Lines from Monday's practice. Subject to change.
Forwards
Tyler Johnson - Steven Stamkos - Vladislav Namestnikov
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Yanni Gourde - Cory Conacher
Chris Kunitz - Cedric Paquette - Ryan Callahan
Defense
Victor Hedman - Andrej Sustr
Mikhail Sergachev - Anton Stralman
Slater Koekkoek - Dan Girardi
Goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy expected to start
Tuesday's Matchup
The Lightning and the Islanders are playing their second of three meetings this season and the second of two at AMALIE Arena...New York defeated Tampa Bay 5-3 on Nov. 18 at AMALIE Arena to snap the Bolts' five-game win streak...In the loss, the Lightning fell behind 4-0 early in the third period before rallying to get to within a goal at 4-3 behind a pair of goals from Yanni Gourde and another by Ondrej Palat (Gourde's first goal and Palat's goal came 10 seconds apart)...The loss earlier this season to the Islanders ended a seven-game win streak (including playoffs) for Tampa Bay over New York...Anton Stralman has 10 assists in 30 career regular season meetings with the Islanders, tied for the most assists he's put up against any NHL team (also: BOS)...Chris Kunitz has 20 career assists in 39 regular season games vs. the Islanders, the most assists he's registered against any NHL team, and his 32 points vs. the Isles are tied for the most points he's recorded against any team (also: LAK).
Tuesday's Storylines
The Lightning pace the NHL for wins (18), ROW (17), points percentage (.731) and goal differential (+28) and are tied with Winnipeg for most points in the League (38)...Tampa Bay is off to its best start in franchise history with 38 points through 26 games, one point better than the 37 points put up by the 2014-15 team (17-6-3) through 26 games...The Lightning are second in the NHL for goals per game (3.62) and fourth for goals against per game (2.54) and are the only NHL team in the top four in both categories.
Injuries
2017-18 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 25
Current injuries
Braydon Coburn - Lower Body (DAY-TO-DAY) 1 Game
Jake Dotchin - Undisclosed (DAY-TO-DAY) 6 Games
Transactions
Dec. 3 Re-assigned D Jamie McBain to AHL Syracuse
Dec. 2 - Recalled D Jamie McBain from AHL Syracuse
Dec. 2 - Recalled F Cory Conacher from AHL Syracuse
Nov. 26 - Re-assigned F Cory Conacher to AHL Syracuse
Power Up
Tyler Johnson scored a power-play goal Dec. 2 vs. SJS to extend Tampa Bay's streak of games with a power-play goal to six (season high for consecutive games with a power-play goal is 7 set Oct. 6-17)...The Lightning have netted at least one power-play goal in 11 of their last 12 games and 22 of 26 games overall this season...The Bolts are tied with PIT and NSH for most power-play goals (27) in the NHL...The Lightning lead the NHL for power-play percentage (27.8%)...Over the last two seasons, the Bolts have the top power-play percentage (24.1%) and lead the NHL for power-play goals.
In the Nik of Time
Tampa Bay right wing Nikita Kucherov scored a pair of goals Dec. 2 vs. SJS for his third multi-goal game of the season and 17th of his career...Kucherov ended a six-game goalless drought and pulled into a tie for the NHL lead for goals.
Kucherov's 19 goals are tied for the third most through the first 26 team games in Lightning history, trailing only Steven Stamkos (21) in 2010-11 and Steven Stamkos (20) in 2012-13...Kucherov owns the longest goal streak in the NHL this season, scoring in sevenstraight games (8 goals total) to start the season (Oct. 6-17)...Kucherov has points in 21 of 26 games and has 13 multi-point performances this season...With two points on Saturday, Kucherov passed teammate Steven Stamkos and pulled into first place for scoring in the NHL.
Kucherov's 38 points are tied for the third most though the first 26 team games in Lightning history, trailing only Vincent Lecavalier (18-23--41) in 2007-08 and Steven Stamkos (21-19--40) in 2010-11...Over the last two seasons, Kucherov leads the NHL for goals and ranks second for scoring with 123 points (first: EDM's Connor McDavid - 132).
