Lightning at Devils
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to set franchise records as they struggle to find consistency on the defensive end of the ice and face another challenge Saturday against the host New Jersey Devils. The Lightning have won a team-record 51 games and are two points shy of matching the 2014-15 team with a franchise-most 108, but they are allowing 3.9 goals per game this month after posting a 7-6 road win over the New York Islanders on Thursday.
“When you’re in a game like (Thursday) going into the third, just close them out,” Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos told reporters after his team nearly coughed up a four-goal lead. “Don’t give them a chance. The penalty kill is struggling. Then stay out of the box. That’s a start. There’s areas to improve on. It’s all self-inflicted, which is the frustrating part.” The Lightning lead Boston by four points in the race for the Atlantic Division crown and will face a focused New Jersey team that is three points ahead of Florida for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Devils earned a huge victory on Friday as Taylor Hall’s overtime tally gave them a 4-3 triumph at Pittsburgh that concluded a 4-2-0 road trip, but they have played two more games than the Panthers. Hall leads the way with career highs of 33 goals and 81 points for New Jersey, which is beginning a four-game homestand but has lost four of its last six at Prudential Center.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), MSG Plus 2 (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (51-19-4): Tampa Bay gave up three more power-play goals in the win over the Islanders and entered Friday ranked 27th in the league on the penalty kill (75.9 percent) after yielding at least one man-advantage tally in 13 of its last 15 games. Nikita Kucherov notched an assist against New York and leads the league with 95 points - 13 in his last eight contests - while Brayden Point recorded three points to reach 100 in his career (101). Norris Trophy candidate Victor Hedman has scored in three consecutive games and is two goals away from matching his career high of 16 in 2016-17.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (38-28-8): Hall also registered two assists on Friday and has posted 33 more points than New Jersey’s second-leading scorer Nico Hischier (17 goals, 31 assists), who was the first pick in last June’s draft. Rookie defenseman Will Butcher scored his first goal since Nov. 20 on Friday and is tied with Kyle Palmieri for third on the team at 36 points. Keith Kinkaid (20-10-2) made 40 saves for the victory on Friday, but coach John Hynes stated after the game that he had not decided whether the netminder will make back-to-back starts or if Cory Schneider (17-15-6) would get the call.
OVERTIME
1. New Jersey C Pavel Zacha (upper body) returned to the lineup Friday after missing six games and recorded an assist.
2. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper needs one victory to overtake John Tortorella (239) for most in franchise history.
3. The Devils have won both meetings in 2017-18, posting a 5-4 shootout win at home on Oct. 17 and a 4-3 victory at Tampa Bay on Feb. 17.