They don't want to go into that break on a negative. The Lightning have lost two of their last three games and are looking to avoid dropping two games in a row for just the second time all season.
That's what makes tonight's contest particularly important for Tampa Bay.
"I'm not sitting here wanting to use the word desperate, but we're not playing another game for 10 days," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "Going into the break with a little bit of momentum and feeling good about yourselves, we dropped a couple here, two of our last three, we've actually felt not too bad about our game, just the result hasn't been there. Knowing we're up against another opponent that just beat us recently, won a bunch of games here in their last 10, another good test for us but urgency definitely in our game."
The bye week couldn't come at a better time for the Lightning. They're concluding a difficult portion of the schedule where they've been on the road for 10 games, including two separate trips to the West Coast, and multiple time zone changes compared to just five games at AMALIE Arena since December 16.
Tonight's matchup against the Sharks will be home game No. 6 over that stretch. The Lightning want to take advantage of one of their rare games at home of late and not go into the break wondering how they have to fix their game.
"Our schedule's been pretty crazy," Lightning forward J.T. Miller said. "We've gotten every single Western trip out of the way already before we start the break, so this is much needed for our group. It's much needed. But we're definitely focused on the game tonight. This is a big game for us after especially the last time in California. We're really excited. This should be an easy game for us to get up for. We know we've just got to lay it out there for 60 minutes and then we have 10 days in a row off."
