The Tampa Bay Lightning will wrap up their five-game homestand with matchups against the in-form Ottawa Senators on Tuesday and Thursday.
Although these games will feel like early playoff showdowns, the chances of these two Atlantic Division teams facing each other in the first round of the postseason are slim.
A recent slump in scoring for both the Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets, along with the Detroit Red Wings’ six-game winning streak, has pushed the Lightning out of a playoff position. This is surprising given Tampa Bay’s strong goal differential of +34.
“You look at the first three months of the season, and scoring wasn’t that difficult,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after his team posted a 7-8-1 record in January. “And (in January) we played like 14 games in 24 days, three different time zones, 10 on the road. I’d probably say fatigue was a part of it. We were probably scoring more than expected, and then we started scoring way below expected.”
Nikita Kucherov leads the team in assists (52) and points (76), while Brandon Hagel is second with 54 points. Brayden Point, however, has just three points in his last six games and hasn’t had a multi-point game since his three-point performance against the New York Rangers on December 28.
The Senators, on the other hand, have been on a roll, having defeated Tampa Bay 5-4 in their first meeting in Ottawa on October 19.
However, Ottawa took a hit when Josh Norris (mid-body injury) was unable to travel with the team on their four-game road trip. Norris, who has 19 goals this season, is expected to miss a few weeks after taking two hard hits during Saturday’s 6-0 win over the Minnesota Wild.
In that game, the Senators dominated, outshooting Minnesota 52-16 and completing a perfect 4-0-0 homestand.
To replace Norris, Ottawa called up Cole Reinhardt from their AHL team in Belleville. “Any time someone goes out, it’s another opportunity for someone else to come in,” said Senators coach Travis Green. “(Reinhardt) will draw in the lineup tonight, and someone else will play center.”
That “someone else” was Ridly Greig, who scored in Ottawa’s 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday.
Goaltender Anton Forsberg made 25 saves to secure the Senators’ fifth straight win, marking the second time this season they’ve had a winning streak of at least five games.
Linus Ullmark, who has been sidelined since December 22 with an injury, served as Forsberg’s backup and could start in Tuesday’s game in Tampa.
Tim Stutzle, 23, reached a milestone by recording his 300th career point with an assist on a goal by Adam Gaudette. Defenseman Jake Sanderson extended his point streak to five games (three goals, six assists) by scoring for the third straight game, and David Perron netted his first goal with the Senators in his 15th game with the team.
