 3-1 in games where they lead a series three-games-to-one and 6-1 when leading a series by two or more games...The Lightning rank second in the NHL playoffs for power-play percentage (35.7%) and tied for third for powerplay goals (5)...The Bolts own an all-time playoff record of 65-55, including a 32-28 record at home and a 31-26 record at AMALIE Arena...Tampa Bay is 28-23 in the postseason under head coach Jon Cooper...The Lightning enter Game 5 with 1,228 games of postseason experience on the roster, ranking third among NHL playoff teams for most games...Chris Kunitz has played in the most playoff games (165) and is looking for his third-straight Stanley Cup and fifth overall while Victor Hedman has played in the most playoff games while with the Bolts (69) and ranks first all-time in franchise history for playoff games...Tampa Bay set franchise records for wins (54), road wins (25), points (113), road points (53), goals (290), home goals (145) and road goals (145) during the 2017-18 regular season...The Lightning won their third all-time Atlantic Division title in 2017-18 (also: 2002-03 & 2003-04) and finished as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference for the second time in franchise history (also: 2003-04).
Injuries
2017-18 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 132
2017-18 Playoff Man Games Lost: 6
Current injuries
Ryan Callahan - Upper body (day-to-day; injured March 14) 2 games
Adam Erne - Lower body (out indefinitely; injured March 26) - 10 games (4 playoff games)
Transactions
April 19 - Signed F Michael Bournival to a 1-year, 2-way contract
April 19 - Signed F Otto Somppi to a 3-year, entry-level contract
April 19 - Re-assigned F Matthew Peca to AHL Syracuse
April 15 - Recalled F Matthew Peca from AHL Syracuse
Hed of the Class
For the second season in a row, Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy on Thursday, joining LAK's Drew Doughty and NSH's P.K. Subban...No Lightning defenseman has ever won the Norris; Hedman came closest after finishing third last season...Hedman set a new career high for goals in a season (17), tied with CGY's Dougie Hamilton and PHI's Ivan Provorov for most this season by a NHL defenseman...Hedman finished with 63 points this season, second most for his career...Hedman's 63 points are tied for the third most in a single season by a Lightning defenseman, and Hedman is the only Bolts blueliner to record 60 or more points in multiple seasons (also: 72 pts. in 2016-17)...Hedman ranked fifth among NHL blueliners for scoring in 2017 18... Hedman's +32 plus/minus rating during the 2017-18 regular season set a new career high and ranked second
among NHL defensemen and sixth overall in the League...Hedman is looking for his first point of the 2018 playoffs... Hedman leads the Bolts and ranks 10th in the NHL for average playoff time on ice (26:54).
The Big Cat
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27-of-28 saves in Game 4 at NJD for his first career playoff start giving up one goal or less (11 career playoff starts)...Vasilevskiy improved to 7-6 all-time for his postseason career... Vasilevskiy ranks tied for third in the NHL playoffs for wins (3) and seventh for goals-against average (2.26) and save percentage (.937)...Vasilevskiy was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy along with NSH's Pekka Rinne and WPG's Connor Hellebuyck on Tuesday...Vasilevskiy is looking to become the first Lightning goalie to win the Vezina (Ben Bishop came closest after finishing second in 2016)...Vasilevskiy set single season franchise records for wins (44), road wins (18), shutouts (8), road shutouts (6) and saves (1,908) during the 2017-18 regular season...Vasilevskiy
became the first goalie in Lightning history to finish a season with at least a share of the League lead in wins (he finished tied with Hellebuyck).
In the Nik of Time
Bolts right winger Nikita Kucherov scored a pair of goals and added an assist in Game 4 at NJD to match his career high for single game playoff scoring set seven times previously and once in these playoffs (also: 1-2--3, Game 2 vs. NJD)...Kucherov is the franchise's all-time leader for multi-goal playoff outings (7) and games with at least three points (8) in the postseason...Kucherov has recorded points in all four games of the 2018 playoffs and established a personal best for consecutive playoff games with at least one point...Kucherov ranks tied for second in the NHL for playoff scoring.
Kucherov ranks tied for second in the NHL for playoff goals...Kucherov ranks tied for first with SJS's Tomas Hertl for most gamewinning goals in the 2018 playoffs...With his two goals in Game 4, Kucherov passed Vincent Lecavalier for second-most playoff goals in Lightning franchise history.
Kucherov trails Vincent Lecavalier by a point for second-most playoff points in Lightning franchise history.
One in a Mill-ion
Tampa Bay forward J.T. Miller scored his second career playoff goal (first with the Lightning) and added two assists in Game 4 at NJD for his third career playoff game recording three or more points...Miller was +3 Wednesday, tied for the second-highest plus-minus rating for his career in a playoff game...Miller ranks tied for third on the Lightning for assists (3) and tied for fourth for scoring (4 pts.) during the 2018 playoffs...Miller ranks second among Bolts forwards (5th overall on the team) for average time on ice (18:04).
Stammer Time
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos registered an assist in Game 4 at NJD, giving him an assist and at least one point in all four games of the series...Stamkos can match his career high for a playoff scoring streak (3-4--7 over 5 games from May 3-12, 2015) with a point in Game 5...Stamkos ranks second on the Bolts for assists (4) in the 2018 playoffs and tied for 10th in the NHL.